Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Science
Group zoom photo of students, Bala and Nadella

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella meets with students

Over 1,000 alumni, students and Cornell community members tuned in to hear from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack on March 24, for the 2021 Hatfield Lecture.

Pollack and Nadella discussed how organizations can move forward beyond the pandemic, the future of work, and how technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Before the lecture, Nadella  met virtually with undergraduate students from the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, along with Dean Kavita Bala. The group discussed the importance of creating inclusive and supportive work environments and the continued need to increase representation in the computer science field. Nadella also emphasized the only way to solve today’s greatest challenges is to bring together multiple perspectives and disciplines—the core principle of the college's model for over twenty years.

“Satya’s insights were very inspiring to me,” said Madalyn Redding ’22, a computer science student and member of the student roundtable. “One of the topics he spoke on was treating each opportunity as the best you could have in that moment. I’ve thought about it a lot since then, and have been working on putting all of my effort into what I’m doing right now.”

Read more about Satya Nadella's visit in this story by Kaitlin Provost. 

Watch the 2021 Hatfield Lecture with Satya Nadella and President Pollack.