The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition hosted by Microsoft. Open to students around the world, the Imagine Cup is a serious challenge that draws incredible talent — and the competition each year is intense. Students choose the competition and/or awards that they are most interested in participating in. Competitions include: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media and the IT Challenge. Each of competitions is also aligned to one specific theme. For 2010, the theme is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.” The United Nations has identified some of the hardest challenges in the world today in its Millennium Development Goals: poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, disease, the environment, and developing a global partnership for development. The Imagine Cup calls on programmers, designers, and technologists to rise to this challenge and use these Development Goals as their inspiration. The Imagine Cup competition spans one year, beginning with local, regional, and online contests and ending with a Worldwide Finals. For 2010, the Worldwide Finals will take place in Warsaw, Poland, from July 3-8, 2010.