Whatever your innovation, you can make an impact and win big – like, $100,000 with Imagine Cup. The Imagine Cup is a skill-based Competition sponsor by Microsoft Corporation. The competition is open to students around the world, the Competition seeks to honor the most innovative, ground-breaking and appealing software built with Microsoft tools and technology.The purpose of the program is to provide a global platform for students to turn their dreams into reality. The Microsoft will provide total $1, 40,000 to World finalists (1st-winner- $1, 00,000, 2nd- winner- $25,000, and 3rd-winner- $10,000.)
Microsoft Corporation is one of the best-known software companies in the world. Microsoft is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington, that develops, manufactures, licenses supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics, and personal computers and services.
Eligibility:
You are eligible to enter if you meet the following requirements at the time of entry:
- You are at least 16 years of age as of 31 July 2016 and are actively enrolled as a student at an accredited educational institution that grants high-school or college/university (or equivalent) degrees (including home schools) at any time between 1 January 2016 and 31 May 2017
- If you are considered a minor in your place of residence, then you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Competition.
- You are not a resident of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria; and U.S. export regulations prohibit the export of goods and services to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Therefore, residents of these countries/regions are not eligible to participate.
- You are not an employee or intern of Microsoft Corporation, or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, at any time between 1 January 2017 and 31 July 2017
- You are not involved in any part of the execution or administration of this Competition
- You are not an immediate family member of (parent, sibling, spouse/domestic partner, and child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Competition between 1 January 2017 and 31 July 2017.
- If you have previously competed in an Imagine Cup World Finals event as a World Finalist, you are eligible to enter but any entry submitted must be substantially new, unique, and different from anything you’ve brought to world finals before.
- This Competition is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.
- Teams and Mentors:
- Up to three (3), eligible students may submit a single entry as a team.
- You may have assistance with your project from additional students beyond the three who are your official team.
- Team members may come from different academic institutions and from different countries.
- Each team is allowed only one mentor.
- Each competitor may belong to only one team within the competition.
- As part of the registration process, each team must choose a country/region which it will represent. At least one member of the team must be a legal resident of the country the team is representing.
How to Apply:
To compete, each team member should create an account and register for the competition at the given link: https://compete.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us/category/register/9
Supporting Documents:
- Round 1 – National Finals/Online Finals
- National Finals- Live Presentation, Software, and Software Instructions
- Online Finals- Project Proposal, Presentation Video, Software, and Software Instructions
- Round 2 – World Finals
- World Finals- Live Presentation and Software
All Projects must be developed using at least one product in the Visual Studio family and must be built to require Microsoft Azure. As a student, you can obtain free tools, software, and services at Microsoft Imagine.
All entries must meet the following requirements:
- Live Presentation: The Live Presentation is a ten minute PowerPoint overview of your team and project accompanied by a live stage demonstration of your project. The Live Presentation must meet the following criteria as well as any other criteria set forth by your National Final and/or the World Finals:
- You are responsible for arriving with your software installed on suitable hardware for the demonstration.
- Your presentation must clearly address each of the Judging Criteria outlined above.
- The accompanying PowerPoint must be in the English language and you must conduct your presentation in English. If a translator is needed, you are responsible for procuring one. Microsoft staff cannot serve as translators for your team. It is acceptable for mentors to serve as translators but they must only translate the spoken words of team members and not make a presentation on behalf of the team.
- The project you demonstrate must be fully functional and implemented.
- Any or all of your team members may participate in the presentation, but all are not required to participate. It’s permissible for a single team member to deliver the entire presentation.
- At the end of your presentation, the judges will have ten minutes to ask you questions.
- Presentation Video: The Presentation Video is a video recording of your Live Presentation and must abide by the same requirements as the Live Presentation except
- Project Proposal: Your Project Proposal must meet the following criteria:
- Your presentation must clearly address each of the Judging Criteria outlined above.
- Your document must be in English.
- It must be no larger than 100MB.
- It must be in either- DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, or PDF formats.
- You may compress your document in a ZIP file for submission.
- Software: Software must meet the following requirements:
- Your software must be in one of the following formats for installation depending on its platform as- Windows, Mobile Device, and Microsoft Azure.
- The app must be no more than 3GB. No source code is permitted and apps will be disqualified if they are submitted as development projects.
- If your app includes and/or requires Kinect support you must include this as a requirement in the Software Instructions document.
- If your app includes and/or requires touchscreen/slate capabilities, you must include this as a requirement in the Software Instructions document.
- The installation process of your software must not require the internet to complete successfully. If you use click once you must ensure it includes your entire project and does not attempt to retrieve components from online.
- It is acceptable to support multiple languages in your app as long as English is one of the represented languages.
- Software Instructions:The Software Instructions must meet the following requirements:
- The instructions must be submitted as either a document in .DOC,DOCX,PDF, .PPT, TXT file formats or a graphic image as a .JPG file.
- It must be submitted in English.
- It must list all requirements for using the app such as Kinect, webcams, an internet connection, Xbox game controllers, guest account login/password, or anything else that a judge must have to use your software.
Financial Aid and Award Money:
- Round 1:
- Each National Final competition may offer prizes at the discretion of the local Microsoft subsidiary operating that competition.
- The existence, nature, and conditions of such prizes are subject to the rules of each National Final.
- Every team who advances to round 2 will receive a trip to the Imagine Cup 2017 Worldwide Finals.
- Trip includes round trip coach airfare from a major airport closest to each competitor’s home, standard hotel accommodations, ground transportation, and selects meals during the World Finals.
- Mentors to the team are not eligible for this travel prize.
- Round 2: At the World Finals, the top three teams in the Competition will receive the following cash prizes. At least one member of the team must be present to win. (Mentors and associates will not be awarded any portion of the monetary prize winnings.)
- First Place: $100,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of the Team
- Second Place: $25,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of the Team
- Third Place: $15,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of the Team
- All prizes are stated in U.S. dollars, but they, or their local subsidiary or designated agent (on our behalf), may actually award a cash prize in the official currency of the winner’s country of residence based on the exchange rate on the date of payment. Unless otherwise indicated in the specific Competition rules, all cash prizes will be divided equally among all officially registered members of a Team.
Application Deadline:
The competition will close on July 31, 2017, and will consist of two separate rounds as follows:
- Round 1 – (National Finals -31 May 2017 is the latest end date for all National Finals) (Online Finals- 30 April 2017)
- Round 2 – (World Finals- July 2017)
A full list of all winners will be published within 30 days following the 2017 Worldwide Finals.
Link for More Information:
https://compete.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us/category/9
Contact Details:
If you have any questions, contact at imagine-at-microsoft.com
