Udacity, Microsoft announce Machine Learning Scholarship Program

Udacity, Microsoft announce Machine Learning Scholarship Program

Machine Learning Scholarship Program Udacity Microsoft

Online learning platform, Udacity and Microsoft are introducing a new training program collaboration. The collaboration will see Udacity host various courses on Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. The partnership will start with a Machine Learning Scholarship Program for Microsoft Azure.

The Machine Learning scholarship program will start with a two-month-long low-code experience introduction to machine learning on Azure course. Followed by a four-month full Udacity Nanodegree program. The first phase will see 10,000 scholarships spots awarded. However, only 300 spots will be available in the Nanodegree program. Top performers from the foundation level who meet the selection criteria will make it.

AI is driving transformation across organizations and there is increased demand for data science skills,” says Julia White, Corporate Vice President, Azure Marketing, Microsoft. “Through our collaboration with Udacity to offer low-code and advanced courses on Azure Machine Learning, we hope to expand data science expertise as experienced professionals will truly be invaluable resources to solving business problems,” she continues.

Applications start from June 10  to 30th. Find out more details and apply here.

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Microsoft introduces DigiGirlz AI Class, brings Artificial Intelligence to high-school girls

Microsoft introduces DigiGirlz AI Class, brings Artificial Intelligence to high-school girls

DigiGirlz AI Class Microsoft

Microsoft wants high school girls around the world to develop their understanding of Artificial Intelligence. To achieve this, the company is introducing the DigiGirlz AI Class in partnership with Avanade and Accenture.

The program gives girls access to a collection of tutorials, games and technological resources. Designed in a way that it equips them with the skills and knowledge to apply the technology in real life.

Participants of the program will be treated to workshops led by industry experts. They will also receive help from mentors at Microsoft, Avanade and Accenture to develop their own projects.

Dubbed “Alice envisions the future“, it promotes endless curiosity and determination. Microsoft aims DigiGirlz AI Class will help “close the gap in STEM fields”. By “giving girls the right tools to discover the possibilities that await them“.

All high school girls worldwide can participate in the program. You don’t need any coding experience to begin.

The various workshops include Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep learning & Neural Networks and AI for Good.

Visit the program page for more details on how to participate.

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Ghana based Software Engineer Edem Kumodzi joins Microsoft

Ghana based Software Engineer Edem Kumodzi joins Microsoft

Edem kumodzi Microsoft Ghana software engineer Africa

Renowned senior software engineer, Edem Kumodzi, announces a new job move in a tweet. Sharing “Next Chapter: ??? #MicrosoftLife“. Edem will start a new role as Program Manager at global tech giant Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. Working with Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices engineering group, led by Executive Vice President Rajesh Jha.

Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices division was announced by CEO Satya Nadella in a restructure. To “instil a unifying product ethos across our[Microsoft] end-user experiences and devices“. This team comprises of Microsoft hardware[Surface, Xbox, HoloLens, etc.], Windows client, New Experiences and Technology, Enterprise Mobility and Management, and Office Product Group.

Edem kumodzi Microsoft Ghana

News of Edem’s new role comes with a great cheer from people in the technology ecosystem not only in Ghana but across Africa. He is passionate about encouraging and helping young software engineers grow and build amazing products. Supporting various developer communities across Africa. He also is a Google Developers Launchpad mentor.

Prior to his new role at Microsoft, Edem Kumodzi has served in various roles in the past. These include Director of Technology at Africa Foresight, Senior Consultant at Andela, Consultant at Thought Works and Senior Software Engineer at Ringier AG.

Featured images ?: DevCongress & Expresspay

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Futuristic Microsoft Israel campus set to launch this year

Futuristic Microsoft Israel campus set to launch this year

Microsoft Israel campus

The new Microsoft Israel campus is set to officially launch this year. [Update: Microsoft inaugurates $105 million state of the art Israel campus]The campus will be located in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv and occupy about ten acres.

The company made this announcement noting key investments in the Israeli market. The investments include the launch of a new Microsoft cloud datacenter region in Israel in 2021. Microsoft says these investments reinforce its continuous commitment to the Israeli market.

The new Microsoft Israel campus is a modern workplace with a futuristic outlook. The buildings from renditions are eco friendly and has an open garden on every floor. Check out images below.

Images of New Microsoft Israel Campus

Microsoft campus Tel aviv
Microsoft campus Tel aviv
Microsoft Tel aviv

Microsoft Israel General Manager, Ronit Atad had this to say about the investment in the country.

Microsoft has made a strategic decision to invest in the Israeli market. This investment marks an extremely important milestone in the company’s engagement with the startup nation, as we recently marked the 30th anniversary of our presence in the country.
Public sector entities, enterprise companies and developers will have access to scalable, highly available, and resilient cloud services to accelerate their digital transformation journeys.
This will help them better engage customers, empower employees, optimize operations, and transform products and services from the new cloud region in Israel.
Microsoft Israel is partnering with those organizations to ensure their success on their digital transformation journey.

