8000 Egyptian students participate in Microsoft's 2009 Imagine Cup in Egypt

The camp is part of the numerous preparations for the finals currently taking place and aims at training the Egyptian teams and providing them with the tools necessary to enable them to prepare exceptional projects.

The camp will include sessions every Saturday throughout the month at the Microsoft Smart Village premises.

Egypt won the bid to host the 2009 Imagine Cup finals after a strong competition with 10 other countries. The support Microsoft Egypt received from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Ministry of Higher Education gave the Egyptian offer a strong boost. H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak's support gave Egypt an even stronger edge over the competition from leading countries in the technology field.

Preparations for the big event started last October when a committee from Microsoft Egypt, MCIT and Suzanne Mubarak's International Peace Movement visited 10 local universities (Cairo, Ain Shams, Helwan, Alexandria, Mansoura, Asyout, Menoufia, Zaqaziq, The American University in Cairo, The German University in Cairo) to promote the competition. During the visit, the committee met with presidents and deans of those universities to guarantee their institutions' support for the Imagine Cup 2009 promotion campaign. The campaign included 26 educational sessions for students and faculty about the competition and how to register.

"The moment Egypt was named winner of the hosting bid was a moment of victory. Hosting the Imagine Cup finals proves Egypt's prominent position in the international technology market. Preparations for the event started immediately after the announcement was made in order to make it as remarkable as possible. We are joining forces with our official partners, MCIT and the Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement, and will continue the great efforts and activities to guarantee an unforgettable event," said Karim Ramadan, Microsoft Egypt General Manager.

Part of the preparation process included a 42-day campaign in local Egyptian universities where some students, backed by Microsoft's team, conducted presentations and sessions for their peers to inform them about the competition's nine categories and encourage them to apply with projects that use technology to solve some of the world's most pressing problems. The campaign was very successful and resulted in 8000 students registering for the 2009 contest.

'Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today' is this year's Imagine Cup theme. With a variety of problems facing the world today, the projects must present a technology-based solution that would reduce the effect of one of the world's problems. Some examples of these goals for the new millennium, as stated by the United Nations, include; poverty, gender equality and child health.

"In its seventh year, the Imagine Cup became a unique global event in the field of IT that puts the hosting country in the spotlight for a whole year, which is one of the great benefits the hosting company receives. However, work and preparations do not stop for a day during the year until the event comes up in the adequate form, which is what we have been doing. Currently, we are focusing on university students who are considered the main targeted audience for the competition," said Ahmed Adel, Microsoft Egypt Developers Sector Manager.

Imagine Cup is the world's leading university student competition and the only one that focuses on the role technology could play in solving global problems. The competition is achieving more success year after year; in 2008 over two hundred thousand students from 100 countries applied, a number that is expected to increase this year.

Many countries, including Spain, Brazil, Japan, India, Korea, and France, had the honor of hosting the Imagine Cup finals over the past years. A committee of Microsoft and Imagine Cup officials study the offers presented each year to choose the winner based on many requirements, including available resources in the country. The Egyptian offer presented last year was strong enough to win over countries like the USA, Russia and Mexico, among others.

The Imagine Cup finals attracts over a thousand visitors including ministers, ambassadors, university professors and media from more than 60 countries, making organizing and hosting the event a dream for any country. Top technology students from all over the globe will compete using their best technical inventions, while directly interacting with local and international technology vendors during the event.

The competition is sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and hosts a large number of global organizations, technology providers and international figures, placing the hosting country in the spotlight of the world's IT industry.