Forty college students will arrive at Microsoft New England this week for a second summer Foundry program. After a successful pilot program last year, Microsoft will welcome nearly double the number of students, all eager to improve upon their software development skills and have an unbelievable time while doing so.
The NERD center will become home to these developers and designers as they begin 12 weeks of intensive application writing for the Windows phone and Surface tablet. Hailing from 13 schools (including Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Wellesley, Northeastern, Waterloo, UMass, Wheaton, and Wentworth), the students will write applications from start to finish and ship them to the Windows and Window Phone Marketplaces to be downloaded.
The students will work in teams of five under the guidance of Microsoft coaches and industry experts. They will continually practice the process of software development, learning to judge the time it takes to create each feature. The students will also fly to the Redmond campus in July to engage in Microsoft’s Intern Week. In Redmond students will exchange long hours of developing and designing for a surprise signature event (a concert last year), talks and activities with Microsoft leaders, and an insight into what it means to be a Microsoft employee. Sara Spalding, Sr. Director at NERD, shared her impression of last year’s Intern Week: “I was blown away; it was the most exciting event I have been to in my almost 20 years at the company.”
Catch the latest blog updates on Foundry 2013, including a recap of this year’s Intern Week, and check the Windows Marketplace at the end of the summer to discover the newly developed apps and install them on your phone and tablet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2exzSBjEz5s
