Compete for Imagine Cup glory and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Photo of five enthusiastic young men wearing matching navy shirts pose and grin

Speaking to some of the best and brightest student developers at Imagine Cup, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once said, “All of you represent that passion, that ability to dream the impossible and make it possible.”

The Imagine Cup embraces this principle as the company’s global student innovation competition. Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, the competition represents Microsoft’s enduring commitment to supporting young developers and their drive to create the next game-changing innovations.

Logo with the words "Imagine Cup, 15 years of awesome"

Last fall, we launched the 2017 Imagine Cup competition along with the news that we were upping the ante and doubling the top prize to $100,000 for the winning team. Now, I’ve got even more exciting announcements.

Students competing in Imagine Cup will also vie for the chance to have a mentoring session with our CEO, during which they will have the opportunity to draw upon his years of experience in the technology industry to help them take their project to the next level.

Also, we want to celebrate the Imagine Cup’s 15th anniversary by immersing these talented young developers in Microsoft’s culture of innovation, which has fostered the development of cutting-edge Microsoft products across a variety of technologies, including the cloud, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and more. To that end, we’re holding the competition at Microsoft headquarters so students can mingle amongst the tens of thousands of Microsoft employees who come to work every day with a desire to impact millions of people through the power of technology.

And then, of course, there’s the competition itself. It’s never short on excitement and drama, and we’re preparing an especially thrilling experience for the students who advance to the Imagine Cup World Finals. And you can join in to view the Imagine Cup Grand Finale, which will be webcast at imagine.microsoft.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or visit Microsoft Imagine or our blog to learn more.

Every year, I’m amazed by the ingenuity and imagination unleashed by young developers from all around the globe. Over the course of the Imagine Cup’s 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of watching students develop projects designed to make an immediate and wide-ranging impact. There seem to be no limits on the imagination and competitive spirit that drive innovation among the young creators who participate in the Imagine Cup.

There’s still time to participate if you haven’t already signed up. If you’re a student who is interested in shaping the next generation of world-changing technology innovations while surrounded by other inspiring student developers from all over the world, then I encourage you to learn more about the Imagine Cup today. There’s lots more excitement to come!

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