WPC Roundup

Thinking back on the last few days, the first word that comes to my mind is WOW. I was privileged to be invited again this year to attend Microsoft's Worldwide Partners Conference as an ambassador for Microsoft's Students2Business and Imagine Cup programs. The WPC has a global scope, and it has been extremely fun connecting with people from all over the world. The conference theme this year was "Winning Together". This theme was chosen to show how Microsoft and their partners positively impact the world. 


Throughout the conference, I attended several breakout sessions. Among those sessions was one about preparing your company for the 2020 workplace. By 2020, Millennials will make up more than 50% of the workforce. The speaker focused on how Millennials have a different mindset than previous generations due to the proliferation of technology and the internet. She highlighted that we are more social, gamified, collaborative, and global and went into great detail on each of these points. This session and another about the future of Microsoft Tag were my favorite.


Then there were the keynotes. Each day began at the Staples Center where we heard from top Microsoft executives about various topics, such as the companies vision for the next year, upcoming technology releases, and partner company stories. Sir Richard Branson was also a featured guest speaker. He gave some exceptional advice about business and life.


The Students2Business team that I was involved with was truly amazing. Eight students or recent graduates from six different countries around the world were on-site throughout the WPC networking with partners and learning about new technologies. Could not have asked for a better group. I will really miss each and every one of them when they return to their home countries.

Microsoft WPC 2011: Prep

As a two-time Imagine Cup US Finalist, technologist, entrepreneur, and Microsoft enthusiast; I was invited by Microsoft to attend the Worldwide Partners Conference (WPC) in Washington D.C. last year. I was just one of three selected from the USA and joined a group of 15 other students from 13 different countries as part of the Microsoft Students2Business (S2B) group. [see: video montage of our group at last year's conference]

WPC10 was such an amazing experience, that I sought a way to merit an invite for WPC11. After exchanging several emails with last year's S2B group supervisor, I was asked if I would like to fill the role of group leader this year. I was thrilled to accept this position and have been working for the past couple of weeks to help get everything in order for our group. Some of the things I've been working on include: registering all of the members of our team, helping to facilitate acquisition of Business Travel Visas for members who need them, and attending conference calls to brainstorm how the S2B group can have the strongest impact while at the conference.

I have not yet mentioned where WPC will be this year. The conference will be held in one of my favorite US cities: Los Angeles, CA! The bulk of our time will be spent downtown at the Los Angeles Convention Center, however, we will begin each conference day attending a keynote next door at the Staples Center.

There are still a few things to wrap up in term of preparations. I will be co-hosting a conference call on Thursday to give details and instructions to our group. I am extremely excited for this conference and look forward to meeting all of the new members of the Students2Business team!

Check out digitalwpc.com for more information on this conference. There is a cool intro video here.