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Microsoft Corp on Friday announced the winners of Imagine Cup 2006, after intense competition among finalists chosen from a pool of more than 65,000 students from over 100 countries.
India's Team Avengers comprising Mohit Bhargava and Mitushi Jain bagged the 3rd prize in the Interface Design category (See photograph).
Giorgio Sardo, Massimo Paternoster, Silvia Perrone and Andrea Sossich from Team Even .ctor from Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, celebrated their first-place finish in the worldwide Software Design Invitational and were awarded a $25,000 cash prize.
Korea will host the Imagine Cup 2007 in Seoul.
The Imagine Cup, Microsoft's premier competition for technology students, provides a forum to encourage creative and technological innovations among university students worldwide.
"These projects demonstrate the power of software to address real-world problems, and I'm so impressed by the high levels of technical innovation that these students achieved in their work," said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who met several student teams in Redmond, Washington, earlier this year as they prepared for the India competition.
"This year's Imagine Cup participants all share a commitment to improving people's lives that is very inspiring. They represent the next generation of business and technology leaders, and their creativity and passion are reasons for us all to be optimistic about the future."
"The 42 software design finalist teams created a software application using Microsoft technology and Microsoft .NET Web Services based on the Imagine Cup competition theme: 'Imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives.'"
A total of 181 students from 72 teams representing 42 countries were ultimately selected to participate in worldwide Imagine Cup finals in six categories: Software Design, Algorithm, IT, Short Film, Interface Design and Project Hoshimi (Programming Battle).
The student teams were asked to undertake a series of challenges relating to multimedia or technology depending on the invitational.
The winners were announced in a gala awards ceremony earlier this afternoon during the Imagine Cup World Festival, a celebration drawing the Imagine Cup competitors, mentors and other key attendees including a keynote address from Kapil Sibal, cabinet minister of science and technology for the government of India. Speaking at the event, Sibal said, "I am so delighted to be amidst some of the brightest young minds from across the globe. In them I see the future, the next phase of technology revolution, and the desire to make the world a better place not just for themselves but for others too."
"The role of governments and businesses is to make sure we provide them with those opportunities. Imagine Cup is one of those platforms, and I am glad India played host and hopefully not only inspired them but also learned from them."
The following are the top three finalists by invitational in finishing order:
Software Design
Algorithm
IT
Short Film
Interface Design
Project Hoshimi (Programming Battle)
The Imagine Cup, now in its fourth year, is a competition designed to provide an outlet for students to explore technological and artistic interests outside the classroom. It challenges students to imagine a better world enabled by their own genius, creativity and energy, and provides opportunities for participation in the future of technology, software and computing
Teams develop innovative projects that offer practical applicability and present real-world solutions to real-world problems.
(Above) India's Team Avengers comprising Mohit Bhargava (right) and Mitushi Jain (left) bagged the 3rd prize in the Interface Design category at the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals held in Agra.
Photograph, courtesy: Microsoft