Please review the Eligibility Criteria in the Official Rules.   

If I do not attend a four-year university, can I participate in the Competition?

Absolutely! Any student attending an accredited high school or college either full or part-time can participate.

Can I compete in the Imagine Cup if I recently graduated from school or am working as a graduate student?

Yes, you are eligible to compete if you meet the applicable age requirements, and you enrolled as a student at any time between January 1, 2009, and May 31, 2010.  Additionally, the school at which you are enrolled must be an accredited educational institution that grants high-school or college/university (or equivalent) degrees. Graduate and PhD students are also able to compete, however they may not use unpublished research.

If I am currently studying abroad, can I compete for my native country or am I obliged to compete for the country in which I am studying?

For team events, like the Software Design competition, the team has to choose one nationality (either their native country or the country in which they currently reside) that the team as a whole will represent, but not all members need to be from that country or be living in that country. However, once they make their decision, they need to abide by that country’s official rules.

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Registering and Configuring Your Profile

How do I register for the Imagine Cup? How do I sign up for a competition?

How do I sign in and out of the website?

If you are using a public terminal such as at a school library, you will want to log off, or sign out, before you leave the computer. Here’s how:

1. Click the link near the top of the home page that says "Sign Out."
2. Close the browser to prevent your name or settings from appearing on the public terminal.
3. Once you have done this, your name will be removed from the home page, and your settings will be inaccessible to anyone using the same computer after you.

We recommend that you sign out only when you feel that you must. If we can’t identify you, it will be difficult for us to identify information that might be of interest to you.

How do I view and update my personal profile?

In order to edit your user profile you must be a registered user. Once you have logged in, you can use the "My Profile" link located near the top of the screen to edit your profile.

Your profile contains important information that enables us to offer you information and news that’s targeted to your role, invitational, and location. Your Profile page is also where you can tell other members of the Imagine Cup community about yourself. The information you add in the Community Preferences area will appear in the Search pages (such as when competitors search for team members and mentors to join their teams) and the forums. It’s therefore very important to configure your profile fully and keep it up-to-date. To update your profile:

1. Sign in to the Imagine Cup website.
2. Click the “My Profile” link on the top-right of the home page.
3. Update your information as you wish.
4. Be sure to click the Update button at the bottom of each section for your new settings to take effect.

How do I change my username/password?

Unfortunately, there is no way to change a username or password once an account is created.

How do I form a new team?

Your entry panel on the top right of your competition page will guide you through the steps necessary to compete in the Imagine Cup. The following exercise will help you to explore the way the message you see changes depending on your competition and the steps that you take.

To create a team:

1. Register for the Imagine Cup and sign in.
2. Go to the page of your selected competition. You will see that there is a panel on the top right of your competition page. Once you register, but before you sign up for a competition, you will see a message on the top right of your page prompting you to sign up for the competition.
3. Click Sign Up. You will be taken to your Profile page. Sign up for the competition on the My Profile page. Click Update Profile.
4. Return to your competition page. You’ll see that the top right message has changed. Now it is prompting you to return to your Profile page and provide your Personal Information.
5. Click the Provide Info button. Update all the fields in your Profile page under Personal Information and click Update Profile.
6. When you return to your competition Page, the Create a Team message will appear in your entry panel (if a team is required for this competition).
7. Click the link to Create a Team. On the Create a Team page, fill in the requested information including: Team Information, Team Links, Team Logo, and Team Photo Gallery. You can always go back and update this information later if you wish.
8. To add team members and mentors, either add their e-mail address or username, or search for them using the magnifying glass. You can search by User Name, Location, School, and Competition. We recommend you find team members who live near you or attend your school to make it easier to collaborate and meet in person. Your team must be affiliated with a country, even if your team members come from different areas.
9. When you identify a team member or mentor to add, click Add to Team.
10. Click the Create Team button. Your new team page will appear.
11. You can edit your team page or delete it from here.
12. Your team has been created and will now appear on the top right of your Competition page. Team members and mentors whom you invited will see an invitation appear on their Competition Page which they can accept or decline.

