MICROSOFT ARMENIA PREPARES FOR IMAGINE CUP 2009
ArmInfo
2008-11-10 12:29:00
ArmInfo. Microsoft Armenia has launched intensive preparations for
Imagine CUP 2009 student technology competition.
Microsoft Armenia Director Grigor Barseghyan told ArmInfo every
year Imagine CUP challenges the world’s most talented students to
"Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems
facing us today." These students might ensure the sustainability of
our planet or help deliver universal primary education. The United
Nations has identified some of the hardest challenges in the world
today in its Millennium Goals. This year the Imagine Cup uses these
ambitious challenges as a guiding light to inspire change all over
the world. Eight Millennium Goals comprise such important tasks of
poverty reduction, stoppage of AIDS distribution, provision of free
access to education and others, G Barseghyan said.
He explained that the same teams can voluntarily participate in the
competitions as long as their members are students. ‘Although the
juries make tougher requirements to the teams participating for the
second time, we will do our best to ensure equal conditions for good
training of all the participants’, G. Barseghyan said.
Alongside with software design there are another 8 competition
categories that are available on-line. Unfortunately last year Armenia
was represented only in one category, but it was our first attempt
that will, surely, become a pleasant tradition, he said. The 2009
Theme: Solve the World’s Toughest Problems. The local competition
will be held in three stages accompanied with intensive training and
seminars on the categories chosen by the participants. The first stage
includes on-line registration on the web-site ,
formation of teams and selection of the first ideas.
Then the solutions offered by teams will be selected and a local
final will take place. The winner team will get an opportunity to
compete with winners from other state in the Worldwide Final. Each
Worldwide Finalist will be awarded a trip to Egypt to compete in the
Worldwide Finals. Trip includes round trip coach airfare from major
airport closest to winner’s home, standard hotel accommodations,
and select meals during the Worldwide Finals.
As regards Imagine CUP 2008, G. Barseghyan said the project of Armenian
team Alpha Sphere did not yield to the projects of other teams of the
same category in the Worldwide Final in Paris. For his part, members
of Alpha Sphere team that presented the project World Waste Market
expressed satisfaction with the participation in Imagine CUP 2008. ‘It
is a great competition that allows presenting and improving skills
and knowledge on real examples, and being acquainted with the best
IT-specialists’, Davit Alanakyan, head of Alpha Sphere team said. A
team-member, Alexander Adamyan recommended the teams preparing for
Imagine CUP 2009 to learn project presentation skills alongside with
development of interesting projects on the basis of Microsoft programs,
since the juries pay special attention to presentation skills of the
teams. Adamyan added that Alpha Sphere plans to develop its project
and apply it in practice.