Archis's Blog

After intensive rounds and a 14-hour process of evaluations, the results are out (and they are currently visible on CNBC). The lucky guy is Abishek K, and he deserves it fully. Considering that there were other bigshots like Lenin Ravindranath, the contest was truly a “contest” in the fullest sense of the term.

There was absolutely no way to predict who would win. It was not one of those contests where the contest is just a formality and everyone knows that one of the contestants is really strong and will definately win. It was definately a tough decision from amongst other people like Lenin, Harsha, and Udayan – all three of whom were extremely formidable contestants.

However, as I explained earlier, the winner of this contest is not purely a geek, but also someone who can act as a Technical Assistant to Bill Gates himself and must be someone with the right personality, right attitude, right motivation and the rigth abilities. All these factors taken into consideration, the judges must surely have had a tough time deciding the winner. The decision, however, is perfect. AbiK fits the profile perfectly. No doubts there.

I know this has been said and heard before, but still, I wonder how irritating advice people can give you just when you need to focus.

I mean it’s the code4bill contest. We know what the stakes are. We know what it takes to win. And we know what the panel is looking for. And yet, there’s lots of mails I’m getting daily from friends, family and even unrelated people explaining the stakes to me as if in the entire internship I never cared to inquire what I was here for. And then there’s people telling me what judges will be looking for, what I should be preparing and so on.

Let me put your minds at ease. We have expert mentors going over our presentation material and advising us for improvements. We have been having weekly review sessions for the last six weeks. So by now we know what we’re supposed to do.

The problem is in actually doing it. If I perform to fail, it will not be because I did not know what to do, but simply because I wasn’t good enough. I think it’s high time I began standing up and being accountable for my actions. From here on, if I don’t make it, it’s entirely my personal responsibility.

All the other code4bill interns out here are laughing at me, for suggesting this, but soon they will be sorry.

I have a theory that all animals are really a lot smarter than human beings. I feel that they’re just playing dumb so we do all the work and they get to eat and live in peace. However, there will soon come a day when monkeys will try to take over the world. This is why my BCI research is so important.

I shall be like the Jor-El of Earth. I shall discover their hidden thoughts and shall warn everyone. Just like all the code4bill people here, you won’t believe me! But wait! The day of reconing is coming, and that shall be the day when you will beg me to find a way to defeat those monkeys. And that will be my day of redemption – when my BCI research will help me identify a fatal flaw in their neurosystem which shall give us the upper edge in the final battle!

In case you’re wondering, this entry is very different from the one on my experiences at Microsoft. This entry is about the code4bill competition and why it matters to me personally. Not being from an IIT or some great institution where Microsoft is just a common company, and being told all my life that I’m no good and that I’m dumb and incompetent, this was a big break for me. I appreciate this venture by Microsoft very much. It means a lot to us small-timers and I hope they hold it again next year. In case you would like to express any opinions about the contest, please to visit the forums and also cast your votes. It’s a big deal! Visit http://www.code4bill.com/ NOW!

This year, Microsoft held the code4bill competition, a contest aimed at selecting a student from India who will get to work with the team of Technical Assistants to Bill Gates for one year.

Through this contest, top 20 candidates were shortlisted from all over India, who are currently completing their internships at Microsoft IDC, Hyderabad and Microsoft Research, Banglore. From amongst these candidates, the final winner will be selected through a series of gruelling reviews, interviews and amongst other things, an audience vote which accounts for 10% of our final score.

Moreover, the idea of the contest was to have these 20 people interact with all the students across the country and especially to attract and find talent spread in the remote corners where Microsoft, or any other industry for that matter, does not currently have a presence (specifically like the college I come from myself). The votes are a way of encouraging us to answer more and more of your questions on the forums, based on the responses of which, your votes will be cast.

The code4bill forums will also have many academic evangelists, technical teams and other Microsoft employees responding to all those questions you’ve been dying to ask but never asked, or did not know whom to ask. Questions regarding open source, licences, software, policies, emplyment criteria, what MS looks for in students, why our colleges aren’t paid a visit, and so on….. All questions are welcome and highly encouraged. This is one place where they _have_ to answer your questions and it is imperative that you ask them now. I also expect the FOSS people to raise all their issues here and now. This is the one place to discuss and debate and argue about the finer points of open source and philosophical stuff. It is also the right place to ask about registration, preparation and other things regarding code4bill.

An important thing for all the college people from Pune is that MS, and many other companies for that matter, don’t really take us seriously right now. The forums and voting are one place to get ourselves noticed. The voting and forum discussions will not only improve the chances of one of us winning, but it will also help ascertain whether code4bill will be held next year or not, and for MS to find out which colleges are actively interested in being noticed by Microsoft, and who are the students trying hard to get in but don’t currently have any channel.

It is also important to remember that code4bill caught momentum this year after the interview rounds when people realised that not only are the top 20 getting opportunities but around 100 students were offered internships at MS. So c4b is one chance of getting entry into MS if you’re not on their hitlist of colleges. For those interested in exploring this opportunity, expressing your opinions on the forums is the one way you can ensure that you’re opinion is counted.

This is one place where placement politics, campus problems, company prejudices and peer pressure is ineffective. This applies especially to all our MCS and TY people. There are no 60% cutoffs, there is no importance to degree names, there is no importance given to academic records and brute mugged-up-exam marks. This is one shot of escaping it all. I can assure you that the very fact that I’m sending this mail from right within the heart of Microsoft is evidence that absolutely anyone has a shot at this.

I request you to take some time off and visit http://www.code4bill.com/ and visit the forums and also dont remember to CAST YOUR VOTE! And please do not forget to participate next year. I promise that it is fun, exciting and very rewarding. Meeting the top 20 and working with them is worth a lot.

ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS!

The code4bill competition will now have a round of public voting on the website. Students from all over India will be visiting the website, interacting with us and voting for us based on their evaluation of all of us.

I am requesting all of you to vote for me. Please visit the website http://www.code4bill.com/ and cast your vote. You are free to interact with me or mail me in case you have any queries for/about me.

I am expecting everyone from Pune and especially from Fergusson to lend me their votes. Come on people, please take your time off and visit the website and vote for me. The voting begins probably on the 11th of July. This could be a major determinant of my chances of proceeding to the next round amongst the final five.

Microsoft hasn’t paid me yet (they’ll pay around 10th July), and I’ve gone bankrupt. So no more treats, roaming around Hyd (which I never did anyway), or movies till then!