Microsoft Stories

Hello and welcome to episode six of Microsoft Stories, a podcast about technology and the people who use it. In this episode we will be chatting about female entrepreneurs and how the pandemic has affected them. According to research, women still struggle to get funding for their businesses. Why does this still happen and how can we ensure that female entrepreneurs are supported to start their own business? You will hear from three women, all with huge amounts of experience with female entrepreneurs. They will shed light on what it's like to be a woman starting your own business today, and how we can encourage more people to take that first step into running their own company. Click the play button and join us on our journey.

Hello and welcome to episode five of Microsoft Stories, a podcast about technology and the people who use it. In this episode we will be chatting to Nick Hedderman, Director of Modern Work and Security Business Group about how the UK is coping with going back to the office. We will be finding out how he makes flexible working work for him and his team, how to have great meetings no matter where you are and what he really thinks about companies forcing staff back into the office. Click the play button and join us on our journey.

In this episode we are looking at modern work. During the pandemic, most of us have had to adapt to working from home - and the good and the bad that comes with that. Not having to commute is great, but the regular interruptions and multiple people on your broadband network is not. Who has thrived over the past two years and who hasn't? Why are young people more likely to want to work in the office? What can younger and older generations teach each other about ways of working when they finally get to sit around the same table again? We answer all these questions and more. Click the play button and join us on our journey.

Companies in every sector desperately need employees with digital skills. From relatively simple tasks such as using Microsoft Teams to set up a virtual meeting, to advanced tasks such as those undertaken by data scientists, digital skills are in demand and help businesses adapt, transform and grow. But not enough young people are learning those skills. How do we make digital skills “cool” and how do we make tech careers a path that young people are desperate to follow? Let's find out!

For episode two we are staying with sustainability – one of the most urgent issues of our time and a key focus for the UK with the COP26 summit being held in Scotland. This episode asks: how can organisations launch impactful sustainability plans and continue to grow? Your customers should love your efforts to reduce your carbon footprint, but how do the inevitable changes to your organisation affect what it does and how it does it? We hear from two young people who are passionate about the environment and how they view companies who are trying to be more environmentally friendly. You will also hear from Microsoft's Sustainability Customer Lead, as well as Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer at Unilever, about the work both companies are doing to be greener. Click the play button and join us on our journey.

We are kicking off this series with two episodes on sustainability - one of the most urgent issues of our time and a key focus for the UK with the COP26 summit being held in Scotland from October 31. This episode focuses on the importance of measuring your carbon footprint so you can reduce it. You can't manage what you don't measure. We will look at the tools available to companies and individuals to help them do that, as well as hear from two young people who are passionate about the environment and the steps they take to lead greener lives. You will also hear from Microsoft's European Sustainable Science Lead, as well as the Head of Climate Change at NatWest about the work these two companies are doing to help protect the planet. Click the play button and join us on our journey.

Hello and welcome to series two of Microsoft Stories, a podcast about technology and the people who use it. In this series we will be talking to young people and finding out about the big issues affecting their lives and shaping their futures. We also learn about the companies and experts who play key roles in those issues. And how does technology fit into all this and how can it be used to help tackle some of the most important challenges facing the world today? Let's find out!

In this episode we focus on Cornerstone Academy Trust, which is based in Devon and oversees four primary schools. Its staff place innovation at the heart of teaching and learning. Cornerstone has forged strong partnerships locally, regionally, nationally and globally, and also provides teacher training, professional learning, leadership development and school-to-school support at both primary and secondary levels. It has been appointed a Microsoft Training Academy, a DfE English Hub and a Science Learning Partnership, and is also part of the West Country Computer Science Hub. Like every school in England, Cornerstone has had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and the knock-on effect that's had on their pupils' education. In this podcast, you will hear from Jonathan Bishop, headteacher and CEO of Cornerstone, about how innovation has helped his staff continue to provide first-class learning to their classes. You will also hear from Chris Rothwell, Head of Education at Microsoft UK, about how schools are working together and sharing that innovation.

In this episode we focus on Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, one of the largest fire services in the UK. It looks after 12,000 square kilometres that includes numerous mountains and 650 kilometres of coastline. It's also an organisation steeped in tradition. So when Chris Davies became Chief Fire Officer, he made it his mission to drag it into the 21st century. Now, the firefighters are using Microsoft Surface devices to help them free people trapped in car accidents, and HoloLens to provide remote training.You will hear from Chris in this podcast, as well as Ryan Lewis, Microsoft’s National Technology Strategist for all the public sector organisations in Wales, about how the country is increasingly embracing digital transformation.Click the play button and join us on our journey.

