Imagine Cup

Imagine Cup is an annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft Corp. which brings together young technologists worldwide to help resolve some of the world's toughest challenges. Primarily a software design competition, it enlists teams of four within the high school and collegiate levels to submit software solutions addressing a specifically provided theme. Started in 2002, it has steadily grown in size, where in 2008 210,000 competitors representing over 100 countries competed in the nine Imagine Cup invitationals.

History

* 2003: Barcelona, Spain - Theme: "Link between people, information, systems, and devices, using Web services and .NET as the springboard."
* 2004: São Paulo, Brazil - Theme: "Imagine a world where smart technology makes everyday life easier."
* 2005: Yokohama, Japan - Theme: "Imagine a world where technology dissolves the boundaries between us."
* 2006: Delhi, India - Theme: "Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives."
* 2007: Seoul, South Korea - Theme: "Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all."
* 2008: Paris, France - Theme: "Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment."
* 2009: Cairo, Egypt - Theme: "Imagine a world where technology helps solve the world's toughest problems."

Imagine Cup Categories

;Technology Solutions
*Software Design [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=10]
*Embedded Development [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=11]
*Game Development [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=12]

;Skills Challenges
*Project Hoshimi Programming Battle [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=13]
*IT - Information technology [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=14]
*Algorithms [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=15]

;Digital Arts
*Photography [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=16]
*Short Film [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=17]
*Interface Design [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=18]

Note: For the 2009 competition, the Project Hoshimi Programming Battle Competition and the Algorithm Competition will merge to become the Robotics and Algorithms Competition while the Interface Design will be replaced with the Mashups Competition.

Criticism

The Microsoft Corporation has been criticized for including in the competition's legal documents provisions stating that by accepting their prizes, winners agree to allow Microsoft to use concepts, techniques, ideas or solutions from the winning applications "for any purpose." Also, the competition has been criticized for being rather Microsoft-centric, with demands such as "the entry must be designed on .NET Framework 2.0 using Microsoft Visual Studio" or "30% of the scoring in this round will be based on use of showcasing the .NET framework".

This criticism is the result of misinterpretation of Imagine Cup competition's Rules and Regulations [http://imaginecup.com/Competition/Rules-Regulations.aspx] document, which states that student's intellectual property will always be respected. Neither Imagine Cup competition nor Microsoft claim ownership of the materials provided by the competitors. It is important to highlight that for the sake of the judgment, internal elements of the solution might be made public to the judges.

Sources

*http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2005/11/stark_criticism_of_microsofts.html
*http://www.cse.ust.hk/News/ImagineCup2006/
*http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/may06/05-05USImagineCup2006PR.mspx
*http://imagine.thespoke.net/

External links

* [http://www.imaginecup.com Imagine Cup]
* [http://www.uxpassion.com/2008/09/top-ideas-for-microsoft-imagine-cup-2009/ List of possible ideas for Imagine Cup 2009 theme]