My World, My thoughts

After six consecutive successful events, Microsoft team is all set to present the 7th incarnation of its famous IMAGINE CUP 2009. 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.

We need everyone - software programmers, hardware developers, artists and dreamers - to imagine a better world, then make it happen. The Imagine Cup brings together more than 200,000 students from over 100 countries around the world where they compete to help find the answers. And no matter who comes up with the best solutions - everybody wins!

Each year the Finals are held in a different city of the world. Past Worldwide Finals include Paris, France (2008); Seoul, South Korea (2007); Delhi, India (2006); Yokohama, Japan (2005); Sao Paulo, Brazil (2004); and Barcelona, Spain (2003). The 2009 Worldwide Finals will be held in Cairo, Egypt in July 2009. The world can’t wait!

We are 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. Think big! The judging requires students to use their creativity and drive if they want to compete on the world stage. This is where legends are born and lives are changed - where an application starts as an idea and ends up being used all over the world.

The object of the Embedded Development Invitational is to unleash students’ creativity in an effort to change the world into a better place. They will develop their own embedded device whose function it is to better us all. The Embedded Development Invitational 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 Invitational is to create a new game that uses both Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio 3.0 and Visual Studio. Competitors’ games should illustrate the Imagine Cup theme “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” 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.

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 “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” 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.

Great photographers know a single image can change the world. 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.

We all love to go to the movies but some of us love to make movies! 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.

The object of the Design Invitational is to create a solution of an innovative design for easier machines and human interactions by inspiring students to use the power of technology as means to manifest their creativeness. The new, innovative design must bring a real benefit and address the challenges of the 2009 Imagine Cup Theme.