Build 2016 - Day 0
So Day 0 of Build. A day to settle in and relax and register for Build. Myself, my mother and sister found ourselves wandering through San Francisco. Found our way back to the Microsoft Store.....
We then headed off to our first interview with Sam Guckenheimer. I'll writing a separate blogpost talking about how that went so please go have a look.
It was a quick dash across San Francisco to make it to the Moscone centre for registration where I got my Build badge!! And adorned it with the iconic Black Marble.
Our final stop for the day was to a student panel close to the Moscone centre. Myself and four other MSP's from around the world were sat on this panel infront of Gartner, Forrester and a number of other large analytic firms and reporters. I was joined by two US Imagine cup finalists, and two other MSP's from across Europe. We were asked questions such as what we what we find most exciting thing in technology. Many answers were said such as the hardware or the reward or writing bug free software. I personally believe that the most exciting thing in technology is seeing what a difference it is making to the lives around us. As a small example in the UK the BBC are pushing an initiative where they want all children to be able to code. To do this they have launched a microcomputer called the Microbit. Every child aged 11 will receive one and there are lots of resources to help both students and teachers get the most out of it. Things like that I personally find exciting in computing and make me so happy to be in the field myself. Other questions included what we thought of the gender divide in computing and did we find it was prevalent in our own places of work/ universities. On our panel of five it so happened that three of us were female but I would say that gives a skewed perspective. In my year out of close to 200 students less than ten are female and the other two MSP's there agreed with me that there is a similar spread for them also. Over the hour we were asked many questions and though at first it seemed like one of the most terrifying things that I had ever done I actually enjoyed it lots. Though the last question of what do you want to do after being a student scared most of us really. It was really interesting to also hear the thoughts and opinions of other like minded and similar aged people from around the world and what they thought. A huge thank you to Jennifer Ritzinger for being so lovely on the day as well :)
Due to hunger and the adrenalin wearing off we found myself heading back for food once more. This time The Cheesecake Factory. Where the food portions are as big as your head... Unfortunately due to the fact they don't take bookings we didn't finish eating until close to ten. Definite time for bed!!