Microsoft Malta has pledged its support to this year’s MITA student placement scheme, which was launched at Esplora in Bighi with a special induction day during which Microsoft showcased its Virtual Reality technology.

This year’s scheme is being rolled out for 380 higher education ICT students with an investment of €800,000 in this summer internship programme. Participating students will have the opportunity to work and experience emerging technologies such as AI, virtual reality, internet of things and blockchain within a practical working environment.

“The way we bring education to students is changing very rapidly,” said Kyle Anastasi, account technology strategist at Microsoft Malta.

“Technology is providing us with multiple ways to connect and communicate with people all over the world but it has also revolu­tionised the way we learn. Modern circumstances compel us to transform education to focus on 21st century skills in order to help our student learn and advance their skills to be able to succeed in the globalised, knowledge-based world of today.”

Anastasi recalled that he too had participated in MITA’s student placement programme for two consecutive years.

“The first experience was as a strategy planning and performance CIO liaison within the SPPC department where I developed a better understanding of the IT industry and assisted in deve­loping new CRM systems for clients. The following year I was placed at ISEC (Information Security Department) where I was assigned the task of developing an information system and an associated database, including specialised automation software, intended to store and process information security vulnerabilities. This experience proved very fruitful to me as it had helped me develop better task management skills by achieving specific targets in a very limited time frame.”

He added: “At Microsoft Malta, we understand the true value of this programme and we are delighted to be supporting it by exposing students to the IT sector in a highly international, multi-cultural environment, while also helping to further their future prospects in the field.”