What is the Microsoft Imagine Cup?

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is an annual competition open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, who form teams and participate in the competition to create a project that they believe can help address a real-world problem. The theme to the Microsoft Imagine Cup is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.” 

Celebrating the potential of technology to transform the world and improve people's lives, The competition encourages students to think critically, collaborate, and use their skills and knowledge to create technological solutions. The competition is a prestigious international event, attracting thousands of participants from more than 150 countries.

Is the Microsoft Imagine Cup Prestigious? 

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is prestigious. It is highly competitive, open to a very large, global category of participants at various skill levels, proficiencies, and levels of experience. It is notoriously difficult to move through the ranks in the Cup, and so even participation can reflect well. 

What are the technical skills needed for the Imagine Cup?

Due to the scope of potential tech solutions, it can be hard to singularly define the technical skills you would need. However, some of the most common technical skills that are helpful for Imagine Cup participants include -

Coding: The ability to code is essential for many Imagine Cup projects, especially those that involve developing new software or applications. Some of the most popular programming languages for Imagine Cup projects include Python, Java, C++, and JavaScript. You can find an example of this skill being used here. 

Web development: The ability to build and design websites is another valuable skill for Imagine Cup participants. This skill can be used to create interactive prototypes or to build fully-functioning websites. You can find an example of this type of skill being utilized here, in a regional finals winner project from the previous year. 

Machine learning: This skill can be used to create projects that automate tasks, improve decision-making, or detect patterns in data. You can find an example of such a use with the previous year’s winning project here. 

In addition to technical skills, Imagine Cup participants also need strong communication and teamwork skills. They need to be able to clearly explain their ideas to judges and other participants, and they need to be able to work effectively with others to bring their projects to life.

Rules & Eligibility Criteria

In short, students aged 16 and beyond are eligible for the Microsoft Imagine Cup. This includes high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

The rules are as follows:

- Imagine any solution that you’re passionate about– but it must include a Microsoft Azure component and take into consideration diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

- There is a maximum of four (4) members per team.

You can find the previous year’s rules, guidelines and timeline here.

Where can you register for the Imagine Cup?

You can register your team on Microsoft Imagine’s web page itself. 

What is the timeline for the Imagine Cup?

The Microsoft Imagine Cup consists of several stages that teams must complete in order to reach the final round of the competition.

1. Registration: Register online and provide information about your project and team members by early December.

2. Online Semifinals: Following registration, the online semifinals lasts between early December and late January. During this time your team will submit their project proposals, which will be reviewed by a panel of judges. If selected you move on to the next round. 

Note – In this stage, you must submit a project title, description, and proposal document, computer software and an outline to use the software, and a presentation video that is no longer than three minutes. 

4. Regional Finals: The selected top teams from each region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia) compete in regional finals. The winners move on to the World Championship. Regional Finals happen in March.

5. World Championship: This occurs in May. The top teams from each category compete in the World Championship, which is held at the Microsoft headquarters.

Optionally, you could participate in the Epic Challenge, which occurs before Online Semifinals begin–  from the beginning of October to the end of November. The Epic Challenge provides a chance for the team at the Cup to support your team by providing feedback on your project proposal and pitch. 

Tips to win the Imagine Cup

1. The competition rulebook guides your hand. Deadlines, submission guidelines, eligibility criteria are all incredibly important– and making sure you’re timely can improve your chances. 

2. You have resources from Microsoft. Take advantage of them! There’s Azure credits, technical support, and mentorship. Attend workshops and webinars, connect with other participants, and learn from experts in the field. It’ll help inform your project. You can find a lot of detailed information and tutorials on Azure, as well as other tech here.  You can also locate their Github resources here! 

You can check out this blog if you’re interested in learning more about winning the Imagine Cup, and you can also study the various tid-bits that Microsoft puts out on this website for the Imagine Cup. 

3. Plan early and get feedback. Creative, original, user-friendly solutions are never going to be perfect from the get go, and with a competition as competitive as the Imagine Cup it becomes all the more important to identify constraints and faults so that your team can work on them. 

4. Perfect your pitch. Your project pitch is incredibly important – because it convinces the judges on whether or not your project qualifies to the next round. Your pitch needs to be clear, concise, and engaging. 

5. Study your problem. Picking a real world problem that you want to solve with technology can be tricky. Regardless of what you choose – make sure you are well informed about the reality of the problem and the various stakeholders it affects. 

Where can I see previous Winners of the Cup and their projects?

You can find the list of previous winners and their projects on this site. Looking at previous winners can help give you a point to start brainstorming and ideation of your own solution! It can also help you see the types of problems and concepts covered. 

If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!

Image source: Microsoft Imagine Cup Logo