Adding New Talent — and Helping Your Community
Oct 26, 2009
A Discussion with Microsoft’s Kimberly Voltero, Head of “Students to Business”
College students around the world have just started fall term classes—but many are already looking beyond the classroom for an internship opportunity or their first job.
Meanwhile, numerous technology companies including Microsoft partners are seeking ways to engage with students, find new talent, and bring a fresh perspective to their companies.
Wouldn’t it make sense to bring these two groups together? That’s exactly what Microsoft Students to Business (S2B) does.
“Microsoft was hearing from both sides,” explained Kimberly Voltero, the worldwide program manager for S2B, speaking from her office in Paris. “Academic institutions wanted our help giving their students access to real-world experience through internships. And partners were asking us if we could recommend new talent with experience in Microsoft technologies. As a result, in 2006, Microsoft launched Students to Business.”
Match-Making Around the World
The program began as a test in Italy. A few hundred technical students seeking internships and jobs provided information about their skills, certifications, and experience. In turn, companies posted opportunities and reviewed student profiles.
And matches were made that gave students valuable experience and brought skilled young workers into businesses.
What happened next, we asked Voltero. “There was tremendous interest from partners, both in emerging and developed markets. In the first year, we ran a pilot in 11 countries, and we expanded to 30 countries the next year. We’re in our fourth year now, connecting students and businesses in 70 nations.”
We wondered if S2B offered students there first experience with Microsoft enterprise technologies. “Several Microsoft programs such as the MSDN Academic Alliance and Microsoft IT Academy bring Microsoft technologies into labs and classrooms,” said Voltero. “Students have often already developed skills in various areas, including .NET, SharePoint, and SQL.”
An Opportunity for Networking and Community Involvement
Voltero and her team recognize that many businesses have scaled back hiring because of the economy, but she says that shouldn’t prevent Microsoft partners and Voices for Innovation members from becoming engaged with the program.
“It’s important and valuable for local technology business leaders to reach out to future IT professionals and academic institutions,” said Voltero. “And many students are eager for workplace examples and experiences even through unpaid projects and short-term internships.”
In addition to participating in S2B, many partners mentor teams participating in Imagine Cup, a Microsoft-sponsored student innovation competition. Some partners also lecture at college classes, attend career fairs, or participate in other student technology club activities.
The Business and Policy Value of Student Engagement
Microsoft aims for its educational programs to provide both immediate and long-term benefits—to students and local economies, fostering employability and innovation on the Microsoft platform.
“We believe that our educational programs help partners in a number of ways,” explained Voltero. “Students receive hands-on training and low-cost certification vouchers while still in school, reducing the initial onboarding investments partners need to make in training. By offering special programs to train students in the technologies requested by our partners, we are able to help bridge gaps that too often exist as students move from academia to the workplace. At the same time, the program helps students who are enthusiastic about Microsoft technologies to find local opportunities in our partner ecosystem. Young people also help bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the workplace.”
Because VFI promotes policies that drive innovation and economic development, we asked what VFI members can do in the policy arena to support programs such as S2B. “In some countries, we partner with government agencies, and this support is very valuable. It’s important that government supports educational programs that bring students and IT together.”
Voltero makes another interesting observation about engagement. “Often academic institutions favor competitor technology or business models. It’s important for partners to show alternatives and demonstrate the value of Microsoft and intellectual property-based products in the marketplace.”
In other words, technology professionals can play an advocacy role just by engaging in education, training, and student mentoring.
Resources and Next Steps
To learn more about Microsoft Students to Business and related programs, visit: If you have a follow-up question about Microsoft Students to Business, please email us at info@voicesforinnovation.org. |
