Imagine Cup Participants Offered BizSpark Enrollment

At the Imagine Cup in Warsaw today, Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois said that all 400 participants of this year’s 2010 World Final will be invited – along with their teams – to enroll in Microsoft’s BizSpark program. 
 
Courtois said that the BizSpark initiative was one way Microsoft could help the Imagine Cup participants achieve their goals of solving big problems through technology. “That’s why, tonight, we want to offer each and every team here a boost to your dreams,” he told the finalists.
 
These students will now be able to take their projects from idea to business opportunity.  Already, several former Imagine Cup participants have used the BizSpark program to launch start-up businesses in their local communities and across the web. One example is Kobojo, a social network gaming site that came out of the 2004 competition.
 
To get to Warsaw, Imagine Cup 2010 World Final students had to compete against more than 325,000 others. Courtois said Microsoft recognizes that the Imagine Cup participants will be tomorrow’s technology and businesses leaders and wants them to succeed.
 
The Microsoft BizSpark program helps startup business owners learn the basics by providing help that ranges from showing them how to look for funding to giving them free access to Microsoft developer tools.  More than 30,000 startups have participated in BizSpark since its start in November of 2008.

Take a look at the Imagine Cup section for the latest stories, video and photos from Poland. More information on BizSpark is available on the Microsoft BizSpark website.

Posted by Lukas Velush
SENIOR EDITOR, MICROSOFT NEWS CENTER

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