Scaling New Heights in Community Technology Update 2008……….
A worthy occasion deserves a special mention - November 22nd, 2008 marks another important milestone for the Singapore technical communities. A great display of community spirit and one can feel the vibration of excitement and enthusiasm at the event as over 169 enthusiast community members comprising from students to IT Pros and Developers, including Technology Decision Makers gathered together at the Microsoft Singapore office on this day for the long-awaited Community Technology Update (CTU) 2008.
Community Technology Update (CTU) 2008 is the second technology update for 2008, jointly brought to the technical communities by the local User Groups. The Saturday community event was marked with ample sunshine and upbeat technology as eager members of the community arrived before the registration time started, and many were seen mingling happily with their peers and community leaders at the registration counter.
The event kicked off at 0915hrs with a hearty welcome and engaging keynote speech delivered by Platform Strategy Advisor, Nick Wong who shared some of the interesting technologies on the future of Computing, Windows Azure and Windows 7 and unveiled an amazing year of innovations ahead which was well received by the 169+ attendees. The attendees were also treated to a whole day of topics delivered by our army of influencers – 2 tracks were prepared (IT Pro & Developers). One of the main highlight for the event was also the ‘Community Clinic’ whereby a panel of MVP experts became ‘doctors’ for the day, sharing their ‘antidotes’ with the attendees. The {Insiders} group also made a presence during this event with their {Insiders} Technology Support Program. For the first time, CTU2008 featured an exclusive new segment called MIC Tour, whereby we opened up the Microsoft Innovation Centre to the attendees and a guided tour of Microsoft technologies and the amazing innovations in various settings and demos taking place in Microsoft everyday were revealed to the attendees.
The event wrapped up with a rousing and lighthearted speech delivered by our loveable and gung-ho Matthew Hardman. As lucky draws were conducted and prizes given out, the evening faded into small groups discussing, catching up and many were snapping away with their cameras to capture the remaining memorable moments. It was a meaningful and fruitful event with the attendees and community leaders as we gained feedback and suggestions from them whilst getting to know them better. CTU2008 serves to meet the technical communities networking, business and lifelong technological learning needs and be instrumental to fostering great connectivity and nurturing ties among the Microsoft communities.
As an MVP Lead, it was heartening for me to see the community leaders and MVPs taking the initiative to build up the communities, bringing together members of all age groups near and far and creating a solid ecosystem in which Microsoft and communities can grow together. It was certainly a successful event with everyone’s support. To the community leaders and MVPs who have put in hundreds of hours putting this together, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!
/Dennis
