Microsoft to Expand Talent Tecruitment in China
With the 30th anniversary of its entry into China, Microsoft announced on September 20 that it will continue to expand its recruitment in the country next year. The recruitment drive will bring the company’s total number of employees in China to over 10,000. At present, Microsoft has more than 9,000 full-time employees in China, 80% of which are R&D and engineering technicians.
Hou Yang, Senior Vice President of Microsoft, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China, emphasized the importance of the Chinese market. “As the largest engine leading the world’s economic growth, China has a solid foundation to promote the development of the digital economy. Since its entry in China 30 years ago, Microsoft has witnessed and participated in the rapid development of China’s digital economy.”
Microsoft also announced that the basic technology certifications will be made free to all eligible students. The tech giant will focus on the latest technological applications in the Internet, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other fields, to create a complete talent growth path from curriculum learning, professional certification, talent docking, and technical ability improvement.
On the basis of expanding recruitment, Microsoft also plans to upgrade its campuses in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou over the next three to five years. The construction and operation of the three parks will incorporate the company’s innovative concepts, low-carbon environmental protection technology, and the needs of the hybrid working style.
Since the opening of its first office in Beijing in 1992, Microsoft China now has offices in 13 cities across the country including Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Guangzhou. In terms of scientific research, Microsoft Research Asia (MSR Asia), based in Beijing and Shanghai, is Microsoft’s largest research institute outside the United States.
Over the past 30 years, Microsoft’s local partner ecosystem in China has been growing. Microsoft has also announced a series of measures to promote ecological vitality, including building in-depth applications based on Microsoft’s product architecture with development and service partners, increasing investment in key industry partners, creating sustainable development standards, and providing comprehensive technical resource support.
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The company has also recently undergone changes in its leadership. Chinese media outlet AI Tech Talk reported on September 21 that Wang Yongdong, the current Senior Vice President of Microsoft and the Dean of the Microsoft (Asia) Internet Engineering Institute, has been promoted from CTO of Microsoft Asia Pacific R&D Group to chairman of the group. This means that Hsiao-Wuen Hon, the former Chairman of Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group, has resigned and no longer holds any positions in China.
Hsiao-Wuen Hon is an internationally recognized expert in speech technology. In 2005, he founded and led the Microsoft Asia Search Technology Center, which evolved into the Microsoft (Asia) Internet Engineering Institute in 2011.
