MEDIA RELEASE PR35287
Imagine Cup 2009 Kicks Off in Cairo
CAIRO, July 4 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Global finals of the world's largest technology competition begin today in Egypt.
Competition begins today in Cairo for 444 students from 124 countries and regions at the
Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals. Now in its seventh year, Imagine Cup is an annual Microsoft
Corp. competition that challenges students around the globe to use their creative genius to build
technology solutions that can help address some of the world's toughest challenges.
This year, the students' efforts are focused on using technology to help address the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals encompass some of the most difficult
issues facing our world, ranging from halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS
to providing universal primary education. The Imagine Cup calls on young programmers, artists
and technologists to rise to this challenge: "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the
toughest problems facing us today."
More than 300,000 students from 100 countries accepted this challenge and registered for
Imagine Cup 2009. Over the past year, students have participated in local, regional and online
competitions, showcasing their innovative solutions to real-world problems. The winners of these
initial rounds arrive in Cairo today, where they will present their entries to a panel of judges from
academia and the technology industry. At stake is more than $288,000 in prize money and the
chance to kick-start their careers in one of several technological fields.
"By providing students with cutting-edge technology and challenging them to address some of
our world's most challenging issues, the Microsoft Imagine Cup is tapping an incredible and
limitless resource - the passion, creativity and talents of students from around the globe," said
Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft.
Student teams compete in the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals across nine categories:
Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, IT Challenge, Robotics and
Algorithm, MashUp, Photography, Short Film and Design. The winners will be announced on
Tuesday, July 7, as part of the Imagine Cup World Festival closing ceremonies with the pyramids
at Giza as the backdrop.
"Students around the world are contributing their creativity and passion in this year's Imagine
Cup, and they have developed truly amazing solutions to tackle the most pressing social
problems facing our world," said Joe Wilson, senior director of Academic Initiatives in the
Developer & Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft. "It's clear that the leaders of tomorrow's
most innovative companies won't be found in boardrooms - they will be discovered in dorm
rooms."
In addition to the nine main categories of competition, there are several Achievement Awards
this year, including the Interoperability Award, Unlimited Potential Design for Development Award,
Accessibility Award, Unlimited Potential MultiPoint Education Award, Parallel Computing Award,
Tablet Accessibility Award and the H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Special Award sponsored by the
first lady of Egypt through the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI).
Imagine Cup Sponsors
The Imagine Cup is being supported by a range of partner organizations including Paramount
Digital Entertainment, Mesh Services & Live Framework, Microsoft Accessibility Business Unit,
Microsoft Education Product Group, Microsoft Interoperability, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft
Research External Research, Microsoft Parallel Computing Platform, Microsoft Robotics,
Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group, Windows Embedded Business, Windows Mobile and
Microsoft XNA Game Platform Group.
information on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals can be found online at
the official Imagine Cup blog.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and
solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
SOURCE: Microsoft Corp
CONTACT: Rapid Response Team
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
+1-503-443-7070
rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
for Microsoft Corp
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