About ImagineCup
As the world's
premier student technology competition, the Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young
people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations
that can make a difference in the world. Now in its seventh year, the Imagine Cup has grown to be
a truly global competition focused on finding solutions to global issues.
More than 200,000
students from over 100 countries entered the 2008 competition. The theme of Imagine Cup 2009 is
"Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world's toughest problems."
The Imagine Cup was founded in 2003. Worldwide Finals host countries have spanned the globe from Spain,
to Brazil, to Japan, to India, to South Korea, and finally to France. In 2009 the Worldwide Finals will
take place in Egypt.
What's New
PARIS - July 8, 2008 -
Microsoft Corp. announced the winners of Imagine Cup 2008 at
the Musée du Louvre, after a week of intense competition among
finalists chosen from a pool of more than 200,000 students from
over 100 countries and regions.
Celebrating first place, Australia's
Team SOAK won the worldwide Software Design invitational, Singapore's
Team Trail Blazers won the Embedded Development invitational, and
Brazil's Mother Gaia Studio won the Game Development challenge.
A total of 370 students from 124 teams representing 61 countries and regions
competed in the worldwide Imagine Cup finals in nine categories: Software Design,
Embedded Development, Game Development, "Project Hoshimi" (Programming Battle), IT
Challenge, Algorithm, Photography, Short Film and Interface Design.
2009 Theme
In 2009, the Imagine Cup challenges the world's most talented students to "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today." Some might use technology to help a brother or sister get an education. Or find entirely new approaches for medicine. Or discover ways to counter the inequalities that exist between genders around the world. These students might ensure the sustainability of our planet or help deliver universal primary education. Yeah, it's that important. The United Nations has identified some of the hardest challenges in the world today in its Millennium Goals. This year the Imagine Cup uses these ambitious challenges as a guiding light to inspire change all over the world. Learn more about the eight Millennium Goals.
Who's Participating
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Register Now!!
Tips to Win
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Software Design In the software design competition, students create real world, dynamic and powerful software solutions using Microsoft tools and technology. Competitors are asked to demonstrate innovation on the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Windows platform as they conceive, test, and build applications that can change the world for the better.
Embedded Development: Devices are becoming smaller, more portable and are having a greater impact on our everyday lives. Formerly the Windows Embedded Student ChallengE, this competition challenges students to go beyond the desktop, challenge your creativity, and to build a complete hardware and software solution using Windows CE and the hardware provided.
Game Development:As video games are becoming a major part of mainstream entertainment the opportunity to do something socially responsible with the medium has arrived. This year's "Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge" will represent the first time a game development category has been available during the Imagine Cup. This year's challenge will be the ultimate test of a student's creative and technical skills as they create a game that is not only entertaining but has a social message about creating a sustainable environment.
Project Hiroshima:Comic-style graphics bring to life the world of Professor Hoshimi and his faithful crew of scientists and programmers as they engage in a fantasy battle of life and death. Programmers are faced with very real challenges, and compete directly online with people across the world to see who can create the fastest program to save the day.
IT Challenge: Students are challenged to develop, deploy, and maintain IT systems that are efficient, functional, robust and secure. Additionally, students must demonstrate proficiency in the science of networks, databases, and servers, and the areas of analysis and decision making in IT environments.
Algorithm: Through a series of brain teasers, coding challenges, and algorithmic puzzles, students discover and implement the right algorithms, attempting feats like decoding the human genome and routing millions of packets across networks.
Photography: By using a photo essay format, students are challenged to communicate a story about creating a sustainable environment using only photos as the communication medium.
Short Film: This invitational highlights the art and science of telling a story. Students are challenged to share a perspective on the Imagine Cup theme and to express themselves in the digital media. From concept and storyboard to footage and editing, the participants must be able to create a film that moves the audience while conveying its strong purpose and meaning.
Interface Design: Creativity and usability are the necessary ingredients to create a well-designed user interface, one that contributes to a successful piece of software or Web application. This invitational challenges designers all over the world to create functional, compelling, forward-thinking user interfaces. Competitors have a unique opportunity to envision an application, connect it to the theme of the Imagine Cup, and show the world how their skills bring it to life.
