The visit, led by Jay Parikh, Executive Vice President and member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team, reflected the company’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and gaining insight into the creative solutions being developed by the next generation of technologists.
During the visit, Jay was joined by Vlad Federov, CTO of GitHub, and Aditya Nori, Lab Director at Microsoft Research Cambridge. They spent time with second-year students as they embarked on their live industry and partnership projects, hearing early ideas and offering feedback on responsible innovation, impact and real-world problem solving.
The student projects form part of UCL Computer Science’s long-established Industry Exchange Network (IXN), a model internationally recognised for embedding live challenges from industry and public sector partners into teaching.
Kareem Bzai, a second-year Computer Science student, said: “Microsoft’s visit was an amazing experience. Hearing Mr Jay Parikh talk about Azure Core AI was fascinating, and it was incredible to present our project to him using the very tools his team is developing. His feedback was invaluable, and I’m really grateful to Microsoft and UCL for giving us this opportunity.”
Through IXN, students collaborate on projects spanning areas such as AI in cybersecurity (with Avanade), sustainability (with NTT DATA), humanitarian systems (with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), education (with Intel and IBM), and financial services (with Alvarez and Marsal).
As part of the visit, UCL Computer Science announced the launch of the Windows Foundry Local Students Group, a new initiative that will enable students to explore Windows and AI ecosystems through workshops, prototyping and mentorship with Microsoft engineers, strengthening the bridge between academic research and technological innovation.
Dr Robert Thompson, Vice-Dean (Enterprise), who joined the delegation, said: “AI is already reshaping the way our students learn and the careers they will go on to build, while also raising important research questions around sustainability, ethics and scale.
"Engaging with leading companies such as Microsoft helps ensure that UCL and our students remain not only informed about these rapid developments, but actively involved in shaping them. With the breadth of disciplines across UCL, we are uniquely positioned to address these challenges from every perspective.”
Following the student sessions, the Microsoft delegation met with UCL senior leadership to discuss future collaboration, student talent and the evolving role of AI in education and research.
In Pictures: Microsoft's Visit
