Life as a Microsoft Student Partner

Note that I have not been paid to promote the below organization nor will have any gain from writing this post other than sharing my experience.

Who is a Microsoft Student Partner?

Microsoft Student Partners are on-campus student leaders with a passion for sharing technology with their classmates. Gain leadership experiences, get access to resources and develop your technical and career skills. You might find yourself leading a hackathon, mentoring computer science students, or unlocking the next great idea with your team – it’s all up to you.

Official Entry requirements

• Be at least 16 years old at the time of submission.
• Be enrolled full-time in an accredited academic institution (e.g. college, university).
• Have valid identification.
• Unofficial Entry requirements (Helps you standout)
• A Strong skillset with Microsoft related technologies.
• Public Contributions to the community.
• A strong & valid referral

Benefits

• MSDN subscription
• Microsoft Azure Cloud Credit ($150/mo for 1 year)
• Rewards & Recognition for top performers
• Networking opportunities
• Technical training & resources
• Internship & Recruitment announcements for top-performers.

Source

My Experience Accepted Email I was accepted as an MSP for the year 2017-2018.

At Microsoft LK Me at Microsoft Sri Lanka

Officially we had representatives from the University Of Colombo School Of Computing (3), University Of Kelaniya (3 - First generation), Informatics Institute of Technology (2), Esoft Metro Campus (1 - First generation) & SLIIT-Faculty of Computing (1). (Random order)

MSP LK Team

Inauguration of MSP Team 2017-2018 with Microsoft Employees

We took up the task of promoting the Microsoft Imagine Cup from the Inauguration meetup. During the first meetup, I explained to the undergraduates on how to get enrolled for the Imagine Cup along the rest of my team.

MS Champ Meetup Led by Me MS Champs Meetup #1 after soo many years

After a few weeks as an MSP, I organized meetups at universities & conducted them with a few members of the MSP team. Here are a few universities I spoke at. All thanks to Sustainable Education Foundation:

Imagine Cup Session 1 Imagine Cup Session 1

Informatics Institute of Technology

Imagine Cup Session 2 Imagine Cup Session 2

University of Moratuwa - Faculty of Information Technology

Imagine Cup Session 3

University of Sri Jayewardenepura -Faculty of Computer Science

Imagine Cup Session 4

Esoft Metro Campus - The university in which I studied at that time.

Also with the network, help & support of the Sustainable Education Foundation - SEF, a non-profit organization with a vision to

To develop Sri Lanka via making the education system the most effective and dynamic education system in the world

I conducted a few Onelives with previous Microsoft Imagine Cup National Finalists, Microsoft Valued Professionals and etc. To watch these videos Visit this link

I also had the opportunity of testing the initial versions of Q#. ( A programming language used for expressing quantum algorithms)

Quantum Simulation

Summary Microsoft Student Partner Program is a good initiative for students who have an interest in building a career associated with Microsoft Technologies and giving back to the community as they progress in life. To me more than anything, it was to inspire the next generations to do more with the amazing tools provided by Microsoft. A good program that develops the moral to give back to society while developing one’s skillset.