Microsoft Taiwan Recognised for Helping Students Develop Professional Skills

In recognition of its contributions toward the development of professional skills among Taiwanese students, Microsoft Taiwan was invited to The Happiness Corporate Conference 2012 on 8 November to share insights into the success of its Student Programme.

The Conference, organised by The Department of Labour of Taipei City Government, was attended by business leaders and human resource managers from more than 30 companies. The participants learned about how the Microsoft Student Programme helps students discover their professional interests through internship opportunities and raise their skill sets to cope with the increasingly competitive global job market. 

The Microsoft Student Programme is designed to help students hone their skills in diverse professional fields under a mentor system. During his opening remarks at the event, Davis Tsai, General Manager of Microsoft Taiwan, highlighted how the programme provides the ideal platform for students to gain relevant work experience through their one-year internship stints.

To date, more than 900 students have benefitted from the opportunity to develop their professional capabilities together with a group of peers from diverse backgrounds. Around 96 percent of the interns under the Microsoft Student Programme managed to secure employment within six months after graduation, while many were recruited by leading multinational firms — some of the students even received job offers before they graduated.

“After spending a year at Microsoft, I have picked up plenty of useful work experience. I also realised that mistakes are part and parcel of learning and that it is more important for us to learn from every mistake you make in the workplace,” said Lu, a former intern who has successfully completed the Microsoft Student Programme.

During the Conference, Hope Ong and Grace Chang, Senior Director and Manager, respectively, of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Taiwan, presented the key milestones of the Microsoft Student Programme. Previous and current interns also shared their learning experiences.

“The Microsoft Student Programme plays an integral role in improving the employment rate among young people, and in bridging the gap between what students in Taiwan are able to gain from their academic pursuits and the professional skills they need to develop. We would like to see more companies adopt similar initiatives in Taiwan,” said Chen Yeh-Shin, Commissioner of the Department of Labour.