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Wednesday, July 13, 2011 by Shep McAllister

Imagine Cup wrapped up with a lavish awards ceremony Wednesday at Lincoln Center.

The 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup has come to a close, and while there may have been some surprises at the final awards ceremony, the podium order isn't really all that important.

It may sound cliche, but every participant in the Imagine Cup Finals is truly is a winner. Out of nearly 400,000 participants, only 400 made it to New York for the final. Team OneBuzz, hailing from New Zealand and hoping to defend last year's title, shockingly was left out of the top three in software design. Even so, they are already fieldtesting and raising funding, so an Imagine Cup award would have been the icing, not the cake for this talented bunch. Team Note-Taker from the U.S. on the other hand finished second in the category, taking home a cash prize and another feather for its cap.

#imagine cup #hack college

Ireland's Team Hermes wins top category at Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals 2011

Student teams from around the world competed in nine categories and Team Hermes from Sligo Institute of Technology in Ireland took top honors in the Software Design category. Over 350,000 students globally took part in the competition over the past months, leading to the Worldwide Finals in New York City July 8-13.

#imagine cup #team hermes

NEW YORK CITY – July 13, 2011 – Student projects that tackle global problems such as improving road and fire safety, eradicating poverty, and creating a more sustainable environment took top honors at the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals in New York on Wednesday.

#imagine cup

Mobile game development is arguably one of the sectors achieving the highest growth today. With the explosive adoption of smart phones and app stores, independent developers and game studios are flocking to the various mobile phone platforms to carve out a slice of the action.

This is reflected at the Imagine Cup with a change in the Game Design category, which is now divided into three tracts, mobile, web and Xbox/PC games. The Windows Phone 7 platform launched less than a year ago, and I was curious to see the types of games these student teams would create for the platform.

This morning I walked out of my hotel and headed towards the glistening heart of New York City, Time Square. Upon my arrival at the Marriot Marquis, the first thing that hit me was the bustling atmosphere inside. Students from over 70 countries have come to New York to win this year’s Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals. All the students proudly display their common purpose by wearing a baby blue t-shirt that boldly states “Change the world”.

#imagine cup

Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems. That is the challenge posed for innovative young people participating in the ninth annual Imagine Cup in New York. The event, which runs through Wednesday, is billed as the world’s premier student technology competition, is hosted by the Microsoft Corporation.

Math student David Hayden is legally blind. He can see the screen on a computer tablet, but not the blackboard to take notes during class. He and his fellow students at Arizona State University came up with a solution - a portable swivel-head camera and software program that allows David to see blackboard writing or distant objects on the left side of his tablet. He can take notes on the right. Hayden says there are 20 million Americans with low vision, but only 40 percent of them fully participate in the work force.

#imagine cup #voice of america #david hayden

#imagine cup #eva longoria #michael bloomberg

Imagine Cup Citizenship Day gave participants a much-needed rest from the competition element of the week and allowed students from around the world to spend the day experiencing New York City.

Students participated in a day of service in Central Park. The day included mural painting and construction of bookshelves and benches. All service benefited New York City public schools and other non-profit organizations working to improve the education of New York City’s under resourced students.

Following morning activities in Central Park, students had the opportunity to visit Liberty Island and view the Statue of Liberty as well as visit the historical Ellis Island.

The day of service in Central Park and Citizenship Day activities were truly meaningful for one student in particular. Corey Jeffers, Team IC Squared from the United States, just graduated from Ithaca College, located in Ithaca, New York. Despite living in New York prior to the Imagine Cup, Corey had the chance to see the city in a new light – through the eyes of students from around the world. The opportunity provided Corey the chance to connect with students from Nigeria to Malaysia and beyond.

Find all of the pictures from last night’s activities on our Flickr channel and Facebook.

Good luck to all of the finalists as they prepare for final presentations today!

#imagine cup #central park #ellis island

Imagine Cup 2011 group and team photos on Ellis Island available on Flickr and Facebook!

#imagine cup #ellis island

On Sunday night, during the final round announcements at the Imagine Cup World Finals in New York City, the competitors really let loose. They bound into the Broadway Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square wearing bold-colored matching team T-shirts, waving country flags, hooting, high-fiving, back-slapping, and chanting "USA! USA! USA!" or "Le-ba-non! Le-ba-non!" If you ask any of them what if feels like to a be a contender for a 2011 Imagine Cup world title, he or she will probably say it feels like being in the Olympics.

