Event Diary Log: MLSA Info Session @ JKUAT

On Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023, I had the chance to attend the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador Info Session after my tiresome day of classes. I could not miss out on one of those events since it was the first physical session of MLSA that I have ever attended.

Perhaps you're wondering, what on earth is MLSA? Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador (MLSA) is a program to sponsor students majoring in technology-related disciplines. Across many institutions around the world, many students get to apply for the program to influence the student community with learning programs, hackathons and community outreach sessions.

One of the Student Ambassadors, Cliff Omollo Oganda organized the event and hosted the attendees in a room reserved for the meeting at Technology House. He was one of the speakers with Grace Wangui from Maths and Computer Science, Kevin Sikamoi from Computer Technology, Fanuel Nabiswa, Sonia and Jeff Odhiambo. All of these ambassadors are students of JKUAT.

Cliff started the meeting with a short clip of testimonies from the previous student ambassadors across different universities in Kenya. After the clip, he started a short keynote about what the MSLA program is about and why students are encouraged to join. He continued the segment by asking random users what would they do if they got the opportunity to join the program.

Then Jeff Odhiambo, another student ambassador on the Beta level got to introduce the segment on the benefits of being in the MLSA program. The student ambassador has 4 levels, New, Alpha, Beta and Gold. Each level has some perks for the students that Jeff has to explain, one of them was accessing Azure cloud services and Microsoft 365 products, depending on the level.

After that, Sonia, another student at JKUAT and a student ambassador got to share her experience as a web developer and her journey in the program, she welcomed Grace to explain the process of applying to the MLSA program. I jotted down the list on my Google Keep notes, here's how to apply:

1. Apply at aka.ms/studentambassador

2. Apply as an individual and above 16 years old.

3. Click on the Apply Now prompt.

4. You will need to have a Microsoft account

5. State your academic institution.

6. Answer 2 questions, write essays (max 2000), do a short video.

7. Speak about your skills.

8. A specific plan for the event.

9. Add additional information, LinkedIn profile and GitHub profile link.

Tips when applying for MLSA:

1. Be specific.

2. Get the resources on the Microsoft Learn website.

3. Access the Microsoft Student Hub for more details.

There were some small sessions about Azure courses, AI and IoT towards the end of the meeting. Throughout the event, questions were asked and the speakers gave the students an opportunity to answer what they learned in the event by being gifted a pen and a notebook by Microsoft.

I had an amazing time meeting with the rest of the student ambassadors. What stood out was the turnout of students from Maths Computer Science and Computer Technology students in large numbers, with Clinton, one of our GizMunch writers in attendance as a Maths Computer Science student.

Dedicated to Cliff Omollo Oganda, a student and a friend dedicated to reaching out and influencing tech students and non-tech students in JKUAT