Imagine Cup, Microsoft’s premier student competition, is back to engage new technologists around the world in promoting platform adoption, expand market access, and source top talents. Through the competition, young science and tech entrepreneurs create new and innovative projects that highlight their passion and ingenuity. In addition, students will have the opportunity to network with professionals, gain new skills, win funding to further implement their ideas, and receive mentoring from top-notch technology leaders.
Through several rounds of online and in-person competition, student participants will compete for the championship, the cash prize, and the mentorship from experts.
Past Imagine Cup winners have spurred economic opportunities and employment, with many great innovators seeing their career change after the competition. Some of the previous winners have gone on to work for Microsoft, delivering their innovation back to the market. Other student competitors have built careers in startups, industry, healthcare, and more, utilizing skills they learned throughout the competition experience and advice they received from mentors along the way.
Microsoft Philippines held a virtual launch event recently, opening the Imagine Cup 2021 competition up to Filipino participants. Microsoft Philippines Country Manager Andres Ortola addressed the students, past Imagine Cup winners, public sector audience, and enterprise representatives in attendance. Ortola strongly encouraged Filipino students to submit their entries, citing that in the middle of a global pandemic.
“Imagine Cup is an opportunity; a platform to connect and make a difference, through innovation. An example of that innovation is RapidPass, a project that saw Microsoft partnering with Developer Connect (DevCon) Philippines and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to create an application to help frontliners delivering help when it was needed,” according to the Microsoft Philippines top executive.
The Microsoft Imagine Cup 2021, which is now open to students for submission of entries, will offer a grand cash prize of up to US$75,000. The winner not only takes home the cash prize but will also get mentorship from Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella.
The Imagine Cup is about innovations changing the way we live; about solutions and applications that save lives. The competition has become a platform for student teams to develop effective answers for improving the lifestyle of people around the globe, through the technology ideas they have created. The past 19 years have seen more than two (02) million students join this spirited competition, from as many as 200 countries participating, with most of these student applications showing valuable and impactful projects, using Microsoft technologies.
With the mission of empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, Microsoft, through Imagine Cup, hopes that the next technology solutions tackling global issues will emerge.
“We want to see what you can do! We want to see what you want to change in your world, in your community. It’s all up to you. We are providing you a platform as we take your ideas and bring it to a global stage,” according to Pablo Veramendi, Global Director for Imagine Cup.
Veramendi is also the Global Program Manager of Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador, a program that provides clear steps to help students learn and lead so they can make a difference and empower those around them. They learn new skills, solve real-world problems, and build communities across the globe through this program.
Applications to the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors program are accepted all year long and the next quarterly deadline for application is on 30 November 2020. Members of this program are also encouraged to apply to the Imagine Cup, as they may have unique technology solutions and projects they have previously worked on.
Registration to the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2021 is now officially open for all interested participants. Visit www.imaginecup.com to know more about the competition and to register online.