• Delivering a Novel Approach to Job Hunting in Korea

    Party flags and balloons hung in a café where young people were revelling in the music. Not exactly what you would expect at a traditional job fair, but that describes the scene at the recent Job DongSan, which loosely translates to “Job Recruitment Party” in the Korean language. The event was jointly organised by YouthHub Korea and Seoul Social Economy Centre at the Roh Rang Café.

    Six social enterprises—Current Korea, Bridge Mobile, Sul Fun, GamgiDukgi, Touch for Good and Zenny Closet—collaborated at this Microsoft-sponsored event to deliver a fun and innovative forum to engage with young job seekers. As South Korean youth have limited knowledge of the rewarding job opportunities available in social entrepreneurship, Job DongSan provided the ideal platform for these small and mid-sized organisations that create self-sustaining social programmes to showcase themselves and network with job applicants.

     Eung Tak Lee, Deputy Department Head of Current Korea, presents the job description and values his company is looking out for.

    More than 110 job seekers and HR professionals gathered to check out what was brewing at Roh Rang Café, a popular destination for young people in Seoul. The warm and cosy atmosphere of the venue helped facilitate an open discussion between the participants and prospective employers.

    “Who says job fairs can’t be fun and packed with enjoyable activities?” asked Young Kyoung Kim, Leader of YouthHub Korea. “With the staging of Job DongSan, we put a new spin on how job events can be organised to appeal to a new generation of job seekers. Through this novel approach to recruitment and job matching, the participants were encouraged to express their aspirations more confidently and explore available job opportunities.”

    The event kicked into full gear with a cover band performing the latest pop hits, and the venue was soon packed with young people eager to learn more about what a career in social services has in store for them.

     Jobseekers engaged in conversations with potential employers in a fun and casual setting.

    Job seekers were encouraged to dress in a manner that reflected their personalities, instead of formal office wear. The youth directly approached the participating organisations regarding available jobs, while job managers offered in-depth information about their companies and the diverse job requirements.

    “It was good to receive plenty of relevant information on the job positions. Moreover, I was able to gain a better understanding of the kind of employees that social enterprises are looking for today,” said one of the job seekers.

    Job DongSan is part of the “Bring IT to Youth” programme, a Microsoft YouthSpark initiative that strives to open opportunities for job placement and start-ups in the social innovation field. Organised in conjunction with nonprofit organisation Beautiful Foundation, Bring IT to Youth is also provides educational talks on essential skills to help improve the employability of Korean youth.



    “The low youth employment rate of 24 percent shows that a large proportion of our young people are not matched to the right jobs. Yet many small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea are facing a manpower shortage, and this is especially true for social start-ups that lack the level of exposure received by large corporations. Job DongSan serves to help address this challenge, and gives social enterprises an added boost to attract bright, young South Koreans,” said Young Hoon Kim, Director of Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Korea.

  • 12 Days of Giving Brighten the Holidays in Singapore


    Day 1
    Fifteen employee volunteers used their flair for artmaking by working together with 40 children from Canossaville Children’s Home to create Christmas decorations, including paper ornaments, ice-cream stick snowflakes and crepe paper pom poms, to liven up their premises!


    Day 2
    Back by popular demand, we headed down to the historical Red Cross House to give a fresh coat of paint to 3 training rooms. What’s more, one of our talented employees even left a beautiful mural of Audrey Hepburn on the wall!


    Day 3
    Our friends from Bishan Home for the Intellectually Disabled always enjoy days out with our employees. This year, eight of us accompanied ten beneficiaries to the new Singapore Sports Hub to take a look at the world-class stadium, experience riding the MRT and help them buy their own lunch at the food court.


    Day 4
    Seven elderly residents of the Lions Befrienders Bukit Batok branch were treated to lunch and a fun grocery shopping trip with Microsoft volunteers. The day did not stop there, as the cheery volunteers also ensured the beneficiaries headed home safely with bags full of groceries. 


    Day 5
    Microsoft interns and Student Partners (MSPs) had so much fun previously with IDA’s Lab on Wheels, they decided to repeat the experience during the 12 Days of Giving. Six interns and MSPs headed out to the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) to teach 15 young people how to code, inspiring them with the possibilities of technology.


