Sunday, July 06, 2008
Imagine Cup 2008
So, recently, I recieved great news about being nominated to attend Imagine Cup finale in Paris and cover the event for Microsoft’s Channel 8. I didn’t want to announce anything until I got updates. I wasn’t their final choice, but boy it was wonderful being nominated. Getting that oppurtunity means you get to interview awesome people and talk to the anxious teams that want to WIN!
What is Imagine Cup?
Imagine Cup is an annual competition that Microsoft came up with years back. Any student above the age of 16 from anywhere around the world can join simply by signing up at the website (imaginecup.com). There are various categories to choose from: Software Development, Game Development, Embedded Dvelopment, Interface Design, Web Design, Photography, Short Film and the IT Challenge. You do not have to be an IT student and the most important rule is to stick to the theme and use Microsoft technology to come up with your solution. The key to win is to come up with something innovative!
This year, the theme is: “Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment”.
Imagine Cup in the Middle East!
It is really exciting how students from the Middle East are eager to participate, learn and enjoy this great experience. This is the second year in which the Middle East participates, and the first year a Kuwaiti team joins! Dr. Thalaya Al-Fozan led his Super Coders team all the way to Dubai to present their project. Just last month, teams from Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE and Oman gathered together in Dubai to compete in the first round of the Imagine Cup competiton for Software Development category. A team from UAE won the Imagine Cup Gulf Regional Finals and proceeded to the world finals in Paris.
At Imagine Cup, everyone is a winner. Jut being there in Dubai, the teams have been exposed to a great educational experience and had the oppurtunity to meet people from different backgrounds that share their same passion of technology. To participate in any other category, teams would directly sign up and submit their work online.
Next year, there will be a few changes; each country will hold its own competition and the winner will proceed directly to the finals. There will also be new categories introduced - so it will be great for anyone interested!
Paris, France. Final Round. July 3 - 8, 2008.
Now in Paris, where this year’s final round kicked off on Monday, July 3, 2008. At least 370 students from 61 countries across the world gather together at City Hall to present their projects and win great prizes. There are teams from Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia participating this year in the final round.
The focus for Imagine Cup 2008 is on building technology solutions that help address challenging environmental sustainability issues. From a pool of over 200,000 participants, 121 teams have been selected to represent their countries in Paris for a week of competition around their innovative technology solutions. These student-developed solutions range from improving access to clean water, reducing pollution and carbon emissions to achieving sustainable cities and reducing demand on energy.
Now, of course its not all panic, code and coffee during those days! On July 6, students were given a day off to enjoy their visit in Paris with their new friends.
On July 8th, the award ceremony will take place and the winners are announced from each category. Of course, an official annoucement declaring a suprise theme and the location of the Imagine Cup 2009 Finals. It is going to be a great surprise at the end of the day! 
Find out more: http://imaginecup.com/Competition/finals.aspx
Filed under: Microsoft |
Comments
2
Shay |
Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 06.47 am
@N, Yup, I totally agree, it’s such an innovative strategy! They’ve been doing this since 2003, taking the students to a different country each year like Spain, Brazil, Japan, India, Korea, France and now 2009 being held in Egypt! Its a different theme each year. The whole idea of bringing the students together in one place is an experience itself that no student should miss.
I am so glad that Kuwait University is really supporting Dr. Alfozan and his teams representing Kuwait. You guys are going to win 2009!!
1
This is the first time I hear about it! Sounds like a very innovative and positive strategy by microsoft. I also love the theme for this year!