July 2009 - Posts

• Imagine Cup 2009 Winners Announced!

  Editor’s note – July 8, 2009 – references to Imagine Cup winning teams were updated post-publication. CAIRO, Egypt — July 7, 2009 — After an intense competition among finalists chosen from a pool of more than 300,000 students from more than 100 countries and regions, Microsoft Corp. announced the winners of Imagine Cup 2009. Celebrating first place, Romania’s Team SYTECH won the worldwide Software Design invitational, South Korea’s Team Wafree won the Embedded Development invitational and Brazil’s Team LEVV It won the Game Development challenge. Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition, empowers students to unlock their creative genius and build solutions that tackle real-world issues facing society today. Team SYTECH from Romania (at left) took first place in the Software Design competition. Coming in second was Vital Lab, from Russia (center), while Virtual Dreams from Brazil (right) earned third. Looking on is S. Somasegar, senior vice president of the Developer Division for Microsoft. Click for hi-res version. “The creativity and imagination that students poured into their projects this year was incredible,” said Joe Wilson, senior director of Academic Initiatives, Developer & Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft. “Many of these projects have the potential to have a serious impact on how we address society’s most pressing issues. We hope that all of the students who participated this year will continue their pursuit of creating technology in the service of making the world a better place.” The software design, embedded development and game development finalist teams created applications, devices and games using Microsoft technology based on this year’s theme: “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” A total of 444 students from 149 teams representing 70 countries and regions competed in the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals in nine categories: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, IT Challenge, Robotics and Algorithm, MashUp, Photography, Short Film and Design. In addition to the main categories of competition, there are several Achievement Awards this year: the Interoperability Award, Unlimited Potential Design for Development Award, Unlimited Potential MultiPoint Education Award, Accessibility Award, Accessible Design Award, Parallel Computing Award, Tablet Accessibility Award, Live Services Award, Windows Mobile Award, and the H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Special Award, sponsored by the first lady of Egypt through the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI). The winners were announced in a gala awards ceremony this evening at the base of Egypt’s historic pyramids as part of the Imagine Cup World Festival, a celebration drawing Imagine Cup competitors, mentors and other key attendees from around the world. The following are the top three finalists by invitational in finishing order: Among the enthusiastic winning teams was LEVV It from Brazil, here waving to the crowd after being given their award for first place in the Game Development division. At left is S. Somasegar, senior vice president of the Developer Division for Microsoft. Click for hi-res version.   Software Design • First Place: Romania — SYTECH • Second Place: Russia — Vital Lab • Third Place: Brazil — Virtual Dreams Embedded Development • First Place: South Korea — Wafree • Second Place: China — iSee • Third Place: Ukraine — Intellectronics Game Development • First Place: Brazil — LEVV It • Second Place: United States — Epsylon Games • Third Place: United Kingdom — Sanquine Labs Robotics and Algorithm • First Place: Czech Republic — Lukáš Perůtka • Second Place: Canada — Byron Knoll • Third Place: China — Lin Fuming Team Wafree from South Korea won the top award in the Embedded Development competition. Click for hi-res version. IT Challenge • First Place: Romania — Cosmin Ilie • Second Place: China — Wu Chang • Third Place: Bolivia — Miklos Cari Sivila MashUp • First Place: United States — CURIOUS • Second Place (tie): Poland – Monastery of Innovations • Second Place (tie): Singapore – PlanetKY Photography • First Place: Croatia —Voodoo Delirium • Second Place: Singapore — Woolgathering • Third Place: Japan — Terada Short Film • First Place: United