Students

The Zombies Strike Again!!! Take part in We Live to Code 2013, that has returned stronger and better with our partner, Samsung! What’s best is that anyone can sign up, whether you are a student, developer or a startup! So, develop a great app and be part of the app revolution! All developers can register individually or as a team, preferably in teams of three or less. If you’re a lone ranger, fret not. On the first day of the hackathon, you can mingle with other participants and identify peeps you want together for the next month. Interested to be part of this awesome experience, yet you feel that lack the skills. Join us for pre-hackathon training on the evenings of 20th and 27th March. These trainings sessions are helmed by in-house Microsoft technical experts and target to equip participants with the relevant training to develop their apps. But, there’s a slight twist. We live to code returns with double pitching session, the first pitch will be held on the last day of the Hackathon (7th April 2013) and the second pitch will be on 5th May 2013. The former will constitute 30% of the team’s score and the latter will constitute 70%. In the one month period, you can then test and refine your apps from good to great. To be part of the this awesome experience, applicants can sign up via http://welivetocode.eventbrite.com/. Successful applicants will then be contacted via email for their personal particulars and their app ideas.

App Reviews are essential to every developer to see how their app is faring in the Store. It tells developers what issues users face when using the app, suggestions on what to implement next, and even compliments on what they’re doing right. If you have created an app for Windows 8, you would have noticed that the current Windows 8 Developer Dashboard doesn’t report ratings in a very efficient manner, grouping it by country and requiring developers to scroll through an entire list to see the ratings for each country. They’ve noted that they are considering consolidating all the reviews so that you can see every country at once, but in the meantime here’s how to see all your app’s ratings. There’s a site called Windows 8 Review that has a service which scans through the Windows 8 Store and reports on app popularity and ratings. The ratings are pulled from every country and not just one, letting you see what users think about your app in a neat list. The site even includes an RSS Feed for your app reviews, so you can check on them easily if you’re using a feed reader such as Feedburner. ...

Congratulations to the team who made it into Round 2! Your epic journey starts now! Team Name School GMINI Republic Polytechnic DICE - Dissemination of Information through Community Engagement Nanyang Polytechnic HalvedSense Temasek Polytechnic HeartGuru Nanyang Technological University i-eyescan Temasek Polytechnic Education Delivery, Entrée Singapore Polytechnic Perceptive Emotive Cognitive Therapy System Nanyang Polytechnic Application for Phonological and Phonemic Awareness (APPA) Temasek Polytechnic Ground TechBreaker(Liveliness), location based Singapore University of Technology & Design ...

