Note that I have not been paid to promote the organization, nor will I gain anything 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
- A strong skillset with Microsoft-related technologies
- Public contributions to the community
- A strong and valid referral
#### Benefits
- MSDN subscription
- Microsoft Azure cloud credit ($150/month for 1 year)
- Rewards and recognition for top performers
- Networking opportunities
- Technical training and resources
- Internship and recruitment announcements for top performers
My experience
I was accepted as an MSP for the year 2017-2018.
At Microsoft LK, we had representatives from the University of Colombo School of Computing (3), the University of Kelaniya (3 - first generation), the Informatics Institute of Technology (2), Esoft Metro Campus (1 - first generation), and SLIIT Faculty of Computing (1).
Inauguration of the MSP team 2017-2018
We took up the task of promoting the Microsoft Imagine Cup at the inauguration meetup. During the first meetup, I explained to the undergraduates how to get involved with the Imagine Cup, alongside the rest of my team.
MS Champs Meetup
After a few weeks as an MSP, I organized meetups at universities and conducted them with a few members of the MSP team. Here are a few universities I spoke at, thanks to the Sustainable Education Foundation:
- Imagine Cup session 1 - Informatics Institute of Technology
- 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
Also, with the network, help, and support of the Sustainable Education Foundation (SEF), a non-profit organization with a vision to develop Sri Lanka by making the education system the most effective and dynamic in the world, I conducted a few OneLIVEs with previous Microsoft Imagine Cup national finalists and Microsoft Valuable Professionals.
I also had the opportunity to test the initial versions of Q#, a programming language used for expressing quantum algorithms.
Summary
The Microsoft Student Partner Program is a good initiative for students who are interested 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 about inspiring the next generation to achieve more with the amazing tools provided by Microsoft. It is a good program that develops the moral responsibility to give back to society while also developing one’s skillset.