French Open Days Open the Door to a Wider Community!

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Microsoft recently welcomed 200 Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, Microsoft Student Partners, Regional Directors as well as other important community influencers to the French Community Open Days!

 

This year, the combination of Microsoft-created and non-Microsoft technologies were highlighted throughout the two-day event in keynote speeches, technical sessions and workshops.

 

The first day kicked off with keynote speeches from Docker, Github, F5 Networks, Linux FR, and Xamarin community experts. The keynote was delivered on the stage but also live on the web, and is available on Channel 9.

 

In collaboration with DX France, two French MVPs had spent several weeks before the event organizing an online challenge focused on design called Waou Party, in which participants submitted their most beautiful apps, including the highest numbers of Waou effects (animation / innovation / design). During the Geek Evening, the top three winners demonstrated their applications and received prizes.

 

MVPs were also asked to provide fun demos showing the interaction between Microsoft-created and non-Microsoft technologies. Here are examples of four demos MVPs delivered:

  • A standalone robot equipped with a high tech video camera and a GPU hardware card, running on Linux, piloted by a UWP App on a Windows Tablet through Wi-Fi
  • Reality: 3D image piloted by voice or by gesture through leap motion. On the client side, it employed the technologies Unity, VS 2015 and C#. On the server side, it used Linux Open Source, NodeJs, Visual Studio Code, MongoDB, Docker and of course Storage on Azure
  • Running ASP.NET Core "PartsUnlimited" on a Raspberry PI 2 inside a Linux Docker Container: Pure Geek!
  • Container Lifecycle / Composition of a multi-Container Application.

 

During the second day, two Keynotes, and a session on the Microsoft Community Program Updates (MVP/RD/MSP) and another generic session titled “Strategy: What is the future?” delivered by an MVP. The main topics were about Machine learning, IA, robotics, transhumanism and Innovation. Exclusive attendees also had the chance to join a 30-minute Q&A session with Microsoft France Developer Experience team.

MVPs and RDs, divided into six groups, were also given the chance to participate to an hour focus group opportunity covering the following topics:

  • Relationships inside Communities
  • Events
  • Online Engagement
  • Cross-community Collaboration
  • Technology
  • Contributor Evolution.

 

After the two intense days, a few MVPs from the aOS (Azure, Office365, and SharePoint) community organized a live podcast, updating the community on Skype for Business, Office 365, Typescript, and Microsoft Azure, where France Audience Evangelism Manager Martine Thiphaine was also invited to present the Microsoft MVP Award Program and the Community Open Days to a public audience. A great activity to close the Open Days!