Gulf universities set for technology battle at Microsoft Imagine Cup regional finals

University students from across the Gulf region will showcase their innovative creations at the regional finals of Imagine Cup 2008 being held in Dubai on May 11th at the Jebel Ali Resort. This year's event is being supported by the Information Technology Authority (ITA), Oman and eGovernment Bahrain.

Six teams will participate in the Gulf finals - three from UAE; one from Bahrain; one from Oman and one from Kuwait. Each team will have twenty minutes to present their work to a panel of judges comprising of senior members from the enterprise and government sectors. The winners of the regional finals will then advance to the Imagine Cup worldwide finals being held in Paris from July 3rd - 8th where they will pit their imagination against the world's best young programmers, technologists and designers. At the global finals, students have a chance to win over $180,000 across nine categories.

Commenting on the event, Vimal Sethi, Developer and Platform Group Manager, Microsoft Gulf said, 'Microsoft Imagine Cup is all about igniting the imagination of tomorrow's technology visionaries and leaders. When coupled with the power of technology the potential of young people is unlimited and the ideas they develop for the event could significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world. The contest also provides student inventors and entrepreneurs from the Gulf region with a launch pad for their ideas and access to key resources that can set them on the path to career success.'

The nine Imagine Cup 2008 categories include:


•Software Design: Students create real-world, dynamic and powerful software solutions using Microsoft tools and technology. Competitors are asked to demonstrate innovation on the Microsoft .NET Framework and the Microsoft Windows platform.

•Embedded Development: This competition challenges students to go beyond the desktop, challenge their creativity, and build a complete hardware and software solution using Windows CE and the hardware provided.

•Game Development: Video games have become a major source of entertainment for kids and adults alike. So, for the first time, Imagine Cup is challenging students to utilize Microsoft's groundbreaking new XNA Game Studio Express to create a game that is not only entertaining but socially responsible as well. The Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge will be the ultimate test of students' creative and technical skills.

•Project Hoshimi: Comic-style graphics bring to life the world of Professor Hoshimi and his faithful crew of scientists and programmers as they engage in a fantasy battle of life and death.

•IT Challenge: Students are challenged to develop, deploy and maintain IT systems that are efficient, functional, robust and secure. They must also demonstrate proficiency in the science of networks, databases and servers.

•Algorithm: Through a series of brainteasers, coding challenges and algorithmic puzzles, students discover and implement the right algorithms.

•Photography: By using a photo essay format, students are challenged to communicate a story about education using only photos as the communication medium.

•Short Film: Students are challenged to share a perspective on the Imagine Cup theme and to express themselves in the digital media. From concept and storyboard to footage and editing, the participants must be able to create a film that moves the audience while conveying its strong purpose and meaning.

•Interface Design: This invitational challenges designers to create functional, compelling, forward-thinking user interfaces. Competitors have the opportunity to envision an application, connect it to the theme of the Imagine Cup and show the world how their skills bring it to life.

As the world's premier student technology competition, the Imagine Cup is Microsoft's initiative to encourage young people to apply their imagination and creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference and address real-world issues.

Imagine Cup compliments Microsoft's Unlimited Potential commitment to create social and economic opportunity through programs and products that transform education, foster local innovation and enable jobs and opportunities worldwide. It is also endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which is the UN agency that is responsible for the promotion of international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.

Each year the Imagine Cup chooses its theme from the UN Millennium goals. Globally, more than 100,000 students from more than 100 countries have competed in this year's Imagine Cup.