Microsoft and Technation launch program to help prepare students for the world of digital work

Technation and Microsoft recently launched a career-friendly internship program called Explore. We recruited first and second year college students from across Canada to participate in an experiential learning program integrated with 10 weeks of paid work at Microsoft’s Canadian headquarters in Toronto.

50 Canadian students had the opportunity to gain technical skills along with leading cloud and AI certifications through Azure Fundamentals training and AI Business School. Students were able to enhance their professional skills through mentorship opportunities from Microsoft leadership and demonstrate their skills by collaborating with colleagues on real business challenges.

Sumeet Khanna, Vice President of Business, said: Transformation and strategic initiatives at Microsoft Canada.

Khanna said Technation helped Microsoft source the right candidates for the program and helped with the course content.

“Technation is a great partner. You also have access to different relationships with different universities. They have some great courses specifically aimed at students, such as an introduction to business writing and project management. He added that he not only provided the source for the

The program consisted of students pursuing technology or business related degrees. Those selected for the program had to first go through an interview process with Microsoft.

The Explore program was divided into three phases:

Academic accreditation and interactive discussion: Where students earned certifications in Azure Fundamentals, AI Business School, Sustainability, Accessibility.

put learning into action: Students took their newly acquired skills and put them into practice by participating in a unique ‘Dragon’s Den’ style competition. I had the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues, apply what I learned to real business challenges, and present tools/solutions to Microsoft’s leadership team.

In the third stage, build professional skills.

“I think this program has done an amazing job to help them. [students] It prepares you for the world of work and provides you with the critical technical skills for the job. We talked about their professional skills and really got used to the work environment…these are experiences that will help them get their next internship and ultimately their post-graduation job,” says Khanna. said.

Ayaan Memon, a third-year Business Technology Management student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), says the program has really helped her broaden her soft skills such as networking and collaboration.

“Difficult skills are self-taught. You can learn them in college, you can learn them anywhere, but the soft skills I learned from such a huge organization are indescribable. It was insane,” Memon said. .

Memon saw an opportunity while looking for co-op placements.

During the 10-week program, he had the opportunity to speak with full-time employees. They helped guide the students and also answered the students’ questions.

The Explore program was also able to provide referrals to aid student networking.

“Networking is a very nebulous thing. Everyone says you need a network, but honestly I didn’t understand what that meant. I really learned [during the program] Meaning of networking. For example, how do you reach out to people on your senior leadership team? How can we nurture that relationship? How can I keep the relationship going? That’s what I learned. And I think I’ll take it forward,” Memon added.

Saadia Shahid, a second-year computer science student at TMU, said the program has given her a better understanding of technical skills such as cloud computing.

“I didn’t know much about Azure or the cloud. But I couldn’t, so cloud computing and all these different services offered as part of a cloud service, and infrastructure as a service, different types of clouds like SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc. There will definitely be more understanding of how services exist,” said Shahid.

Shahid added that the program has helped him prepare for the future by gaining a better understanding of the industry.

“I am studying computer science and want to be a software engineer or software developer. I think it will definitely help because I have a lot,” she said.

Memon echoed this, adding that the Explore program allowed him to take a hands-on approach to technology and work in the tech sector.

“These are things that will really help me in the future. Again, networking and having long-term connections will really help me in the future.”