In 1989 Microsoft opened its first branch in Israel. Thirty years on it operates a business branch, Research and development center, Venture Capital Fund and Microsoft Reactor.

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2020 Microsoft Events: Middle East and Africa Calendar

2020 Microsoft Events: Middle East and Africa Calendar

Microsoft events in the Middle East and Africa

Happy new year guys! Let’s start off the year by telling you about events to look forward to in 2020. We are putting together conferences and trade shows Microsoft will host or participate in across the Middle East and Africa. The 2020 Microsoft events in the Middle East and Africa target students, developers, IT pros, partners and customers.

We are sharing details of events we have confirmed. However don’t hesitate to share with us events we haven’t included; info@microsoftcaregh.com so we can add them. We will also have a separate post that will focus mainly on the various Microsoft meetup communities and their events across the MEA region.

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DATEEVENTLOCATION
January 11, 2020 Power Platform Ghana 2020 Accra, Ghana
January
30-31, 2020
Microsoft Ignite The TourJohannesburg,
South Africa
February 3,
2020
CyberGirlz annual Conference Microsoft Reactor –
Tel Aviv, Israel
February
4-6, 2020
Africa Tech Summit Kigali, Rwanda
February
10-11, 2020
Microsoft Ignite The Tour Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
February 29-2
March, 2020
Dynamics 365 Dubai Summit 2020 Dubai,
United Arab Emirates
March 9, 2020 IoT in Action Dubai, UAE
March 18-19, 2020Women in Tech AfricaCape Town, South Africa
March 19, 2020 Microsoft Envision Forum Lagos, Nigeria
March 31 and
April 2, 2020
DevConf Cape Town and Johannesburg,
South Africa
April
22-23, 2020
Microsoft Ignite The Tour Tel Aviv, Israel
May 7, 2020 SQL Saturday Israel Petah Tikva, Israel
May 19-21, 2020 MICROSOFT BUILD Seattle, Washington
July 18,
April 10-11, 2020
Power Platform Africa – 365 Saturday Lagos Lagos, Nigeria
July 20-24, 2020Microsoft Inspire Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
August 15, 2020 Power Platform South Africa 2020 Johannesburg, South Africa
September 27 – 1 October, 2020 GITEX GLOBAL Dubai, UAE

Learn about how you can win a Microsoft sponsored trip to DevConf 2019 in South Africa.

This Microsoft events in the Middle East and Africa list will be updated from time to time. As new events come up. Bookmark this page and check it often. Share your thoughts with us.

2019: Microsoft in Africa and the Middle East, year in pictures

2019: Microsoft in Africa and the Middle East, year in pictures

Microsoft Africa pictures  LEAP apprenticeship program

We look back at 2019 and acknowledge the year had some amazing surprises and announcements from Microsoft. Especially in the Africa and Middle East region where we focus. Let’s take you through some of these exciting moments through pictures.

Microsoft Africa pictures,  Microsoft virtual academy
Microsoft Virtual Academy homepage

Microsoft announced “we are consolidating our learning resources and retiring Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA).” The company however has a more modern and update learning page available to learn new skills and technologies.

startups

Microsoft lights up the Gulf startup scene, supporting over 4000 startups across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Yousef Khalid, CVP Azure Networking speaking about the Microsoft Africa datacenters

First Microsoft datacenters in Africa go live in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. With new services coming to the region.

Equity Equivalent Investment Programme

Microsoft announces evolved multi-million dollar Equity Equivalent Investment Programme for the South African economy.

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Black community at Microsoft celebrate 30th Anniversary.

Team Athena-IO from Tunisia, came in second place at the Europe Middle East and Africa Imagine Cup regional final championship qualifying round.

Microsoft opens second Policy Innovation Centre in partnership with the University of Pretoria and the South Africa Department of Science and Technology. 

Lagos
NB: not a corresponding picture to details below

This year Microsoft opened its Global Tuition Scholarship to students in Nigeria.

Verah Okeyo

Kenyan environment and health reporter, Verah Okeyo, wins Microsoft Modern Journalism and ICFJ Alumni reporting grant program award.

The shock announcement of the year! Microsoft opening a development center in Africa. The cognition or mixed reality team to be located in Lagos, Nigeria and the Windows team in Nairobi, Kenya.
Microsoft plans to invest a combined expected investment of US $100 million over the first five years of operation. The company will also recruit 500 software engineers across the two sites by the year 2023.

Upepo Technology

Upepo Technology, Kenya recieves Microsoft AI for Earth grant in the area of water innovation.

Nat Friedman, GitHub CEO and Microsoft Corporate Vice President, was in top GitHub contribution country Nigeria to interact with developers.

Africa and Middle East Partner of the year award winners and finalists announced ahead of annual partner conference, Microsoft Inspire 2019.

Microsoft United Arab Emirates

Microsoft announces two new cloud regions in the United Arab Emirates. The datacenters will be located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Women Innovators

Women innovators in Kenya, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates to benefit from global expansion of Women in Cloud and IdeaGen Microsoft Cloud Accelerator Program.