Dr Andrew SithersAcademic Team, Microsoft Ltd.

Microsoft Ltd. UK Subsidiary is comparable to many SMEs Staff of approx 1,800 in UK

Predominantly sales and marketing, some technical.Technical opportunities in Consulting, Support, or

Specalist areas. Some developer teams.Large Microsoft Partner network extends footprint

General technical hiring profile 5 – 10 years experience

Graduate Programme with three channels Internship program hires approx 70 /year

Change is in the DNA

Change is in the DNA Vast and rapidly changing product line Cutting Edge doesn’t stay sharp for very

long

Personal Experience:Year Technology “rhythms”2005 Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, Vista,

Avalon, Indigo, WinOE, .NET FX 2.0, .NET CF 2.0, Rotor 2.0

2006 Vista, WPF / WCF / WF, XNA, Robotics Studio, Linq, C# 3.0, Cider, Fidaligo, WPF/E

2007 Visual Studio ‘Orcas’, C# 3.5, VB 9.0

Impact on Technical Graduate Training

Example Project London Underground

16,000 employees; 971 Million passenger journeys / year

60+ LOB applications Heavy investment in SOA / Web Services Microsoft to provide POC for graphical

integration and management

London Underground POC Team of 6 Development time – 3 Weeks Partners provide domain and technical

expertise MS provide broad knowledge and introduce

new technologies – SOA / Web Services, WPF

Conclusion - Observations on Skill Requirements Broad, knowledge management skills essential

Small agile teams are typical of those seen in partner organisations who tell us two things:

Frequently look to graduates to provide existing teams with cutting-edge skills

Alternatively, partners use contract staff for deep technical skills.

Difficult for graduates to enter this market, but industry-relevant skills are an advantage.

Questions for group Internships – what is the demand map in

the UK? Role of MS in connecting graduates to

jobs?