Trip to Microsoft

Years 10 and 11 visited Microsoft office in Oxford Circus on Thursday 24 November.

The day began with us visiting the Microsoft Experience Centre, this is tech heaven with a plethora of interactive and product experience zones across three floors. The first floor was a gaming floor with the chance to experience favourite devices, such as, Xbox, SurfacePC gaming and HoloLens mixed-reality. The second floor was a tech support area for Windows and Office products. The third and final floor was a Microsoft business meeting room, where we were able to comprehend the life of Microsoft workers and their interactions with clients. The Microsoft Experience Centre enabled us to immerse ourselves into the world of technology and learn about the diversity and inclusiveness in Microsoft products, therefore making them well-suited to all of their consumers.

 

We then went to the Microsoft office in Swallow Place, where we were split up into teams and within these teams we had to work together to answer potential interview questions which could be asked in the future when we apply for jobs. This mini exercise taught us that teamwork is often the most crucial part of what makes a business successful. We learnt that it is often necessary for colleagues to work together in order to accomplish the final goal quicker.

Later on during the day, in teams of 6 we completed a Dragons Den design and pitch exercise. The task was to present a presentation on how we can terraform Mars by tackling issues of food, shelter, atmosphere and sustainability. The Year 11 team won with their business pitch “Somewhere in the Milky Way”; as part of their success in winning their prize was to try out Microsoft’s mixed reality technology: HoloLens. This headset blurred the lines between reality and fantasy allowing us to experience 3D holographic images as though they are part of the living world. HoloLens is the future since it could be used in: design, data analysis, medical imaging, standard computing and gaming.

 

The day finished off with a career panel which consisted of different members in Microsoft who specialised in different fields within the Microsoft organisation. From their talks we learnt about each of their individual experiences and their journey to working for Microsoft. As a collective the career panels’ words were inspiring, they taught us that you should never limit yourself to one fixed path because throughout life your path is susceptible to change because your career path is like a garden which blossoms with a myriad of opportunities.

“Empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more” – Microsoft.