Bill Gates Visits Top IT and Engineering Colleges

Bill Gates will visit six colleges - all top IT and engineering institutions across North America. It’s part of a three-day tour the Microsoft chairman and chief software architect is taking this week. The goal is - to talk to students and faculty about leading-edge technologies and about the vital role of computer science in the world today and in the future. This includes talks about their potential to change the way people live and work. 

Gates’ itinerary includes the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; the University of Wisconsin in Madison; New York City’s Columbia University; Princeton University in New Jersey; Howard University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He’ll visit two colleges per day.

“It’s really about listening as much as it is about us talking. It’s an opportunity for us to talk with students, meet with faculty, and see what’s on their mind. What’s going on out on campus? How is technology being used on campus? What are people interested in? In particular, the tour is about having a conversation about the field of computer science. Where is it today? Where is it going? Why do we as a company have this fundamental optimism about the field of computer science, the impact it’s having on the world, and the bright future that we think it’s going to have both in terms of the great things it’s going to do and the job opportunities in the field, and why we think people should be excited to go into this field,” said Kevin Schofield, general manager of strategy and communications at Microsoft Research, who is accompanying Gates in the halls of academia.

Gates' busy afternoon today included making a surprise visit as a "guest lecturer" for a computer science class, which was filmed by mtvU, a 24-hour college network, reported the college news site. Not surprising, however, was his overall message - the exciting opportunities for today's students as they enter fields related to technology.