Written by Christian Sommer for the MSRA internal newsletter.
A few years ago, during my studies at ETH Zurich, I encountered Asia for the first time. With the university symphony orchestra we made a tour to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Even though it was a very interesting and intriguing experience, I did not expect it to influence my life the way it has. One year later I went to Tokyo, Japan for an internship and I was again fascinated (and of course challenged) by many cultural differences. After writing my Master's thesis I decided to go back to Japan to pursue a PhD and to gain further international experience.
The name Microsoft Research came up again and again when reading papers and doing an internship in MSRA sounded like a very good opportunity.
I found out that it was far more than that. China and MSRA is definitely different than the other places I have visited. To be honest, at first I had to get used to the hotel and to some Chinese habits quite a bit. However, the positive experience by far outweighs everything else. I am really impressed by the commitment of Chinese students and I am amazed to be surrounded by that many ACM finalists, IOI medalists, great researchers, and interesting personalities. It is definitely not just another stop on my journey!
Well guided by my supervisor and the other members of the theory group, I have tried to find efficient shortest path algorithms. Although Dijkstra's algorithm is still among the most efficient, today's huge graphs, such as the MSN messenger graph or the web graph with millions or billions of nodes, pose several computational problems. Hopefully, our group's efforts can make some progress in addressing these issues.
Besides my research project I also enjoy other activities at Microsoft and in Beijing. The interaction with Chinese students is the most enriching experience. As I cannot speak sufficient Mandarin, I am fortunate that most interns can speak English.
Recently, I took part in a table topics session of the Toastmaster club, a group whose members practice leadership and presentation skills in English. The speakers gave an impromptu two minute speech about their hometown. Thanks to that discussion I learned a lot about Chinese cities. During this exchange, I described my small hometown and a traditional winter festival wherein children dress up as billy goats and chase away ghosts. As far as I know, my hometown is the only village still celebrating this tradition.
Another exciting event at Microsoft was the shooting of the UR video. For the first time in my life, I had my make-up done professionally and made a PR statement in front of a camera. Since movie actors always look so relaxed, I did not expect it to be that tiring. Hopefully the hard work paid off, I am looking forward to seeing the final cut.
One of the most memorable experiences during my time at Microsoft Research was when I received the "Lingual Man" Award. This award, presented to the intern that can speak the most languages, was a great honor. More so, because all of my fellow MSRA comrades are brilliant. A highlight of the award ceremony in the Mid-Autumn Mini-Winedown was when I was taught several Mandarin phrases on stage. Although I struggled to pronounce the words correctly, it was a valuable inter-cultural exchange.
This was only the beginning. I look forward to more unforgettable moments at MSRA.