The Northern Europe Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) Summit 2012 was a 3-day event held in Microsoft Ireland. It was simply amazing. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Our welcome posters!”][/caption] This submit has given us MSPs an opportunity to meet students from all over Northern Europe. Through my stay, I have met people from Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and of course other parts of UK. I suppose I was the unique one, coming from an Asian background, studying in both US and UK, and people remember me as the Singapore guy, even though I represented University College London (UCL) and UK in this summit. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Phil Cross giving an introduction about himself”][/caption] We started off the session with a country sharing session, and I felt like I was taking a trip around the Northern Europe then. At first, it was difficult to understand one another as everyone had different level of English proficiency. However, we slowly got used to it, and learnt to speak slower to accommodate one another. Then, we started to learn about everyone’s languages and facts about their country. For instance, the Belgium people spoke 3 languages - Dutch, French and German, as they are ‘forced’ to learn them all in school. The country is also extremely complicated in many aspects, which was actually pretty hilarious if you find out more via this video. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“458” caption=“Local food for tasting!”][/caption] Also, it was funny how the Northern Lights are such a common thing for those living in Norway, Finland and Iceland, and it was also quite funny how they tried to rival and claim the aurora borealis belonging to their countries. It’s also interesting to hear that in summer, the sun never sets in some parts of these countries, while in winter, the sun practically does not come out throughout the day. In fact, the sun is so precious, that people are given offs to enjoy it while it lasts. Many of our friends also brought lots of their local delights for us to try (for some reason, alcohol seemed to present in almost everything). Simply an eye-opener. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Learning the Estonian language”][/caption] The highlight was when a lucky 45 of us were chosen to visit the Microsoft Data Center. Well, let’s just say it BLEW our minds away. And since we signed a non-disclosure agreement (and no photos allowed), I shall not talk about it here. But it was quite incredible to know that whatever we saw in that facility supported Microsoft’s cloud and online services for the whole of Europe - and even Singapore! Just imagine the finesse, on top of the amount of power and hard disk space needed to keep everything running, and to protect the data from being stolen. Previously, I was touring people around the mini server rooms in Microsoft Singapore; and that was nothing compared to the one I saw here. In case you’re feeling jelly, maybe this might help you get over it :) [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“A team working hard on the team project”][/caption] After a long day of workshops, coding and working on our game project, Microsoft treated us to the Guinness Storehouse, where we had unlimited flow of alcohol and food at the Infinity bar. This was the 2nd time I visited the Storehouse (yes I visited it on my own just 2 nights before), but the experience was different with the MSPs this time. I also had the chance to make my own Guinness again, but this time round I made one with the Shamrock logo on it! Free alcohol must drink - and being an Asian who can’t take too much, I ended up KO-ed right at the bar, leaving me unable to code for the night, while the rest of the group continued coding back at Microsoft with even more beer (in cartons mind you), in preparation for the final presentation the next morning. Crazy stuff; how can anyone take so much alcohol! [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“UK MSPs at the Guinness Infinity Bar”][/caption] We also had the opportunity to tour around the office, to see how live development of Windows 8, Xbox and Azure took place in the site. Many fresh hires also shared with us their experiences on how to get hired by the awesome company, and Michelle Fleming, the overall coordinator of the MSP programme also took the opportunity to interact with the MSP on the ground, and to hear what we really want from the programme. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Our Microsoft nametags!”][/caption] This event was a huge blast, and everyone certainly took away with them a fair bit about coding on Windows 8 and the Microsoft technology, and most importantly the camaraderie forged. I’m really thankful for Microsoft for providing such a wonderful opportunity, sponsoring all our expenses, for all the great hospitality, the great food and the planning of this event! :)

We had a very special HackWeekend on National Day which saw several quality apps and the first meet up of the year for the Microsoft Student Partners team. It was definitely an amazing experience to have a chat with the mixture of developers and students with a flow of brilliant ideas, with everyone mingling with each other. The day started off with the Microsoft Student Partner Kick-off for FY13, where we were introduced to the responsibilities and perks of a MSP by Yizhe, our Academic Developer Evangelist. After the briefing, we had a short prize presentation to our Champ Programme Graduates who all received Xbox 360 consoles. We then had an amazing buffet lunch and time to talk with each other in preparation for Dream . Build . Launch. Terence also brought us all on a tour of the Microsoft Technology Center. [caption id=“attachment_10749” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Playing with the Microsoft Surface”][/caption] The demonstrated apps this HackWeekend were much more polished than the first and second. It’s definitely encouraging to see the hard work developers are putting into their apps, working towards the launch of Windows 8 this October. [caption id=“attachment_10753” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Video Draw - an app that helps you to annotate directly on e-learning resources such as videos.”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10741” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Best Health Care”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10743” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“eZ-MRT helps you to decide the quicker route to take on the MRT”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10742” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Drop Zone is a casual game by Tianyang from Tyler Projects!”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10752” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Photo Narrate helps you organized your photos and tell a clear story!”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10754” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Xin Videos lets you catch up on TV from XinMSN”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10751” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“My Little Pony Portal for all MLP fans out there!”][/caption] Once that was over, we had a Live Telecast of the National Day Parade where everyone gathered around the screens that were set up while we ate dinner. As the day drew to a close, we had a brilliant view of the National Day fireworks from our window. Our Hackweekends are coming to a close - but you can still work on your Windows 8 applications. Look out for our upcoming events!

