Joshua Ndemenge, Kenya MSP, shares 2019 EMEA Microsoft Student Partner Summit experience

Joshua Ndemenge, Kenya MSP, shares 2019 EMEA Microsoft Student Partner Summit experience

Microsoft Student Partner Summit
MSP’s at 2019 EMEA Microsoft Student Partner Summit. Amsterdam

Microsoft hosted MSP’s from across EMEA at the Microsoft Student Partner Summit 2019 in Amsterdam. Josh from Kenya shares his 5 day experience.

After 7 months into the Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) program i was glad to be chosen to attend the EMEA Microsoft student partner summit 2019. This included a chance to attend the Microsoft Imagine cup EMEA Finals and Microsoft Ignite The Tour all held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. An opportunity like no other in my entire campus life. With an opportunity not just to network with other industry professionals but also to meet new people and tour a different country.

After a month of a great hustle to get all the travelling documents in place I was ready for it. In the early morning of 17th march I left for the summit and few minutes to 6 pm (UTC+1) I arrived in Amsterdam. Together with other MSP’s we left for the Holiday Inn where we would reside for the next 4 days.

Microsoft Student Partner Summit

Minutes after checking in at the hotel and settling in my room i headed for dinner. It was during dinner that I met the guy from the PI Project who was here for the Imagine cup reginal finals from Russia. It did not occur to me that this was the team that would take the third position. I also did meet Lee Stott who gave me more insight on the Machine Learning Stack on azure. Pretty much day one involved much of networking with the other MSP’s, Imagine Cup Finalists and the team from Microsoft.

Microsoft Student Partner Summit

18th March, Day one of the MSP summit –
After breakfast we took a bus direct to Microsoft Offices. One thing would catch your attention at the offices and this was Microsoft’s mission placed in bold and in light.
The first activity was a talk from GIST Network revolving around how to build a perfect pitch for your idea and put all the blocks together into a nice presentation.

The MSP Summit day 1 activity begun later in the afternoon as the Imagine cup finalists had their mentorship sessions. During this I had an opportunity to share with fellow MSP’s what it takes to run a student community on campus. 
Next, we teamed up for the open hack, work on an idea and pitch it the next day. Just like in all hacks this was a day where the better part of the night was spent writing the code. Follow the thread for the open hack projects here

Microsoft Student Partner Summit
Team iCropal, presenting at 2019 Imagine Cup EMEA regional finals in Amsterdam

19th March, second day of the summit and the day for the imagine cup final competition. –
This was a very inspiring day for me to see what student across the region can come up. I was glad to meet the team from Kenya Team iCropal. After the imagine cup competition I got the opportunity to have a chat with Wiley Larsen about a project I am currently working on. I got a lot of new ideas and how to cope with some of the challenges. Big thanks Wiley Larsen.

20th March Microsoft Ignite The Tour. Headed to Amsterdam Rai for the conference. –
I had chosen the Learning path Getting most out of your data. And out of the four session I attended one session (Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment Data) was captivating, and many people showed up for it. The day ended with a private dinner, yes for the first time I’m mentioning meals. This is why, during the dinner we had raffle tickets and five lucky individuals would win 250USD. Unfortunately, that was not me.

21st March, Final day in Amsterdam. Headed to Rai Amsterdam for the live Microsoft Mechanics Show. Spent the next 2 hours exploring the city. Checked out the hotel at 11 am.

This was an exciting moment to learn, network and explore. Special thanks to Pablo(Microsoft Imagine Cup, program manager) and the whole team from Microsoft for this incredible opportunity.

Follow Joshua Ndemenge’s exploits on twitter.

?: Microsoft Imagine Cup

2016 Imagine Cup Winners Chat with Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella

2016 Imagine Cup Winners Chat with Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella

As part of the winning package of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2016 competition, Winners were to meet Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Team ENTy had this opportunity and here’s their chat with the chief.

2016 imagine cup

Team ENTy from Romania were crowned champions ? of the Microsoft 2016 Imagine Cup competition finals. Four teams from Africa made it to the finals with team Night’s Watch, from Tunisia coming in 2nd in the World Citizenship category, winning $10,000.

The 2016 Imagine Cup winners, winning $ 50,000 cash prize also got to receive a private mentoring session with CEO Satya Nadella.

“The call with Satya was amazing,” said Flavia. “After presenting and doing a live demo on stage at the Imagine Cup World Championships, we never thought we would feel that anxious and nervous again. But he talked with us like he had known us for years.”

 

Q: Team ENTy:  what would he do if he were a co-founder of ENTy?

A: Satya Nadella . I’ll make the hardware smaller, get the patents and the certifications for the product, and find good investors.

“He told us that we should keep fighting for our product, and that we should hurry up with the launch in the market because timing is crucial when you’re part of a startup,”

Since being crowned the Imagine Cup Champions in July, ENTy has been hard at work perfecting its product, with an intense focus on making it smaller and getting it into the hands of the health care professionals who will be its primary customers.

“We minimized our hardware to a device that’s about the size of a coin,” Flavia said. “Right now, we are testing it in hospitals in Romania, and we are getting the necessary medical certificates for the product’s use in Europe.”

 

Team ENTy has this advice for students who wish to give the competition a go.

