Microsoft Research seeks mutual growth with talent training program

By Bahk Eun-ji

Lee Mi-ran, principal research program manager at Microsoft

Microsoft Research shared details of its talent training platform Tuesday and its accomplishments over the last 10 years.

“We learned that when we help people to grow, innovation and projects come along. This platform is people-centered, instead of focusing on short-term goals,” said Lee Mi-ran, principal research program manager at Microsoft Research Outreach, during a press meeting at the company’s building in Seoul.

Microsoft Research was set up 10 years ago to support business and academic cooperation in Korea. Microsoft Research has been running more than 200 research projects and providing support of around 10 billion won for them over the 10 years in Korea, said the manager.

Through the platform, 105 students went through internship programs in Asia and 41 at its Redmond center in the United States. Among them, three people are working at the company’s headquarters, said a spokesman for Microsoft Korea.

The internship program provides one-to-one mentoring with the greatest scholars. The support program is continuously provided to the students even after the official program is completed. The company selected 23 doctorate students as scholarship holders from five schools in Korea.

“Microsoft’s talent training platform is mostly focused on growth, rather than focusing on short-term accomplishment just like many other industrial-educational cooperation programs.

“Unlike other similar programs, Microsoft Research center provides basis for future personal growth, as the students can develop their research projects in collaboration with experts,” said Hwang Seung-won, a professor teaching computer science at Pohang University of Science and Technology.

The company also runs a Faculty Summit every year to discuss the research accomplishment of professors and researchers who joined the projects.

The manager said that Microsoft Research has supported the program in schools and for students in the engineering and IT field so far, but it plans to expand this support to overall academia including the humanities. She said the theory of the platform is to create a virtuous circle in the IT field with talented students.

“We plan to hold more academic exchange events in Korea in the future,” Lee added.