Technology permeates our everyday lives. [caption id=“attachment_10157” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“A Day in the Life of Developer Evangelist”][/caption] And in a time where “software is eating the world” , we’ve become so used to the smartphones, tablets, computers and apps that most of us can’t imagine living without. All of which are enabled not just by a single company, but by developers all over the world. The phenomenon of collaborative development for the success of a technological platform has given rise to a new breed of technologists that are required in a tech company, otherwise known as “Developer Evangelism”. Developer Evangelism hasn’t been around for a long time. Whether it’s at a tech conference or even in our own homes, I’ve realized that our unconventional jobs require some explaination - so starting from this month, we’d like to start telling you a bit more about what we do at Microsoft. [caption id=“attachment_10162” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Meet Chun Siong, a Developer Evangelist here at Microsoft Singapore.”][/caption] Not a typical career path in the IT industry “When I started my academic journey in polytechnic focusing on IT, I always thought that I might end up becoming a programmer or in a system administrator type of job. The first time I was exposed to “evangelism marketing” was through the Microsoft Student Partners program. Getting involved with the program for the past 5 consecutive years made me realize that this is a very unique and exciting role that exists in the IT industry. It’s definitely not your typical desk bound IT job.” [caption id=“attachment_10167” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Checking into office”][/caption] The role of the Developer Evangelist The DE is the tech company’s representative to the developer community helping to win the hearts and minds regarding the company’s platform. It is a technical role with the mission of engaging the broad community of developers and driving excitement around developer related technologies. DEs in general must be able to talk about technology intelligently and enthusiastically to developers, developer managers and senior management. Passion, curiosity, technical depth, and exceptional communication & presentation skills are key qualities that will help them succeed in this career path! [caption id=“attachment_10168” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Coffee is an essential part of a DE’s life - we all need a jolt of energy in the morning to get things started!”][/caption] Being an all-rounder While coding is an important facet of the job, there are many other hats that you need to put on as a developer evangelist. Most days you are out and about as an advocate for the company - speaking and doing demos at some tech event or sales call, but it’s not unusual to find yourself organizing events, brainstorming for marketing campaigns, being a judge for tech contests such as Imagine Cup, troubleshooting for other developers and so on. A typical work week for Chun Siong involves “…meetings, both internal and external are a common item on the weekly calendar. We hold regular events for developers and attend lots of events as well. These networking and communication opportunities with developers and business owners make your calendar more interesting. You never know who you’re going to meet and what’s going to surprise you in an industry that’s moving so quickly. On a daily basis, I spend a couple of hours catching up on technology news and doing hands on learning on new technologies.” [caption id=“attachment_10187” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Prepping for presentations and meetings, coding and replying questions from the developer community are a big part of a DE’s life.”][/caption] Noon comes and it’s time for lunch. For the DPE team at Microsoft, lunch is a great time to celebrate birthdays, catch up on each others’ lives and just in general enjoy all the good food that Singapore has to offer. We usually end up at Lau Pa Sat, where they serve up local dishes that are not bad (try the Ayam Penyet, the You Tiao, Porridge and Yong Tau Foo) [caption id=“attachment_10189” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Lau Pa Sat - for hungry people working in Raffles Place”][/caption] 2pm. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush (and sometimes fear) you experience speaking in front of a large audience. Depending on your schedule and the day’s event, you almost always find yourself having to present at a conference or meeting, speaking to a variety of audiences - government officials, students, teachers, developers, CIOs, CEOs, startups and IT professionals. DE’s have to be well versed in a broad range of technologies - from mobile to cloud, hardware to software. It’s a never ending learning journey for us, especially since the industry moves quickly. [caption id=“attachment_10188” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Getting ready for a presentation - the key is practice!”][/caption] What it takes to be an exceptional Developer Evangelist An exceptional Developer Evangelist not only speaks well and is truly passionate about enabling people with technology, but takes time to understand developers’ needs and is committed to the community. “Passion for technology and a willingness to share your knowledge with others is a must. While developer evangelists differ in their personality, expertise and how they engage with people, the common trait would be a strong interest in technology. If you are always following the startup scene /technology announcements /software and hardware development news, you are one step closer to what is required of you as a developer evangelist.” [caption id=“attachment_10190” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Public speaking - another important skill to have as a DE”][/caption] Some nights are burnt with Hackathons. While tiring, it’s an amazing thing to be part of, especially when you have so many people gathered together with a single goal bring their ideas to reality through code. Rob Miles once said that developers are possibly the luckiest people in the world right now, because we are given the many tools and capabilities to showcase our creativity. We couldn’t agree more. It’s our job to help you achieve those goals. [caption id=“attachment_10220” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Somehow, you can never escape from troubleshooting for others and debugging”][/caption] [caption id=“attachment_10215” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“The beautiful view from our office - great to gaze out at when you’re coding”][/caption] What’s the first sign that you might be fit for a role as a developer evangelist? I think it’s to be a true geek at heart. “I started being interested in computers when I was 10. It was an exhilarating experience back then if you had a 486. This meant your PC could support cd-roms. Over the years I got curious about tweaking software and optimization for windows operating systems and occasionally testing out some Linux distros. At times I did some upgrading of computers like most folks do, playing around with PSU, RAM, CPU, HDD, Motherboard and more… In today’s context, I’m following really exciting development revolving around Mobile Devices, Cloud Computing, Search Engine Optimization, Solid State Disk and more… There are really amazing things and innovations coming out from student projects and the startup community as well.” [caption id=“attachment_10161” align=“alignnone” width=“610” caption=“Chun Siong is a Developer Evangelist in Microsoft Singapore - Geek at heart”][/caption] We thrive on collaboration. If you have an interesting idea or seek to explore creative ways of using our technologies, feel free to reach out to us and we will be glad to dive in the deep end with you. We thrive on your success, be it personal or professional. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone Development to Kinect Development, if you live and breathe codes, get to know Chun Siong. **POST UPDATE** We are searching for a Developer Evangelist who is specialized in HTML5, JavaScript, Ajax, jQuery, ASP.NET. If you think you have what it takes to become a Microsoft Developer Evangelist - Drop us an email at a-johua@microsoft.com with your resume, blog link (if you have) and a short description of your interests! Looking forward to hearing from you! Watch out for our next segment on what its like to be a Program Manager for Microsoft Bizspark!