In this episode we are visiting Dimension Studio, a Microsoft mixed-reality partner that creates incredible experiences using holograms. Dimension has worked with stars such as Madonna, boxer Anthony Joshua and tennis player Andy Murray. It also helped to create a hologram of a model, so she could see herself walking down the catwalk.Dimension is on the cutting-edge of digital experiences, so I was keen to talk to them and Alex Montgomery, Director of Azure Product Marketing at Microsoft, about innovation in mixed-reality and using Microsoft HoloLens to create new ways of seeing the world.

In this episode we focus on the famous Abbey Road studio in London, which has been used by musicians such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Sir Edward Elgar, and was used to record the scores to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, Gravity and Black Panther.Specifically, we will be looking at Abbey Road's music technology incubator, called Red. Microsoft helps Red run hackathons, which aim to understand what the future of sound recording could look like.You will hear from Dominika Dronska, Head of Digital at Abbey Road, and Chagall, a singer and musician who uses a motion capture suit in her performances. They will talk about what innovation means to them.Click the play button and join us on our journey.

Hello and welcome to Microsoft Stories, a new podcast about technology and innovation.In this episode we focus on Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs some of the busiest hospitals in London. Staff are wearing Microsoft HoloLens, the mixed-reality headset, as they work in high-risk areas. This has been useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, as only one person wearing a HoloLens has to be close to patients, while the rest of the medical team can watch a live feed in another room.You will hear from James Kinross, a consultant surgeon and senior lecturer at Imperial College London who was on the frontlines of medical care during the pandemic.You will also hear from Annette Garner, an Azure specialist focused on data and AI in health, and Laura Robinson, Health and Life Sciences Lead at Microsoft UK, who reveal how technology can help doctors, nurses and GPs, and ease pressure on the NHS.

In this episode we are focusing on Project Natick, a Microsoft research project that placed data centres in the sea and powered them using renewable energy.The aim is to see if data centres can be deployed closer to the people, businesses and organisations who use them. Almost half of the world’s population lives within 120 miles of the ocean, so the benefits for them are potentially huge.How did Microsoft come up with the idea to place data centres in the sea, and how did it happen?Ben Cutler, who leads the Project Natick team, and Michael Wignall, Azure Business Lead at Microsoft UK, will answer those questions in this podcast.

In this episode we are focusing on OceanMind, a UK company that's using Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to help protect oceans and tackle illegal fishing across the world. The work undertaken by CEO Nick Wise and his staff has a positive impact on the sustainability of our planet and human rights issues.We chatted to Nick about innovation at OceanMind, and how his company, which is based in Oxford, can operate so successfully in countries on the other side of the planet.You will also hear from Eve Joseph, UK Responsibility Manager at Microsoft, about how start-ups are embracing innovative ways of working, and Microsoft's AI for Good programme.

Hello, and welcome to Microsoft Stories, a new podcast about technology and innovation.In this episode we hear about the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which makes it easier for people with limited mobility to play videogames.The controller allows gamers to connect to external buttons, switches, mounts and joysticks, giving them an easy-to-set-up and readily available way to play Xbox One or Windows 10 games.UK charities welcomed the device, as well as its packaging, which has been specially designed to be opened by gamers with limited mobility. The controller has received widespread praise, won a Golden Joystick Award and been included in a gallery devoted to groundbreaking design at the V&A museum in London.You will hear from Vivek Gohil, a 30-year-old gamer who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, who says the controller has allowed him to play his favourite games again. We also hear from Chris Kujawski, principal designer on the Microsoft Device Design Team, who worked on the Adaptive Controller.Click the play button and join us on our journey.

In this episode, we hear about Project Tokyo, an incredible solution for people who are blind that was created in Microsoft's Cambridge Research Lab.You will hear from Principal Researcher Cecily Morrison, who led a group that adapted a Microsoft HoloLens headset. When a person who is blind puts on the headset, it will call out the names of the people in the room with them.You will also hear from Hector Minto, Microsoft’s Accessibility Evangelist for Europe, about how technology is changing the way people with disabilities interact with the world, and how those people are increasingly creating their own digital solutions.

In this episode, we hear from Anna and Cameron McLean, who spent 43 days rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. When they had completed the 3,000-mile journey, they had set two world records: the first brother and sister to row across an ocean, and the fastest mixed-sex pair to row across the Atlantic.This is the story of their journey, but it's also much more than that. I wanted to find out if innovation played a part in their success. If it did, then how? How did they innovate while facing rough seas and sharks? Did they innovate together on that tiny boat, or were they innovating while taking turns on the oars?In this podcast, you will hear directly from Anna and Cameron about their Atlantic crossing and how they innovated along the way.

Welcome to Microsoft Stories - a new podcast looking at technology and the people who use it.In this series, I’m trying to answer the question: what is innovation? What does it mean to be innovative? How do you know you’re being innovative? Along my journey, I meet people using technology in amazing ways, and discover what innovation means to them.Join me on my journey.