2026 Phase 1

Welcome to Phase 1 of the 2026 MSA programme! The programme is split into two streams (Data Science and Software Development), and Phase 1 consists of Microsoft Learn modules for each stream.

The expected workload for Phase 1 of each stream is 3-4 hours per week. As such, we recommend that you use the schedule below to spread out your workload and not try to complete everything in one week.

Before you begin Phase 1: Please make sure to watch the recording of the Launch Night if you missed the live session.

Unsure about your eligibility for Phase 2 or Phase 3? Please take a moment to complete the eligibility check linked below. It takes less than a minute and will help you confirm whether you meet the requirements to proceed. Click here to complete the eligibility check

Please Note: In Phase 1, you were encouraged to explore both streams (Data Science and Software Development) to help you better understand your interests and strengths. However, as we move into Phase 2, you will be required to choose only one stream, and you can only submit your work for that selected stream. After completing the Phase 1 training, you should have a clearer idea of which stream you'd like to focus on moving forward. When submitting your Phase 1, please upload a full-page screenshot of the Microsoft Learn collection that corresponds to your selected Phase 2 stream only.

While it may be tempting to quickly skim through the content to complete the modules faster, it is strongly advised that you take the time to engage with the material thoroughly. The knowledge and skills you gain in Phase 1 will serve as a foundation for the more advanced work in later phases of the programme. Treat this as a valuable learning opportunity—this time has been intentionally allocated for you to build your understanding, so make the most of it by actively learning rather than rushing through.

Contents:

• Getting Started
• Schedule
• Submission
• Key Tools
• Support

Getting Started

To get started with Phase 1:

1. Sign up for the 2026 MSA programme

• Note: Please sign up for the programme using the same email as the Microsoft account you want to use for the programme (if you already have one)

2. Create a Microsoft account if you don't already have one

• Note: Please create an account using the same email that you signed up for the programme with

3. Log in to Microsoft Learn with your Microsoft account
4. Complete all the Microsoft Learn modules listed in the schedule below for your chosen stream

Schedule

The schedule is split into six weeks, and each week is split into the two streams (Software Development and Data Science).

All the Microsoft Learn modules listed below can be found in these Microsoft Learn collections for easy access and completion tracking:

• Data Science collection
• Software Development collection

Week 1

Data Science

1. Get started building with Power BI
2. Get data in Power BI
3. Clean, transform, and load data in Power BI

Software Development

1. Introduction to GitHub
2. Write your first C# code
3. Introduction to .NET
4. Create a new .NET project and work with dependencies
5. Introduction to .NET web development with ASP.NET Core
6. Build your first ASP.NET Core web app
7. Customize ASP.NET Core behavior with middleware

Week 2

Data Science

1. Introduction to AI concepts
2. Explore and analyze data with Python
3. Train and evaluate regression models
4. Train and evaluate classification models

Software Development

1. Get started with web development using Visual Studio Code
2. React Tutorial: Tic-Tac-Toe

Note: There are currently no Microsoft Learn modules for React, so we have provided the official React Tic-Tac-Toe tutorial instead. If you are already familiar with React, feel free to read ahead or skip this module.

Additional resource: JavaScript Tutorial Recommended topics: JavaScript Fundamentals, Code Quality, Objects: the basics, Data types

Week 3

Data Science

1. Train and evaluate clustering models
2. Introduction to computer vision concepts
3. Introduction to natural language processing with TensorFlow
4. Train and evaluate deep learning models)

Software Development

Note: This week does not contain Microsoft Modules. Please go through the tutorial on TypeScript

1. TypeScript for the New Programmer
2. TypeScript for JavaScript Programmers

Please try TypeScript Tool

Week 4

Data Science

1. Responsible AI with GitHub Copilot
2. Introduction to GitHub Copilot
3. Introduction to prompt engineering with GitHub Copilot

Software Development

Note: This week does not contain Microsoft Modules. Please go through the tutorial on TypeScript

