FIRST Robotic students Laura Stiers and Sheila Murthy
This year, for the first time ever, we invited some non-Avanaders to participate in our annual event called Avanade TechSummit. Each year we bring together our experts across the company to discuss new technology trends, innovations, and to showcase our best work with customers.
Last week, we opened the doors to two recent high school graduates who are members of FIRST Robotics, a national organization whose mission is to inspire young people with an interest in science and math. We thought FIRST Robotics would be a perfect match for us.
The two students, Sheila Murthy and Laura Stiers, joined us for Day One of the Avanade TechSummit and had a fun-filled day attending sessions, touring the Microsoft campus and meeting with Avanade executives. Read about their day with Avanade below in their own words:
Smart Cities and the Internet of Things
Laura: We attended a session called “Smart Cities and the Internet of Things.” The session discussed integrating technologies within cities so that they functioned together as a cohesive unit and could be easily accessed to allow for greater information availability and to increase the efficiency of data collection. It was fascinating hearing the speakers talk about implementing technology into everyday practices. One example that they talked about was using the Kinect technology to allow patients to have sessions with their doctors in the comfort of their own home, rather than having to visit the doctor’s office.
Touring Microsoft Envision
Sheila: After the Smart Cities session, we took Microsoft’s Envision tour, an hour-long tour that introduced us to the upcoming innovations that Microsoft is developing for both the workplace and home. We were led through a house of the future and saw how different technologies could be incorporated into our daily routines. For sake of confidentiality, I cannot describe the devices I saw in detail, but I loved that a majority of the innovation had touch and speech-recognition capabilities. Moreover, this technology is assumed to be public to consumers in the next five to 10 years, which makes me very excited for life after college!
Sheila (top) and Laura (below) test their racecar driving skills on the Lotus F1 Team Simulator at TechSummit
In It to Win It – Lotus F1 Team Racing Simulator
Laura: We also got a chance to test our skills on the Lotus F1 Team racing simulator, which was a lot of fun. Sheila even managed to get a top time of 2:20 during the virtual car race, which set her on the top of the score board for a while! It was really cool getting to see one of the ways that Avanade’s technology is put to use in the real world.
Sheila: The interface was incredible, as the steering wheel-seat apparatus would mimic the feel of skidding and bumps every time my car drove on grass and over lane markings (which happened quite often, unfortunately!) However, I did manage to make third place on the leader board for fastest time (2:20) for a grand total of 20 minutes before someone beat my time.
Meeting the Avanade Execs
Sheila: My absolute favorite part of the day was sitting down with Chris Miller, (CIO), Stella Goulet (CMO), and Howard Kilman (CLO) at the end of the day. Laura and I had prepared questions for the interview, but within minutes, we found the conversation developing naturally and we excitedly listened as the three Avanade executives gave us advice about college and careers. I especially liked Mr. Kilman’s insight into necessary skills for success:
- Your skills, as well as your rate of acquisition (the ability to continue learning at a constant/growing pace is important)
- Your track record of success (also seen through your passion/drive and ability to get things done)
- Your behavior (ethics, passion and good process of working)
- Your commitment to your career, as well as your aspirations
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the Avanade’s TechSummit. I’m honored to have been selected as a representative of FIRST Robotics and my love for engineering made me even more inspired to take a part in the innovations Avanade is a part of. Thank you, Avanade, for the wonderful experience!
Laura: We discussed some of the reasons for students to go into the tech field and some of the key characteristics that a young adult would need to be successful in life. It was inspiring to hear the stories about the how they made it to where they were as adults and I was truly honored to get to talk to them. Overall, I had a wonderful experience at the Avanade TechSummit and I’m so glad I got the chance to attend. It was incredibly exciting to see what Avanade is working on and I can’t wait to see what gets accomplished in the next 5 years.
We are glad Sheila and Laura had as much fun at TechSummit as we did!