Kingdom — Fulham Four • Second Place: India — ChennaiCoolers • Third Place: Ukraine — Just4Fun Design • First Place: Brazil — Willburn • Second Place: United States — eXchangeFun • Third Place: France — Paindepices In addition to the category awards, 10 Achievement Awards were presented. Interoperability Award. The Interoperability Award is designed to recognize the software application that best leverages out-of-the-box Microsoft technologies and blends them with other technologies to connect people, data or diverse systems in a new way. This award was won by: • First Place: Brazil — Proativa Team • Second Place: Poland — Fteams • Third Place: Jordan — ECRAM Unlimited Potential Design for Development Award. This award challenges students to create a software solution that can be accessed from a basic mobile phone and designed to meet the needs of end users who earn less than $8 (U.S.) a day. This award was won by: • First Place: Malaysia — COSMIC • Second Place: China — Unique Studio • Third Place: Malaysia — Capricorn Unlimited Potential MultiPoint Education Award. This award encourages students to unlock new ways for the PC to help address universal education goals. This award was won by: • First Place: India — Trailblazers Accessibility Award. Students are challenged to design a technology solution that leverages people’s diverse physical and cognitive abilities. This award was won by: • First Place: Saudi Arabia — ATST • Second Place: Mexico – Ignis Nova Accessible Design Award: Students who participated in the Design competition were awarded additional recognition for a technology solution that best addressed accessibility needs. This award was won by: • First Place: United States — eXchangeFun Parallel Computing Award. Parallel applications can open a door to the future, and this award challenges students to use parallel technology to solve the world’s toughest problems. This award was won by: • First Place: India — Biollel Tablet Accessibility Award. The objective of the Tablet Accessibility Award is to create a new education application that uses Tablet technology while expanding the possibilities for how a user interacts with the computer. This award was won by: • First Place: United States — Auratech • Second Place: Brazil — IC-UNICAMP Live Services Award: This award challenges students to create a technology solution built on Microsoft’s Azure Services Platform to solve the world’s toughest problems. This award was won by: • First Place: France — Help’Aged • Second Place: Serbia — BrainWave Windows Mobile Award: This award challenges students to use Windows Mobile technology to solve the world’s toughest problems. This award was won by: • First Place (tie): Croatia – Team Explorer • First Place (tie): Indonesia – Big Bang • First Place (tie): Brazil – Virtual Dreams H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Special Award. Sponsored by the first lady of Egypt, this award was given to the project that best intersects the following: the Imagine Cup 2009 theme, “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today”; the Millennium Development Goals; and the objectives of the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement and the Cyber Peace Initiative. This award was won by: • First Place: Poland — kAMUflage • Second Place: Egypt — Big Buddy • Third Place: France — WikiChildProtect Next year’s Imagine Cup 2010 Worldwide Finals will take place in Poland, a country with a track record of producing highly skilled IT students as well as successful Imagine Cup entrants. Registrations for Imagine Cup 2010 open tomorrow, July 8, 2009. More information about Imagine Cup can be found at http://www.imaginecup.com. Imagine Cup Sponsors The Imagine Cup is being supported by a range of partner organizations including Paramount Digital Entertainment, Mesh Services & Live Framework, Microsoft Accessibility Business Unit, Microsoft Education Product Group, Microsoft Interoperability, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Parallel Computing Platform, Microsoft Research External Research, Microsoft Robotics, Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group, Windows Embedded Business, Windows Mobile and Microsoft XNA Game Platform Group. About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx. Posted Jul 16 2009, 07:02 PM by Toddydyer with no comments

