By Allen Bailochan Tuladhar, Country Director, Microsoft Innovation Center
Our recent slew of events, where turnout figures ran from the hundreds to the thousands, has knocked the wind out of me slightly. But I’m proud to say that the Microsoft Innovation Center(MIC) team has done exceptionally well in running multiple Windows Phone 8 App development camps in June and July, while planning for two September events at the same time.
A Microsoft Student Partner introducing Certify Nepal during CAN Softech 2013
The first event I would like to highlight is CAN Softech 2013 (4 – 7 September), organised by the good folks at Computer Association of Nepal (CAN). The event has grown so much since it began six editions ago, as a reflection of how our information and communications technology (ICT) sector is progressing.
The massive display by software, solutions and services exhibitors at CAN Softech 2013 drew an impressive turnout. Over the three days, more than 1,200 event attendees registered at the MIC booth to receive our updates. The people who visited our booth in droves were also drawn to our Certify Nepal activity, which provided free certification for those who passed tests in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The Certify Nepal participants were further rewarded with free exam vouchers worth around USD225 and a wireless mouse.
Kudos to the Microsoft Student Partners who helped to organise the campaign with MIC!
There is no rest for the weary, for we soon had our annual DevTech Day, organised with the WinServer Community and ASP.NET Community, to share knowledge about Windows Server infrastructure and app development with the technical community. The programme was split into two tracks, one for developers, and the other for IT pros, with the sessions aimed at shedding light on the latest technologies.
One of the highlights was presenting Windows 8.1, with speakers at both tracks introducing its improved functionality and features such as Near Field Communication, Nokia Map Technology and Native Miracast Wireless Display. I’d like to think the audience at my session had the best response because my co-hosts, MIC Windows Developers Sonika Manandhar and Nairisha Shrestha, and I launched a toy helicopter (‘MICopter’) in the hall! We flew it using an app on a Windows Phone and a Windows Surface tablet.
Audience was treated to a demonstration of the MICopter that was operated by using the Windows Phone and Windows Surface at the DevTech Day 2013
I had initially expected a turnout of around 150 participants at DevTech Day, but over 230 people attended the conference at Shankar Hotel in Lazimpat. Among them were students, some of whom have great app development ideas, and others who are managing challenging enterprise IT projects. It was enriching to have such a mix of software developers and technology enthusiasts at the conference for they came with different experiences and ideas.
I am amazed by the sheer drive and creativity of the local technical community. The collaborations that were forged and the knowledge shared through the years of holding DevTech Day will be among the many factors to drive Nepal forward in its technology adoption and innovation.