Imagine Cup - Global Student Technology Competition
Now in its seventh year, the Imagine Cup is a global student technology competition focused on finding solutions to real-world issues. The competition encourages the world’s most talented software designers, programmers, game developers, photographers and filmmakers to tackle the toughest problems facing the world today.
Since 2002, the Imagine Cup has been challenging the world’s brightest students to step up and make a difference. Over 200,000 technology students around the world including Nigeria competed in the 2008 competition. This year’s Imagine Cup challenges the world’s most talented students to “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.”
Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition, whereby Microsoft encourages young people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. The 2009 Worldwide Finals will be held in Cairo, Egypt in the summer of 2009.
As ideas continue to change the world positively, technology can be the force that transforms some great ideas into real world solutions. The solutions might be in the next few lines of code, a compelling photo or even a simple video game that can teach the world a lesson. That’s the point of the Imagine Cup every year: to use technology to make a difference.
What are the Competition Categories?
Microsoft is asking students to create real world software and services applications that use Microsoft tools and technology. It’s not just about the PC anymore - students need to think about taking advantage of mobile devices as well.
The Embedded Development competition challenges students to go beyond the PC desktop and work in both hardware and software to build an embedded solution using Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 and the provided embedded platform.
The object of the Game Development competition is to create a new game that uses both Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Visual Studio. This is a chance for students who’ve always enjoyed playing games to create their own game and at the same time help change the global community.
The Game Development Invitational is a great opportunity for learning and advancement towards an important step in their budding careers either as a game developer or as an entrepreneur in the game business. This is the students’ opportunity to build a full game from scratch!
Robots need more than gears and wires - they require highly sophisticated algorithms to interpret and interact with the world around them. This competition is a mathematical obstacle course where students must navigate a series of brain teasers, code challenges and algorithmic puzzles to demonstrate their ability to understand the potential of robots in our world. This exciting event takes place in a virtual world as students progress through increasingly difficult rounds.
Students are challenged to develop, deploy, and maintain IT systems that are elegant, functional, robust and secure. This demanding competition requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the science of networks, databases, and servers. They also need to show their analytical abilities and make tough decisions in IT environments. Now where are our Computer Science/Engineering students?
The object of the MashUp competition is to create a new and useful Web 2.0 application that is connected to the Imagine Cup theme. Students will use Microsoft PopFly to leverage current third party data and services available on the internet to create a new and unique tool that is effectively consumed by other internet users as their Imagine Cup entry.
In this competition, students communicate a story that explores a critical issue through a photo essay of inspiring still images. The photos must grab the audience and illustrate the students’ personal insight into these global issues. This one seems quite easy, but will take a great knowledge of the art of photography to capture your audience attention.
(If I was a student, I’d probably have participated in this category as I love photography)
Filmmaking is a technical craft combined with the art of storytelling using moving images. A short film has the difficulty of conveying a message in a brief period of time while also being visually stimulating. In this competition, students will be challenged to create an original short film and also demonstrate excellence in filmmaking at all levels from concept art to polished editing.
This competition is ambitiously calling for students to use their talent in order to create a technology solution relevant to the theme of the 2009 Imagine Cup.
How to Participate?
To participate in one or more Imagine Cup categories, you need to be 16 years of age or older; and you need to be actively enrolled as a student at an accredited NZ educational institution at any time between January 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009. So you can be a high school student, a tertiary student, post graduate student, masters student.
With the exception of the Software Design Competition, you can enter the other categories as an individual. The Software Design competition requires a minimum of 2 students to form a team. The categories that are competed globally are conducted online. You will need to register and submit your projects online for each round. If you are successful and enter the final round, you will be invited to attend the World Wide Finals and an all expenses paid trip to the World Wide Finals.
- Register to sign up to compete in one of the categories and gain access to the forums and e-learning resources.
- Decide on which competition fits your talents and motivations: Explore the 2009 competitions to find just the one you want to compete in!
- Be the best competitor (and add some new lines to your resume): Microsoft Learning is proud to partner with this year’s Imagine Cup to help you prepare for the competition. With over 25 years of technical training expertise, Microsoft Learning provides tools and services to master the latest products and technologies. We’re excited to help make your experience with Imagine Cup 2009 a great success. Start learning now!
- Think about the theme! If you are choosing a competition that requires you to create a theme-based project (all except for IT Challenge and Robotics & Algorithm), read about the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals and start thinking about which goal(s) you want to make an impact on.
- Visit the forums to start meeting other students like you right away.
What are the Benefits?
If you are able to participate in the Imagine Cup 2009, you will:
- contribute your talents to tackling some of the toughest problems facing us today and maybe even turn your ideas into a business some day;
- learn new technology skills and test yourself against the brightest students on the planet;
- make new friends from around the world;
- have the chance to win cash prizes, internships at Microsoft, and even a free trip to Cairo, Egypt this July for the Worldwide Finals