1. The Basics
2. Everyday Types
3. More on Functions
4. Object Types
5. Classes

Week 5

Data Science

1. Introduction to Copilot Spaces
2. Using advanced GitHub Copilot features
3. GitHub Copilot Across Environments: IDE, Chat, GitHub.com, and Command Line Techniques
4. Management and customization considerations with GitHub Copilot

Software Development

1. Introduction to Transact-SQL
2. Sort and filter results in T-SQL
3. Combine multiple tables with JOINs in T-SQL
4. Modify data with T-SQL

Week 6

Data Science

1. Develop unit tests using GitHub Copilot tools
2. Building applications with GitHub Copilot agent mode
3. Using GitHub Copilot with Python

Software Development

1. Use a database with minimal API, Entity Framework Core, and ASP.NET Core
2. Build continuous integration (CI) workflows by using GitHub Actions
3. Build a containerized web application with Docker
4. Host a web application with Azure App Service 5.Introduction to software testing concepts (This is not a Learn module, but it is highly recommended and very valuable, so please make sure to go through it carefully.)

Submission

To complete Phase 1 and submit evidence of your completion:

1. Complete all the Microsoft Learn modules listed in the schedule above
2. Download all the key tools listed below
3. Log in to your Microsoft account and take a full-page screenshot of the Microsoft Learn collection that you completed (please complete all the modules if you haven't already).

• Data Science collection
• Software Development collection
• Note: To take a full-page screenshot, you can use this Chrome extension or if you are using Edge or Firefox, you can press Ctrl+Shift+S and then select "Capture/Save full page".

4. Submit this form by 11:59pm, Friday 29 May: MSA 2026 Phase 1 Submission

Please Note: In Phase 1, you were encouraged to explore both streams (Data Science and Software Development) to help you better understand your interests and strengths. However, as we move into Phase 2, you will be required to choose only one stream, and you can only submit your work for that selected stream. After completing the Phase 1 training, you should have a clearer idea of which stream you'd like to focus on moving forward. Please upload a full-page screenshot of the Microsoft Learn collection that corresponds to your selected Phase 2 stream only.

Key Tools

Here is a list of all the key tools you will need for the programme, we recommend that you download these before starting Phase 1 so that you can:

• Get familiar with them and gain as much value from the Microsoft Learn modules in Phase 1, which require you to download or use some of them.
• Be well prepared for Phase 2, where you will be actively using these tools.

Both Streams

• Git
  • For version control i.e. keeping track of any changes you make to your code
• Visual Studio (VS) Code
  • A code editor for any language
• GitHub Desktop
  • A graphical user interface (GUI) for Git
  • Note: If you are new to Git and not familiar with command line arguments, feel free to use this GUI for version control instead
• Github Copilot / Other AI Tools
  • It is important you understand how to use these AI tools in development as well as understand the content they generate.

Software Development

• Node.js
  • For backend web development
  • After downloading Node.js, please complete this tutorial to set up VS Code: Node.js in VS Code
  • Note: The Node.js Package Manager (npm) is also installed with Node.js, which allows you to use code created by other developers in your own code
• React
  • For frontend web development
  • After downloading React, please complete this tutorial to set up VS Code: React in VS Code
  • Note: You do not need to download anything else if you have downloaded Node.js, but we recommend you follow the steps in the React link above to ensure everything is working correctly
• Visual Studio Community
  • An integrated developer environment (IDE) for the C# language
• .NET 10
  • A framework for developing C# applications

Data Science

• Python
  • A widely used programming language, particularly in Data Science
  • After downloading Python, please complete this tutorial to set up VS Code: Python in VS Code
• VS Code - Data Science Tutorial
  • After completing Microsoft Learn modules about VS Code, we recommend that you complete the tutorial above to check that all your tools are working correctly, and install/fix any that are missing or not working
• Power BI
  • A Microsoft tool for creating dashboards and visualisations

Support

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact the MSA team via our:

• Discord server
  • Our main and fastest way of getting both technical and non-technical support, post your query in one of the public channels
• Messenger chat
  • Use this if would like to contact us privately, but note that this is primarily monitored by our Marketing team so any technical queries may be delayed
• Email
  • Use this if would like to contact us privately, but note that this is primarily monitored by our Marketing team so any technical queries may be delayed