[Interview with Hong Xiaowen, president of Microsoft Asia Research Institute-about college students' internship and employment]

On September 16, April 22, Microsoft held an award ceremony for "great challenge to the elites" in Beijing. The project aims to encourage students to "do meaningful research" to help them achieve more smooth integration with the industry and society in the current economic and employment situation. The selection of the "Microsoft elite challenge" project combines the social hot spots of current college students' employment, allows students to use Microsoft's existing technology for project development, and explains the practical significance of the idea in five minutes. A total of 86 projects participated in the selection this time. The judges evaluated the project's practicality, presentation skills, and other aspects, in the end, "intelligent navigation voice blind pin" and "Auxiliary scheduling platform for earthquake-stricken areas" stood out.
Hong Xiaowen, president of Microsoft Asia Research Institute, accepted an interview with Sohu it. The following is an interview transcript.
Sohu it: many outstanding projects have emerged in the big challenges of Microsoft's elites? What do you think is the commercial value of these projects? How much experience can these students use in the future? What job opportunities does Microsoft provide for students?
Hong Xiaowen: Because I am engaged in engineering and technology, I often look at the problem from the technical level. Of course, you can also talk about it more, from the perspective of user excitement. Of course, making money and doing business is a very important thing, but we should not forget that most of the things that can be sold well and successful are because users like to use this things and start from technology, in particular, we started with technology.
As a matter of fact, as long as the work of students is used by others, they like to use it and use it more often. In fact, they will find business opportunities. So I don't have to worry about business opportunities in the first place. Taking Bill Gates for example, when Microsoft was founded, his ideal was to put the PC on the table of everyone. With this momentum, Gates not only succeeded, but also became the richest man in the world.
I am more inclined to have an ideal. this ideal is to provide some good products and services for humans. From here, we will extend some business. Of course, we must combine it with business, whether it is looking for venture capital or finding funds to do this, but do not commercialize the technology too early, rather than doing it well.
The second question is what kind of job opportunities Microsoft offers to its students. Microsoft is a large company with more than 90 thousand people today. The Research Institute is only a small part. Microsoft also has product departments and sales departments.
Those who are interested in the future of research certainly hope to join the Research Institute. Those who want to make things into products should, of course, join the product department, some people who are interested in business and sales should join the sales department.
However, no matter how it works, it is impossible for Microsoft to recruit more people interested in it. The role played by Microsoft is part of the entire ecosystem, that is, the industry chain associated with Microsoft's entire technology.
We have made statistics on the fact that every dollar a piece of money made by Microsoft, the entire industry chain, regardless of hardware and software partners, can earn 6 yuan. In fact, this pie is much larger than Microsoft, which is also our contribution to China.
Therefore, we should not look at how many people are employed by Microsoft. We should look at the entire Microsoft platform and the technologies that follow Microsoft, whether Windows, office, Xbox, or cloud services we see today, I am very optimistic that the entire platform, the entire surrounding area, and the entire ecological chain can provide more employment opportunities. It is a very important position in the world in China. Every company, industry, and field requires a lot of investment. There are still many job opportunities in this industry around Microsoft. Especially today, despite the challenges of the financial crisis, every country and everyone knows that investment in IT and software will reduce the cost of enterprise operation, at the same time, it can increase work efficiency. Therefore, I am very optimistic that Microsoft can provide employment opportunities for the entire industrial chain.
Sohu it: what are the requirements of Microsoft Asia Research Institute for talent recruitment? Many outstanding students emerged in this competition. Do they have the opportunity to enter Microsoft? What are the shortcomings and improvements?
Hong Xiaowen: every company, including Microsoft, wants to hire the best classmates, the best engineers, and the best scientists. In addition to professional knowledge and experience, Microsoft attaches great importance to basic skills. Taking the Research Institute as an example, three basic skills are good mathematics, good programming, and good attitude.
In school, we should have a wide range of knowledge, not just software or computer knowledge. In fact, computers have already gone deep into all walks of life, and the job environment represented by all walks of life is much larger than the computer industry.
So when you are at school, if you have the opportunity to expand your knowledge, you must first learn it. In fact, this is an opportunity, whether it is in life science, environmental science, archaeology, and other aspects. Even if I am a computer professional, this knowledge will be of great help. Taking this mentality into consideration is not only favored by Microsoft, but also by some good companies like Microsoft, which will greatly increase recruitment opportunities.
Sohu it: Today and Tomorrow, Microsoft will release two heavyweight products Windows 7 and office 14. What R & D investment has Microsoft's Asia Research Institute made in this regard?
Hong Xiaowen: Microsoft will launch Windows 7 this year and office 14 next year. Microsoft Asia Research Institute has indeed implemented a lot of technologies and hopes to put these technologies in Windows 7 or office 14 in the final stage.
However, it is not possible to provide detailed reports on the technologies. The reason is that the product may be adjusted at the end of its launch. I know that the technology is working with the product department, but it is decided by the product department.
As a matter of fact, Microsoft Research Institute has some technologies and demonstrations, and those things can still see some clues about the future. Whether it is multimedia, network, or computer learning, these are all in fact very active hope to be put into the next version. If it is not the next version, it is the next version. I would like to wait for you to wait until this product can enjoy these technologies.