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Breakfast with Craig Mundie, Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer

Posted in WIL event reports
19th October 2010 - Brussels

On the 19th of October in Brussels, the European Network for Women in Leadership co-organised a meeting together with Microsoft with a group of selected guests, European Commission officials and Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer for Microsoft.

The meeting gave rise to an exceptional exchange of ideas as Mr. Mundie shared insights into his work in President Obama’s Sci-Tech Advisory Council, while WIL members and friends showcased how the digital dimension influences European’s lives in the sectors for which they are responsible.
 
Concerns regarding training requirements for using new technologies were raised, particularly as one third of Europe’s population have never used the Internet. Yet, an insight into new computing systems, which make the shift from a graphical-user interface (GUI) to a natural-user interface (NUI), shows that they require less training.

By way of illustration, Mr. Mundie spoke about the release of Kinect for XBoX 360, an innovative device which enables users to control a computing system with their body movements. The idea aroused everyone’s enthusiasm, as the group seized the opportunity of using such tools to break down people’s fear of technology, not just in entertainment, but also in health provisioning, education, training and teleworking.

Due to their user-friendliness and cost effectiveness, such advancements may prove to be genuine solutions for assisting the ageing population in the coming years or for enabling more young people to study science more easily, by getting them to leave their biases behind.

The topic of how technology affects social interactions grabbed everyone’s attention, as several studies report that people become isolated from one another as they get surrounded by tech devices or are unable to cope with multitasking. One advantage new technologies bring however is that they encourage people to work or entertain together as they allow real-time translation, telepresence and networking. 

The discussion was a real success, as WIL members and friends have agreed to meet again, this time joined by their children, once Kinect for XBoX is launched to understand how these technologies work and how they can bring improvement to people’s everyday lives.

Tags: EU Commission, Women in Technology, Network meeting, Information Technology, Microsoft

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