Of course, national pride and competitive spirit aside, the 400 Imagine Cup world competitors have little in common with Olympic athletes. They're university students, competing in events like software design, embedded development, and game design for a chance to win as much as $25,000. (In total, Microsoft will fork out $215,000 in prize money.) Forget javelin throws and triple toe loops. These competitors have mastered the Microsoft XNA Game Studio, the Silverlight plug-in, the Windows Phone 7 and the Windows Azure cloud-hosting platform.

#imagine cup

"The Imagine Cup is really like the Olympics of technology, where we challenge students from around the world to solve the world's hardest problems using technology," says Jon Perera from Microsoft. "The top three types of problems students are trying to solve: saving the environment, global disaster, and then also a lot of programs focused on education"

The finals included 134 teams, together representing more than 70 countries. The different events ranged from software design to video game design.

One video game submitted to the event was "Embryonic", a computer game designed to help teach pregnant women important lessons about how to care for their unborn child.

#imagine cup #new york city

The road to the Imagine Cup world finals isn’t easy. There are regional events and national competitions you must win to advance and represent your country in a given category. But before that, you need to have an idea. And not just any idea — an idea that can change the world.

At the world-wide Imagine Cup in New York City, teams from all over the world representing over 70 countries each have an idea that they feel can do just that. These ideas are forward thinking, with far reaching benefits. Some have the broad scope of saving millions of lives. Others aim to improve the lives of individuals. Over the past few days, I’ve followed two teams in the highly competitive software design category as they chase the top honors of this event. But in a way, both teams have already won.

Team OneBuzz

Team One Buzz at their first round of presentations at the 2011 Imagine Cup. (Photo: Chuck Lawton)

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In the Game Design Competition, the Finalist was announced.

The competitors in this segment conducted presentation for two days.

(Day 1, First presentation in the room)

They introduced how their Game is, what the purpose of the Game is, and how the Game is useful for our future.

Then, they show Judges how to play and have Judges to play the Game.

(Day 2, Second presentation in the Showcase hall)

(They prepare some items the same as in the Game! Awesome!)

And, the Finalist was announced after the tough judgment, they splendidly got the chance for the Final Round!!!

Don’t miss their presentation as the Final Round!!

Please watch this video and listen to his voice and Spirit for the Final Round!!

Thank you for your reading!

#imagine cup #game design

Activist, actor, author and philanthropist Eva Longoria invites you to celebrate the amazing work of student humanitarians by voting for the Imagine Cup 2011 People’s Choice Video Award. The videos below are by many of the 2011 Worldwide Finalists who imagined a world where technology helps solve the world’s toughest problems. Hear their stories, see their vision, and learn more about each of their amazing projects – and you too will be inspired!

The 2011 Worldwide Finalist team with the most "likes" by July 12, 2011 at 21:00 GMT wins the People's Choice Award and $10,000 USD.

#imagine cup #eva longoria

NEW YORK CITY – July 11, 2011 – Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer inspired them to be great, economist Jeffrey Sachs gave them the homework assignment of saving the world, and Foursquare founder and CEO Dennis Crowley showed them how tangibly close they are to success.

Students representing 70 countries and regions descended on New York City over the weekend to participate in the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals, which challenges students from across the globe to use technology to solve world problems like feeding the hungry, fighting disease, and creating new forms of energy. Finalists in the competition’s nine categories were announced on Sunday and the overall winners will be announced on Wednesday.

Philanthropist, activist and actor Eva Longoria and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gather to recognize the winners of Imagine Cup.

NEW YORK — July 11, 2011 — The Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony, including the announcement of the ninth annual Imagine Cup winners, will be webcast live on July 13 from the David H. Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center in New York. The Imagine Cup, sponsored by Microsoft Corp., is the world’s premier student technology competition, challenging high school and university students to use technology to solve the world’s toughest problems. Starting from a field of more than 350,000 students from 183 countries and regions, Microsoft has selected 424 finalists from around the world to travel to New York for the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals, July 8–13. The webcast enables people from around the world to share in the excitement and emotion of the culmination of the yearlong competition. For more information, visit http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/imaginecup or follow @imaginecup on Twitter.

Live Webcast of the Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony

What: World Festival and Awards Ceremony to announce worldwide winners of Imagine Cup 2011

Where: http://www.imaginecup.com

When: Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 4–7 p.m. EDT

Who: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; philanthropist, activist and actor Eva Longoria; Microsoft executives; and Imagine Cup student representatives of 70 countries and regions

#imagine cup #eva longoria #michael bloomberg

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