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.
