First MVP Summit
As a first time MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional), I got an opportunity to attend the in person event in USA (Redmond, Seattle)
What is MVP?
Microsoft MVP are professionals nominated by Microsoft for their outstanding contributions in the community related to Microsoft technologies.
MVP Event
MVP Event is held usually in the last week of March every year
Location
MVP events are held in Redmond (Seattle), in Microsoft’s headquarters
Transit
Seattle is the city in the state of Washington. It lies on the west coast of USA. Microsoft headquarter is located in Redmond which is 28 km from Seattle downtown. Bellevue is the closest city to Redmond which is at a distance of 12 km.
You can travel from Bellevue to Redmond in Tram.
Redmond technology Centre is the closest station to Microsoft head quarters.
There is a bus stop outside Redmond technology centre which serves as a transit to ferry Microsoft staff across various buildings. These buses are known as Connectors and is accessible only for Microsoft staff.
To travel between one building to another within Microsoft campus, you can hail a Shuttle. Shuttles are of type cars, mini van, mini bus etc. You can either pre-book a shuttle or catch a shuttle at a special designated points around the buildings.
Event
MVP Event consist of a keynote and breakout sessions. Most of the sessions that happen during the event are with N.D.A (non disclosure agreement) contents.
Technical sessions, Networking and sneak preview of upcoming technologies are the main purpose of attending the events.
MVPs get a chance to meet Product managers and product team and share product experience and suggest feedback and contribute to the roadmap planning for product suite.
MVPs get a chance to meet with various top executives from Microsoft.
Microsoft provides food (breakfast, lunch and snacks) for the event.
MVP events have a limited capacity and hence it is advisable to register for the event as early as possible. The next MVP event will be held during March 2026
Read through the Microsoft Blog here: A Recap of the MVP Summit 2025 | Microsoft Community Hub
Campus Tours
MVPs could choose from a variety of tours to attend during conference. Some of the tours that were available were:
- Microsoft Audio Lab
- Inclusive Tech Lab
- Garage Tour
Read more about this: Audio Lab | Microsoft: Inside B87
YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/Cyqc_4ixV80
INCLUSIVE TECH LAB
I got an opportunity to meet Solomon Romney from Microsoft (Accessibility Program Manager). Microsoft is doing a great job by including Accessibility in every area of software development. I was really impressed by the work done by Solomon and his team. Inclusive Tech Lab is one such initiative by Microsoft to welcome all people in using the tech and advance towards the future in a unified way.
Video URL: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/inclusive-tech-lab/?msockid=2133568a08cf61aa0456439409e260a8#
MVP Badge
All MVPs attending the event gets a badge for the 3 day event. Badge allows you to visit Microsoft venues across Redmond. The badge is your identity to showcase the specializations you master in the MVP space
Gallery
Some of the images captured during the MVP Summit
One of many
There are around 3000 Microsoft MVP’s in the world. In the MVP summit and in many conferences around the world hosted by Microsoft, a banner gets displayed which lists down the names of all current MVP’s
