From Ed Musters, President, Toronto .NET User Group:

Our study group is being formed for those interested in pursuing a Microsoft Development certfication such as Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) or Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD).  We will begin by pursing, as a group, the 70-536 .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation exam.  The goal is for members to complete at least this exam by December.  Other exam groups will start as the members of the group begin to get certified and move on to the next exam.  I am personally targetting to have the foundation exam complete by end of September.

If you did not attend the August user group event, please visit the downloads section under study group to get a copy of the slide deck.  It contains valuable information on why you should certify, and details on the exams, courses, certification paths, and study resources.

This study group is for the community, by the community!  It's success is solely dependent upon YOU and your ACTIVE participation.  This is a CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS - we need people to lead local meeting nights, we need volunteers/experts to provide presentation/study material for the specific topics covered by the exam (e.g. collecations/generics).  Do you have access to a library room or company meeting room?  Can you arrange a bi-weekly nightly get together for people to meet face to face?  We will try to get all the recognition we can for your leadership efforts.  Please e-mail me at emusters@theopenhighway.net if you can be a local study group leader or willing to be a topic presenter.  Please see the Get Togethers sections for topics required on the exam.

We will try to get to the group any resources that Nexient and Microsoft can provide - may include books, study kits, exam vouchers, course certficates, MS eLearning courses, etc.  How we will give these away is by (1) ACTIVE demonstrated participation in the study group / discussion forums, and (2) NEED - that is, let the “students” and those less financially able have access to the limited free resources.  If you can pay for the exams, or your company can, then please let others have access to the freebies!

Keep me and the group informed at all times about your progress on the exams and your certification level!  We will need to know as a result who participated, what you achieved, and how it benefited you!

Here's looking forward to our success!