Be part of the Windows 8 Hackathon in Singapore, a one-day event focused on hardcore hacking of your Windows 8 Metro Style apps! Join us for a low-key, informal day of coding. Don’t worry, plenty of coffee will be available. We will start off with introductions and then quickly go into hack-mode so that you can work on your app. At the end of the day, you can show off your app in its current state (no worries, we are all friends here!) and then find out how to get your app into the Windows Store. Please note that attendees of the Windows 8 Hackathon will be given priority for registration to the Windows 8 Application Excellence Lab. You will need to attend an Application Excellence Lab in order for your Windows 8 Metro Style app to be one of the first from Canada in the Windows Store! The theme for this Hackathon is I <3 SG. We want to have more apps for our sunny island in the Singapore Windows 8 App Store. :) We’ve lined up a number of great prizes for you, so don’t miss out! REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/LRvSjN Event details Start Date/Time: 16 June 2012 (Sat), 9am End Date/Time: 17 June 2012 (Sun), 11am Venue: Microsoft Singapore 1 Marina Boulevard, Level 21 Auditorium Singapore 018989 16 June (Sat) 9:00am - 9:30am Registration 9:30am - 9:45am Welcome and Introduction 9:45am onwards Commencement of Hacking 9:45am - 10:45am Metro Design Step-by-step (Optional) 10:45am - 12:15pm Javascript + HTML5 Workshop (Optional) C# Workshop (Optional) 12:15pm - 1:15pm Lunch 5:30pm-6:30pm Dinner 9:30pm – 11:00pm Supper 17 June (Sun) 9:00am – 10:00am Breakfast 11am Submission of Apps ...