How do I join an existing team?

If you wish to join a team, you should ask someone on that team to invite you using the steps outlined above. You may want to send them a private message from the Forums. Once this person sends you an invitation, it will appear on your Competition page under My Team Invitations.  You can then either accept or decline the invitation.

Are team members required to attend the same school?

No. However, you must choose a country for your team to be affiliated with, even if you are of different nationalities. Additionally, we highly recommend choosing team members who live nearby because collaboration is important in building your project. You will need to be able to meet face-to-face regularly.

How do I find a mentor for my team?

To find and add a team mentor, follow Step 8 under the question above, "How do I create a team?" We recommend you find mentors who live near you or attend your school to make it easier to collaborate and meet in person. Here are some more tips for working effectively with your team mentor. Once you invite a mentor to join your team, they’ll receive an invitation which they can either accept or decline.

I am interested in mentoring a team. Do you have any guidelines or resources for mentors?

Great! A list of resources and commonly asked questions about the responsibilities of mentors is posted here.

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Competing

How do I participate in my regional/local competition?

Local/regional competitions are run by a local subsidiary of Microsoft, and a list of the individual websites are posted here.  For additional information, we recommend you contact your local Microsoft representative or local Microsoft Student Partner. 

In order to submit an entry, you must be a registered user, must have registered as a student, and must be signed up for the competition. The Competition Checklists and corresponding messages in your Entry Panel on your Competition page will guide you through this process. Before you can submit a Round 1 entry, there are several steps you must take:

• Once you have registered as a student, competition checklists will appear on your Competition pages. Note that some boxes are checked off automatically as you complete the steps outlined below. Other boxes (such as the step for Finding a Mentor or Learning), must be checked manually by you as you complete them.
• Sign up for your chosen Competition on your My Profile page.
• Provide your personal information.
• Form a team (not applicable for the IT Challenge).

You can tell if you have completed these required steps by looking at the competition checklist on your Competition page, and the corresponding message displayed in the "Entry Panel" in the top right of your chosen Competition page.

• If it says "Sign Up", click the button to be taken to your Profile page where you can sign up for the competition.
• If it says "Provide Info", click the button to be taken to your Profile page. You must fill in all the fields in the Personal Information section and click Update in order to compete. If a particular field is not applicable to you (for example, your country does not use postal codes), put "NA" or "Not Applicable."
• If it says Join or Create a Team you should create a team following the steps outlined in the Support FAQ.

There are a number of messages that would indicate you are ready to compete in the Imagine Cup, but depend on the competition:

• For Embedded Development, Game Design, and Digital Media: If it says Submit Entry you are all set! You can click the button to submit an entry.  
• For IT Challenge: A message that states when the next quiz is and invites you back at that time to compete.
• For Software Design: A message that tells you to click to get information on your local competition.

What is the difference between a competition and an award?

Competition Information and Other Resources

The Imagine Cup team sends out communications via e-mail throughout the competition. You can access your Communication preferences directly through your My Profile page.

What is the Imagine Cup E-Blast Newsletter?

1. Sign in to the Imagine Cup website and click My Profile.
2. Scroll down to the Communication Preferences section.
3. Select the checkbox next to: I'd like to received the Imagine Cup newsletter.
4. If you’d like to receive Sponsor offers, select the checkbox next to: Imagine Cup sponsors may contact me with information and offers exclusive to Imagine Cup participants.
5. Select your preferred e-mail format.
6. Click Update Profile.

1. Sign in to the site and click My Profile.
2. Scroll down to Communication Preferences.
3. Select the checkbox next to: Would you like to receive e-mail updates?
4. If you’d like to receive Sponsor offers, select the checkbox next to: Imagine Cup sponsors may contact me with information and offers exclusive to Imagine Cup participants.
5. Select your preferred e-mail format.
6. Click Update Profile.
7. Next, under Competition Sign Up, select the competitions you wish to compete in and select Update Profile.