Editor's Note: Carnegie Mellon graduate student G. Ayorkor Mills-Tettey wrote about her conversation with Microsoft founder Bill Gates during his visit to the Carnegie Mellon campus.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF YOU HAD THREE MINUTES TO TALK TO BILL GATES?
Written by G. Ayorkor Mills-Tettey,
Robotics Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University
February 22, 2008

Two weeks ago, I was told that Mr. Gates would be visiting our university, and that I would be one of only three students who would be given the opportunity to address him. As the student representative of TechBridgeWorld at Carnegie Mellon, I was invited to tell him about our work in innovating technology solutions to help the four billion people at the base of the world economy transform their lives. It was not until I began to prepare for the presentation with the assistance of my advisors and colleagues that I realized how short three minutes really were. What should I say? And how should I say it?

As Mr. Gates is transitioning from his full-time role at Microsoft to his philanthropic work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it was a great opportunity for TechBridgeWorld to talk to him about our shared vision of creating solutions relevant to sustainable global development. We are passionate about this work, and I was excited to get to speak about it.

The audience with Mr. Gates was very intimate. Accompanied by the president of the university and the dean of the School of Computer Science, he walked into the room briskly, took off his jacket, took a seat, and we jumped right to business. Mine was the closing presentation, and so I had the opportunity to observe Mr. Gates as he listened to the other two students talk about some of the exciting research being done in the School of Computer Science.

I was struck first by his thoughtfulness as he listened to the presentations, then by the breadth of his knowledge as evidenced by the insightful comments he made and questions he asked following each one. It was obvious that this was a hands-on person – not simply a high-level manager, but a problem-solver, someone who cut right to the fundamental questions and technical details of the research.

For my co-presenters and me, this was a pleasant surprise because it was wonderful to have him show this level of interest and understanding in work we believe is important. It was also slightly nerve-wracking because we knew that the combination of his broad perspective and his technical insight could and would result in some very challenging questions. Of course, I mean "nerve-wracking" in an enjoyable kind of way, because as a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon, you learn to love challenging questions for the learning opportunity they provide.

After I spoke to Mr. Gates about the opportunities that TechBridgeWorld creates for researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon to learn about the challenges of development and help solve them, I was completely thrown by the first question he asked: "which technology is used by the most number of poor people?"

Surprised, I thought to myself, "I really have no idea. The world is so diverse – the lives of the urban poor are so different from the lives of the rural poor, can there really be one answer to this question?" Then I thought, "Well, many people at the base of the economic pyramid live in agricultural communities in the developing world. Perhaps the most commonly used technology is a farming tool like a hoe. This is an interesting question. But why on earth does he want to know this?

Perhaps he already knows the answer. Maybe he's going somewhere with this, trying to make a point."

I probably looked at him rather blankly for a moment as all this was going through my mind; then I collected my thoughts and asked for clarification: did he mean what existing technology is used by the most people? It turns out that he wanted to know which of the technologies developed by TechBridgeWorld is used by the most number of people. What a relief – here was a question I could actually answer!

The short conversation that ensued gave me one more insight about him and his work at the foundation – it is clear that he wants to make the biggest impact on the greatest number of people. He asked rhetorically: can you say a project has been successful once it has impacted 100,000 or more people? From his talks, you realize that there is an urgency about his work with the foundation; an urgency characterized by complete rationality and sound research on one hand and boldness and willingness to take risks on the other. This attitude is an inspiration to any one who wants to change the world. It is certainly an inspiration to me.

For me, the take-home message from Bill Gates' visit was contained in his answer to a student's question after he addressed the campus. Mr. Gates asserted that in taking on these challenges related to development, you have to be audacious and set high goals. You have to take risks and be willing to fail, but not let the failures hide the successes. In my life and work, I hope to continue to focus my efforts on helping to advance human development and education. As such, I do not plan to forget this message.

Questions about this article? Please contact:

Sarah Belousov
Project Assistant
TechBridgeWorld
Tel: +1 412.68.7147
Email: sarahtbw@ri.cmu.edu

Information about Bill Gates' February 21st visit to Carnegie Mellon University's Pittsburgh campus and the online video of his presentation are also available. (Gates' comment about TechBridgeWorld is in the last few minutes of his formals remarks before the question and answer discussion.)
Bill Gates Unplugged

Bill Gates' comment about TechBridgeWorld was also included in a February 22nd article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.