Hey everyone!
My name is Mark Taipan and in addition to working for the fine folks here at Project54, I also am the Microsoft Student Partner here at UNH. One of the topics that I’ve been discussing with students last semester is the ImagineCup competition. So what is the ImagineCup? And what is SDI?
The Imagine Cup is a worldwide competition held by Microsoft that allows students over the age of 16 to create projects that fulfill one of the UN Millennium Goals. There are a total of 9 categories that students can compete in and the Software Design Invitational (SDI) is one of them. The SDI competition allows teams, of up to 4 students, to create software using Microsoft technologies in attempt to make the world a better one to live in. Check out this SDI group who competed last year at the US final.
The competition is broken up into several rounds; most notably, the international final round is in Egypt! However, the SDI first round deadline is fast approaching (Thursday, January 22nd, 2009). Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t started a team/project yet as the First Round involves NO programming at all. If you have a great idea that fulfills the criteria of the competition, take a few hours and submit your idea for the First Round. Think of this round as the proposal of your product; just your idea and a plan is needed here.
Why bother competing?
• If you’re an UNH ECE major, jump start your senior project!
• It’s a great way to bridge the knowledge attained from the classroom with a fun, interesting project designed by you
• Resume builder
• Raffling of prizes for those that UNH students who compete in the SDI competition along wiht the ImagineCup Prize (Overall 1st Place Team wins $25,000)
• Most importantly, use technology for a good cause!
Want more information?
US ImagineCup Website
International Website
Upcoming Dates:
SDI Public Training: Thursday, January 14th, 2009
(Specific information here)
Round1 Deadline: Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
(Register first here)
So if you’re interested in competing in the competition, contact me at mtaipan@gmail.com. I am more than happy to assist you in the logistics of any of the categories in the ImagineCup and help your team brainstorm ideas for the SDI competition. Also, stay tuned in for more info about various Microsoft-related news in the upcoming semester!