“Never stop believing in what you’re trying to do, whether it’s a startup, a project, a song, anything!” students participating in Imagine Cup should focus their efforts on building “a successful product, not on winning something. Our aim was to make a product that will help doctors and patients, and that is exactly what we did.”

This year’s, 2017  Imagine Cup finals will be the 15th anniversary and has a cash price package of $ 100,000.

To participate in the competition, check with your institution for a Microsoft Students Partners group. The events will be hosted by the local Microsoft subsidiaries in eligible countries. There’ll be national finals and then all the finalist head out to Seattle for the big event where they’ll present their ideas.

 

2017 Imagine Cup Registration Opens with $100,000 Top Prize

2017 Imagine Cup Registration Opens with $100,000 Top Prize

Microsoft has announced the launch of the 2017 Imagine Cup Competition. The global student technology competition also enters it’s 15th year since it’s launch.
 
2017 imagine cup
 
Microsoft’s Global student developer competition, Imagine Cup, open to Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) around the world has been launched. The 2017 edition is special in two ways. First the completion turns 15 years. Secondly to celebrate the milestone the usual award price of $ 50,000 gets doubled to $ 100,000.
 

 
Last year four teams from Africa represented at the finals with team Night’s Watch placing second in the World Citizenship category. I’m really looking forward to seeing more teams from Africa present at the finals in 2017.
 
The have been some changes to categorization in 2017’s competition. The focus will be more apps and solutions oriented, which should allow more innovations to be included.
 
First, as cloud technologies become more and more pervasive, we feel it’s paramount that Imagine Cup help student developers prepare for their futures by building skills using today’s premier cloud platforms. To that end, we highly encourage all Imagine Cup projects to showcase one or more Microsoft Azure services within their solutions.
Also, we’re changing the way we judge projects. For the 2017 Imagine Cup competition, we’re placing greater emphasis on each project’s underlying technology. What that means is that Imagine Cup will be on the lookout for deep technology integration in fully formed apps, services and games with the potential to be viable in the commercial marketplace.
 
Finally, we’ve decided to forego categories in favor of opening the competition up to apps and solutions that might not have neatly fit into one of those categories in past years . . . in other words, all big ideas are welcome in Imagine Cup.
 
Looking forward to the 2017 Imagine Cup Competition? Join a Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) group in your institution and you could be on your way. Currently there are MSP groups in Ghana Telecom University, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Institute of Journalism, University of Ghana, GIMPA.
 
Visit the registration page and get started.
 
Source : Microsoft
Ghana Technology University College Microsoft Student Partners are having a Tech Help Day

Ghana Technology University College Microsoft Student Partners are having a Tech Help Day

MSP GTU techhelpday

Microsoft Student Partners at Ghana Technology University College will be having a Tech Help Day on September 22nd, 2015 at the forecourt of their main campus in Accra with the event starting at 10am.

The volunteer Day program will see the student partners providing technological support and consulting services to individual who turn up for FREE. They will help with upgrading your PC to Windows 10, repairing of laptops, repairing of mobile phones and try to help solve other tech related problems that are brought in. You are also sure to get some valuable lessons and tips from them at the Tech Help Day.

If you happen to be a Ghana Technology University College student or stay close to the main campus, if you don’t mind moving across from another campus or town you should take advantage of the Tech help Day and #upgradeyourworld to #Windows10 as it’ll empower you to #achievemore.

 

Source: MSP GTUC

Sign Up to be a Microsoft Student Partners Ghana Member

Sign Up to be a Microsoft Student Partners Ghana Member

Microsoft student partners are students in tertiary institutions with a passion for technology and want to share their deep knowledge with their fellow students, lead and mentor the next generation of software developers.

mcgh msp2

If you and want to represent Microsoft and are a tertiary student with a passion for technology and a desire to share with your peers, Microsoft is currently recruiting people for the Microsoft Student Partners Program in Ghana.

We are looking for tertiary students with a passion for technology and a desire to share that passion with other students on their campus. Students in universities or colleges in Ghana will have the great opportunity to become part of an amazing community.

As a Microsoft Student Partner here are some of the activities you’ll be involved in and stuffs you’ll gain as benefits.

  • You’ll be informed about the latest Microsoft technologies
  • You will acquire the tools and training to lead technology discussions on your campus
  • You will demonstrate the newest technologies, host tech events, and connect with like-minded students and faculty
  • You will lead the Microsoft Student Community at your campus
  • You will work closely with Microsoft and the other MSPs, and build and important network of contacts
  • You will get a proof of your MSP participation that can be used when you apply for work
  • You will receive tools, training, and networking opportunities so you can develop and refine the skills you need to jump-start your career
  • You will experience DREAMSPARK!

Applications are currently opened, so register now to be a member of Microsoft Student Partners Ghana in your institution.

Here are the requirements;

  • Be fully enrolled in an accredited tertiary institution
  • Have a passion for technology and the need to share that passion
  • Be ready to learn and have fun

Applications end on 15th of July 2015.  To register visit Microsoft Student Partners Ghana’s page on Facebook and click on the sign up button (find the sign up button close to the like button) or click here.

 

 

 

Source: Microsoft Students Partners Ghana

 

Follow @silverscholar on Twitter to stay up to date on all Microsoft Ghana, Microsoft Mobile Ghana news and Microsoft Corporation announcements.

Get in touch at silverscholar [@] live [dot] com