Who’s Next in Tech

How the Imagine Cup and the White House Science Fair are inspiring students to explore science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.

Earlier this week, two Imagine Cup finalists had the opportunity to participate in the first annual White House Science Fair. This isn’t your dad’s science fair though — no baking soda and vinegar volcanoes or solar system models were on site. The White House Science Fair brought together the brightest high-school student minds in the country to showcase fresh thinking across science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Not only is this just a cool concept, it’s an important one.

 

President Obama addresses participants

President Obama addresses participants and the media at the first annual White House Science Fair

 

At the White House Science Fair, the two attending Imagine Cup finalists received recognition for their compelling projects, which both focused on mobile applications. Wilson To represented team Mobilife, which created a mobile diagnostic tool that connects Windows Phone technology with a computer to detect vascular diseases. Christian Hood represented team BeastWare, which developed one of the world’s first Windows Phone 7 games. It’s important that we keep students engaged and excited about their education, especially today when technology and scientific research are so rapidly evolving.

 

 Christian Hood and Wilson

Imagine Cup finalists Christian Hood and Wilson To attend the White House Science Fair

 

It’s important for us here at Microsoft because we know we’re not going to be able to make our vision for the future of technology a reality alone — it will take a strong industry of partners and customers, not to mention educational institutions and scientists across many fields and disciplines. We need a new generation to lead the way in the research, programming and design required to make this future a reality. One of the key initiatives Microsoft enacted to cultivate and reward this thinking is the Imagine Cup. The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition. It provides an opportunity for students to use their creativity, passion and knowledge of technology to help solve global challenges and make a difference in the world.

Although we can’t do it alone, we can partner with the government and educational institutions around the world to get students excited about the future of technology. Hopefully when they are leading the charge on technological breakthroughs 20 years from now they’ll look back on the first White House Science Fair and think that the concepts showcased there were as old-fashioned as a baking soda and vinegar volcano. That means we will have done our part in fostering the forward thinking and imagination required to create what’s next in tech.

To learn more about the science fair, check out the Imagine Cup blog. Visit the Next in Tech newsroom to learn more about the trends, ideas, products and people behind the technology at Microsoft.

Posted by Steve Clayton
Microsoft Storyteller

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