A few weeks ago, I was very lucky to have been invited by the NUS School of Computing to provide feedback to students for their project in Module CS4202. This module is focused on Human Computer Interaction and the teams were assigned to use the Kinect system for their projects. All of the teams used the Kinect to some extent. Of course some utilized it better than others and it really shows through the projects. It was interesting to see how the teams approached the problems given to them and how they thought of incorporating the Kinect. It reminded me of a video released by Microsoft sometime back after it noticed how people are innovating on the Kinect. A cheap, yet powerful sensor that has infinite uses only limited by one’s imagination. [youtube]http://youtu.be/T_QLguHvACs[/youtube] Prof. Sheng from NUS gave me the link to their blog and it shows all the projects that was presented. You can check it out here A couple of projects that stood out for me were Human Kinect Exhibit [youtube]http://youtu.be/mDweANoZAZk[/youtube] The Human Kinect Exhibit focused on providing a fun learning environment for children to learn about the human anatomy. The game they created was fun and engaging and provided a learning environment for children to learn some information about bones. On first glance the project seems like a simple game but what really fascinated me was the reaction and interaction of the audience once they have set the application up at the Science Museum. The feedback and the reaction of the users was very valuable for the team as this proves that their game is enjoyable and educational. For me, nothing beats getting your product out and getting people to try it out. ChopChopMirror [youtube]http://youtu.be/1kllEzn9Wgk[/youtube] ChopChop Mirror is a great concept. They treated the Kinect as an interface for your digital assistant. I think this will be a common feature in our bathroom mirrors as we enable more screens with touch and intelligence. The concept itself is in it’s infancy but I can really see intelligent houses in the near future once interfaces and components become cheaper. I liked the project because of their forward thinking and how they designed the interface. Aside from that, it also reminds me of one video from Microsoft envisioning the future. Microsoft releases envisioning videos every year, giving us a glimpse of what the future has for us trough the eyes of the largest software company in the world. This year’s envisioning video has something similar to ChopChop Mirror in some shape or form. [youtube]http://youtu.be/a6cNdhOKwi0[/youtube] I’m really grateful to have been invited by Prof. Sheng to his class. I saw some great projects and realized how much potential a student has given the right technology. Looking forward to their future projects!

#MSCampfire was an amazing opportunity for us to gather developers, IT professionals, students and start-ups together. Over the course of 3 days we saw 600 attendees come together to discuss and share about the latest in web and mobile technology, had the brightest student minds pit their heads together in the Semis and Final of Imagine Cup SG to tackle some of the toughest real-world problems and saw the grit and passion from start-ups in Singapore from the Singapore Satellite of Echelon by our partner E27. All these wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Thank you so much for attending #MSCampfire and we hope to continually see you for the rest of our events. For those of you who missed #MSCampfire, fret not! Our next event happening on 10 May is HTML 5 on Metro. During this session, we’ll speak specifically about how HTML5 is changing the way applications are designed and how best to use it to create Metro-styled apps! Register now at bit.ly/html5onmetro Here are the slides from each session and the coverage on it. 10:30 – 11:30 Keynote – Rob Miles (Coverage by E27) 16:30-17:30 The Kinect Effect: Infinite Possibilities – Rob Miles Slides and (mostly working) code from the presentations - here C# Yellow Book, Windows Phone Blue book and other free stuff - here .NET Micro Framework embedded development - here Gadgeteer embedded development - here Three Thing Game student madness – here Windows Phone development - here Dreamspark, free software for students - here Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio – here Kinect For Windows SDK – here 11:30 – 12:30 Prototype, Prototype, Prototype – Shane Morris (Coverage by E27) ...

Windows 8 Developer Camp - HTML5 on Metro will be the biggest technical event Microsoft Singapore is organizing on Windows 8. HTML5 is here, and with it, web applications take on power, ease, scalability, and responsiveness like never before. HTML5 on Metro lets developers learn how to use the latest cutting-edge HTML5 web technology to build Windows 8 applications with unparalleled functionality, speed, and responsiveness. Featuring Giorgio Sardo, Senior Technical Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation Giorgio is a popular speaker worldwide and in the last 5 years he has presented at many conferences about HTML5, the Web and Mobile Platform. He is the mind behind many beautiful HTML5 applications and games at beautyoftheweb.com and Cut the Rope for IE. AGENDA 10 AM Behind the Scenes of Cut The Rope 11 AM Getting started with Window 8 Metro Apps 12 PM Lunch 1 PM Metro for HTML/JS Developers 2 PM Responsive App Design 3 PM Break 4 PM Client + Cloud integration with Azure ...