• UNESCO and Microsoft Announce Higher Education ICT Task Force for Long-Term Skills and Sustainable Development

  PARIS — July 6, 2009 — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Microsoft Corp. today announced a joint task force to help higher education institutions worldwide meet the growing challenge of supporting economic stimulus efforts and work-force development strategies. The UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will create a strategic plan of action to identify how ICT can be used by governments as a catalyst for change. The announcement was made at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE), which opened today and is being attended by close to 100 ministers of education, senior education officials and policy advisors. The WCHE is also focusing on critical issues around reduced funding for education globally as a result of the economic crisis and the need for governments to find affordable measures for short-term skills training and work force enhancement in support of economic recovery and growth. Many delegations in attendance from developing regions emphasized the longer-term challenges of sustainable higher education reform and capacity-building. The UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT will analyze the findings and recommendations of the WCHE, in addition to feedback from global higher education experts and stakeholders, to identify key initiatives that will promote more effective use of ICT in post-secondary teaching, learning and research. “Higher education is increasingly strategic for building up skilled work forces in countries. Our focus has been on ensuring that tertiary institutions address the key long-term requirements of our increasingly knowledge-based societies and that students today are best equipped to drive and support economic growth and to address major development challenges from education to health to the environment,” said Nicholas Burnett, UNESCO assistant director-general for education. “Through the creation of the UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT we will help mobilize critical strategic resources to better assist ministries of education worldwide.” Initial ICT Resource Mobilization The current economic downturn combined with rising demand for higher education places governments under enormous pressure to fund enhancements in higher education and support programs needed to train the next generation of work forces with the new skills necessary for economic recovery. Under the umbrella of the UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT and through the Microsoft Education Alliance, Microsoft will provide a tailored package of resources for short-term higher education enhancements, including curriculum, training and affordable access to collaboration and development software. “We believe that technology has a vital role to play in building up 21st-century skills, broadening access to education and personalizing the learning experience to adapt teaching to the unique needs of each learner,” said Michael Golden, corporate vice president, Education Products Group at Microsoft. “This program makes technology resources more accessible than ever before to governments and students across the world. We will continue to support UNESCO and our newly formed UNESCO-Microsoft Task Force on Higher Education and ICT in every way we can.” Additional information about the Microsoft resources available can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/education/ELF09.aspx. About UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the UN agency responsible for the promotion of international cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. UNESCO functions as a laboratory of ideas and standard setter to forge universal agreements on emerging development and ethical issues. It also serves as a clearinghouse for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge, while helping member states to build their human and institutional capacities. About Unlimited Potential Microsoft, through its Unlimited Potential vision, is committed to making technology more affordable, relevant and accessible for the 5 billion people around the world who do not yet enjoy its benefits. The company aims to do so by helping to transform education and foster a culture of innovation, and through these means enable better jobs and opportunities. By working with governments, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations and industry partners, Microsoft hopes to reach its first major milestone — to reach the next 1 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology — by 2015. About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Posted Jul 07 2009, 01:04 PM by Toddydyer with no comments

• Imagine Cup 2009 Kicks Off in Cairo

  CAIRO, Egypt — July 3, 2009 — Competition begins today in Cairo for 444 students from 124 countries and regions at the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals. Now in its seventh year, Imagine Cup is an annual Microsoft Corp. competition that challenges students around the globe to use their creative genius to build technology solutions that can help address some of the world’s toughest challenges. This year, the students’ efforts are focused on using technology to help address the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals encompass some of the most difficult issues facing our world, ranging from halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education. The Imagine Cup calls on young programmers, artists and technologists to rise to this challenge: “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” More than 300,000 students from 100 countries accepted this challenge and registered for Imagine Cup 2009. Over the past year, students have participated in local, regional and online competitions, showcasing their innovative solutions to real-world problems. The winners of these initial rounds arrive in Cairo today, where they will present their entries to a panel of judges from academia and the technology industry. At stake is more than $288,000 in prize money and the chance to kick-start their careers in one of several technological fields. “By providing students with cutting-edge technology and challenging them to address some of our world’s most challenging issues, the Microsoft Imagine Cup is tapping an incredible and limitless resource — the passion, creativity and talents of students from around the globe,” said Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft. Student teams compete in the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals across nine categories: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, IT Challenge, Robotics and Algorithm, MashUp, Photography, Short Film and Design. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, July 7, as part of the Imagine Cup World Festival closing ceremonies with the pyramids at Giza as the backdrop. “Students around the world are contributing their creativity and passion in this year’s Imagine Cup, and they have developed truly amazing solutions to tackle the most pressing social problems facing our world,” said Joe Wilson, senior director of Academic Initiatives in the Developer & Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft. “It’s clear that the leaders of tomorrow’s most innovative companies won’t be found in boardrooms — they will be discovered in dorm rooms.” In addition to the nine main categories of competition, there are several Achievement Awards this year, including the Interoperability Award, Unlimited Potential Design for Development Award, Accessibility Award, Unlimited Potential MultiPoint Education Award, Parallel Computing Award, Tablet Accessibility Award and the H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Special Award sponsored by the first lady of Egypt through the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI). Imagine Cup Sponsors The Imagine Cup is being supported by a range of partner organizations including Paramount Digital Entertainment, Mesh Services & Live Framework, Microsoft Accessibility Business Unit, Microsoft Education Product Group, Microsoft Interoperability, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Research External Research, Microsoft Parallel Computing Platform, Microsoft Robotics, Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group, Windows Embedded Business, Windows Mobile and Microsoft XNA Game Platform Group. More information on the Imagine Cup is available online at http://www.imaginecup.com. More information on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals can be found online at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals. Up-to-date information on the finals competition is available at the official Imagine Cup blog. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.     Posted Jul 05 2009, 05:43 AM by Toddydyer with no comments