Four final-year students pursuing computer science at universities
located in Kenya and Rwanda have been given job opportunities at Microsoft as
full-time software engineers following their participation in the 2021 Microsoft
Student Hackathon and emerging as winners. The students Gloria Keya, David Lutta, Christine Wambui, and Audrey Njenga will start their
professional careers at Microsoft when they graduate from school.
Firstly, Gloria and Christine are students at the University of
Nairobi (UoN) in Kenya. Whilst David is a student at the Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Finally, Audrey is a student
at the African Leadership University (ALU) based in Rwanda. The students who had just completed their summer internship with
Microsoft learned about the hackathon and decided to extend their Microsoft
experience. By forming a team to participate in the student hackathon. Which
was concurrently taking place with the Microsoft Global Hackathon for Microsoft
employees.
The hackathon event was to hack solutions for Sustainability,
Society, Education, and Ability using Microsoft technologies. In all, there
were students from 22 other countries participating in the virtual Microsoft
student hackathon. Over just a week, they conceived, built, and tested their
idea. “We wanted to create an opportunity after their Microsoft
internship for the students to stay connected to Microsoft and use the skills
and knowledge they acquired in a new project and challenge that reflected their
passion,” says Steve Scallen, Senior Director of University Engagement
at the Microsoft Garage. “They were all
summer interns at Microsoft, and they all have offers to come back, which
they’ve accepted. We are very excited they have chosen to start their
professional careers at Microsoft.”
The students won the grand prize-winning project with their idea
Forest Guard. Which falls under the hack for earth challenge and sustainability
category. Forest Guard is a real-time on-site deforestation sensor and alert system that detects and reports
dangerous or illegal activity in protected forests. It will be able to detect
illegal logging and forest fire, using an IoT tool and Azure cognitive
services.
Microsoft says they will have the opportunity to continue hacking
the Forest Guard at The Garage when they begin work as full-time software
engineers at Microsoft Nairobi in 2022. Microsoft is bringing The Garage program to Africa and will be opening new locations on the Microsoft Lagos
and Nairobi campuses. The Garage is a Microsoft resource for
employees to connect, experiment, and be creative outside of their day job.
By: Kanto Okanta
