The Imagine Cup is a global skill-based Competition sponsored by Microsoft. The competition is open to student developers all across the world. The Imagine Cup Competition seeks to honor the most creative, accessible, ground-breaking, and attractive software built with Microsoft tools and technology.

Details

Organizer and sponsor: Microsoft

Entry period: The competition is open and will run through January 2022. It consists of three separate rounds as follows:

ROUND START AND ENTRY DATES

Round 1 – Registration and Microsoft Learn Challenge (November 1, 2021 – January 28, 2022, 23:59 GMT)

Round 2 – Online Semifinals: February 2022

Round 3 – World Finals: March – April 2022

Round 4 – World Championship: to be announced

Topics

• Earth: solutions for climate change, agriculture, and in green tech
• Education: innovate to change the way students across the globe learn
• Health: tackle issues in treatment, diagnosis, accessibility, and more
• Lifestyle: projects that shape how we game, play, and live

Benefits/prizes

Entering this competition will give you the chance to:

• Work with friends (and make new ones!)
• Network with professionals, gain new skills, make a difference in the world, and have the chance to win superb prizes.
• Foster your curiosity.
• Realize your passion and dream.
• Attend the award ceremonies.

In addition to the above benefits, winners and runners-up will receive the following prizes:

 

2^nd Round:

Those advancing to round 3 will receive other benefits. Here, each Local Event may award prizes at the discretion of the local Microsoft representatives representing that competition.

Benefits include: 

• Microsoft Azure Credits
• Mentoring from a Microsoft employee i.e. Startup Advocate or Cloud Advocate

3^rd Round:

At this stage, one winning team is selected from each of the four categories.At least one
member of the team must be present virtually to win. (Mentors and associates will not be
awarded any portion of the monetary prize winnings.)

The three (3) teams selected to advance to Round 3 will receive:

• $5,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of
  the Team and Microsoft Azure Credits*
•  Advance to Round 3 and compete for the World Championship prize
• Mentors to the team are not eligible for prizing

The nine (9) other winning teams will receive:

• $2,500 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of
  the Team
•  Microsoft Azure Credits*

4^TH Round:

At the World’s Championship, one winning team will be selected as the champion.

• World Champion will receive:
• $100,000 USD,
• Microsoft Azure Grant
• Mentorship call with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

 You are eligible to enter if you satisfy the following requirements at the time of submission:

• At least 16 years old as of 21 September 2021;
• Are actively enrolled as a student at a recognized educational institution that awards high-school or college/university (or equivalent) degrees (including home schools) at any time between application date.
• If you are 16 years old or older but have not reached the age of majority in your legal system of the country, then you should have your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry.
• You are NOT a national of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and the Region of Crimea;
• You/your business has not been granted external funding of over $50,000 USD;
• You/your business has not used paid employee’s assistance in making an Imagine Cup entry at any time between November  2021 and 31 May 2022;
• You don’t have an employee or intern status of Microsoft Corporation, or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, at any time between the above dates;
• You have no involvement in any part of the implementation or administration of this Competition;
• You are not an immediate family member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of this competition during the entry period; and
• You are eligible if you have previously competed in the contest as a regional or world finalist as long as you submit a totally new and unique entry this time.

Evaluation criteria

Entries will be judged differently in different rounds of the competition for which multiple scoring criteria are assigned.

In general, these apply.

• Technology
• Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
• Innovation
• Concept
• Feasibility

How to enter this competition?

To enter Round 1, register yourself or your team as instructed. You can submit your round 1 entry as soon as you complete the requirements for that round. Submission requirements and deadlines for Round 2 differ from region to region (will be published no later than March 2022).

Register here NOW and submit your entry!

Categories in which you can submit are four: Earth; Education; Healthcare; and Lifestyle. You can read more about them at the link at the bottom of this page.

Required materials

Participants need to provide the following:

• Project proposal (10 pages in Word or PDF or 20 slides of PowerPoint)
• Presentation video (3-minute pitch or demo)
• Software
• Software instructions

Additional requirements for these materials in all four rounds can be seen in the main link.

Further terms and conditions to consider:

• You cannot enter into the competition if you don’t participate in Round and Round 2.
• You may submit one entry per round.
• Your entry should be complete and completely eligible.
• You can enter the completion as an individual or form a team of four members.
• Each team member should be officially registered
• Each Team is solely responsible for its own cooperation and teamwork.
• If you or your team are invited to attend the World Finals and World Championship, one member of your team must attend to compete in the events.
• It is recommended that individual or team applicant enlists the services of their mentor in the submission development process.
• Team members may come from different academic institutions or disciplines.

Please refer to the official link to ream more comprehensive details of the completion so that you don’t miss any important information in case you decide to enter the competition.