    Day 6
    Eleven Microsoft employees reunited with 50 friends from one of our main nonprofit partners, SPD. We were pleasantly surprised as the beneficiaries presented us with a mini Christmas musical they had specially prepared!


    Day 7
    Hamper packing is extreme volunteering, and Microsoft employees never fail to disappoint the good folks at Food From The Heart. Fourteen volunteers packed a whopping 166 hampers, benefiting many needy families. This was the highest number of hampers packed by a volunteer group in a single session!


    Day 8
    Christmas is a season of love and it is always a joy to give! On top of providing our annual Christmas wish list for 40 children at Sun Love Home, eight employee volunteers put together a full programme consisting of lunch, a magic show and balloon treats for the children and their parents.


    Day 9
    Staff members from CARE (Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association) strive to make a difference in the lives of young people. In appreciation, three Microsoft volunteers took the chance to thank them by teaching the CAREgivers how to code. Afterward, they were introduced to Microsoft’s latest fun and innovative technologies!


    Day 10
    Christmas caroling, a tea break and bingo games were enough to bring laughter and smiles to 60 elderly residents of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital. It was a heart-warming event that brought festive cheer to all, including the 11 volunteers!


    Day 11
    Everyone wants to visit the new Singapore Sports Hub, including our friends from SPD. Eighty employee volunteers accompanied 40 beneficiaries during a rare day out for lunch and some Christmas shopping.


    Day 12
    It is not often that the elderly at the Lions Home for the Elders in Bedok get visitors. But on one recent afternoon, 10 Microsoft volunteers took time out from work to visit, filling the halls with Christmas carols and good cheer during a special Christmas Bingo session for 60 beneficiaries.

  • Creating Virtual Worlds with Kodu Game Lab

    While the following statement will be perfectly understandable to a coder: <p><?phpthe_field('field_name'); ?></p>, it might be completely incomprehensible to most. Programming language and codes are the backbone of the many technologies that are now an essential part of our daily lives, and as a result, more people are learning to ‘speak code’.

    To introduce young students to the exciting world of coding and computer game creation, Microsoft conducted a short learning session on Kodu Game Lab, a visual programming language, in September. Held in conjunction with the American Chamber of Commerce Corporate Community Day in Singapore, Microsoft collaborated with the Singapore American School (SAS) to introduce students to the basics of programming.

     A volunteer showing a student how to use a function of Kodu Game Lab to enhance his virtual world.

    Lalit Mohan, Microsoft Singapore’s Education Solution Specialist, first briefed the volunteers on the basics of Kodu. The volunteers then conducted a hands-on training session to help prepare the participants for the main event—the Kodu competition, in which the students got to pit their coding skills against each other. The students used their imagination to create virtual worlds, such as a fictional city bustling with roving robots and landscapes featuring towering mountains and winding rivers.

    “As Kodu is designed to be accessible to children, the students managed to pick up the application really quickly,” said Danish Lukawski, Tech Evangelist Intern for Microsoft and a volunteer at the event. “After learning the basics of Kodu, they were already starting to use its more advanced functions to liven up the worlds they created.”

    Each student presented their entry to a panel of judges, including Blair Hall, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Singapore, and Greg Tirrell, Deputy Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. The submissions were judged based on their design, ease of navigation and how well the Kodu worlds were configured.

     Students playing with Xbox One that was launched in Singapore less than a week before the event.

    "It was heartening to see what these smart young minds can do with coding technology after just a few hours of coaching. We were very impressed with the worlds they created, and it was delightful to hear each of them speak with such pride and excitement about their creations," said Eveline Tseng, from the Bureau of Consular Affairs Section, US Embassy of Singapore.

    Coding is becoming an increasingly relevant skill today, as it promotes critical thinking—a discipline essential for the successful student. Through initiatives such as Microsoft YouthSpark’s We Speak Code campaign, Microsoft hopes to encourage youth to pick up coding, while helping them to explore more career opportunities in the technology sector.

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