"Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment." That simple idea—the theme for the 2008 Imagine Cup competition—is challenging and inspiring nearly 190,000 young computer programmers, software developers, and artists from over 100 countries to create innovative technology solutions that could help change the world and improve the lives of millions of people.

"The environment is an issue that really motivates students to action," said Emanuele Ognissanti, a Microsoft group marketing manager who is helping to coordinate the 2008 Imagine Cup technology competition. "They see in the Imagine Cup an opportunity to do something concrete about problems that concern them very deeply."

With regard to forum discussions on the Imagine Cup Web site and some of the early entries in the competition, Ognissanti said it's clear that students are applying their skills and creativity to a wide range of environmental problems. Popular topics include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the reorganization of food production and consumption to minimize waste and reduce hunger; and the mitigation of pollution to improve air, water and soil quality.

"We've had a glimpse of what many student teams are working on, and the projects are very exciting," said Ognissanti. "Technology is a powerful tool, but until you see a fresh, creative mind applying it to a specific problem you don't know how much it can do. Every year, we are more astonished by the resourcefulness and out-of-the-box thinking students bring to the Imagine Cup competition."

Imagination and a Sustainable Environment

Founded by Microsoft in 2003 to encourage young people to visualize a better world enabled by technology, and to realize that vision by using their imagination and technical skills to solve real-world problems, Imagine Cup is now the world's premier technology competition for students. In 2008, students are competing for USD $180,000 in prize money in nine invitational divisions, ranging from Software Design and Embedded Development to Photography and Short Film.

Every year Imagine Cup focuses on a different global issue and provides a unique opportunity for students to help shape the future by using technology to deal with some of the world's most difficult problems. With global climate change, water scarcity, and the growing need for energy conservation making headlines daily, this year's theme of environmental sustainability is attracting a record number of students—nearly 190,000 from more than 100 countries—and making the Imagine Cup more popular than ever.

After advancing through online, local and regional competitions, the 2008 Imagine Cup finalists will compete July 3–8 at the world finals in Paris, France, where their top-rated technology solutions will be unveiled. With regard to the kinds of solutions students have produced in previous years, Ognissanti said that the 2008 Imagine Cup sponsors expect to see "incredible innovations showing what software placed in the hands of students can do to address environmental problems."

The Link Between Technology and the Environment

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN agency responsible for the promotion international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication, has officially endorsed the Imagine Cup. Top UNESCO officials take an active part in the competition by serving as judges or delivering keynote addresses, and the organization is hosting the 2008 Imagine Cup world finals at its Paris headquarters.

The use of technology to enable a sustainable environment was a successful strategic choice for this year's theme for several reasons. The theme matches one of the UN Millennium Development goals, students worldwide are passionate about the topic, and it has enabled Microsoft to create greater awareness of the connection between environmental issues and technology—from energy conservation to water management to the coordination of environmental services.

"The Imagine Cup is truly a global contest of software creation, capturing not only the spirit of competition, but also the broader goal of [dealing with] development challenges through innovation," said Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO assistant director-general for communication and information, who delivered a keynote and served as a judge for the 2007 Imagine Cup. "By challenging students to develop working solutions to development challenges, the Imagine Cup allows new ideas and new economic opportunities to flourish."

The Next Generation of Technological Creation and Business Leaders

While students may have the skills and imagination necessary to create groundbreaking technology, turning their ideas into viable businesses is a different matter.

The Imagine Cup Innovation Accelerator, a companion program that started in 2005, is designed to provide business and technical education for Imagine Cup winners to help them turn their technology solutions into successful businesses. Over an intense two-week period, students develop their Imagine Cup-winning designs into potential must-have technology solutions. The teams refine their software designs using the platform and network assets of co-sponsoring companies BT and Microsoft, while still completely retaining the intellectual property. In addition, business experts are on hand to help the students build a solid business plan to bring their ideas to market.

Russia's Team Inspiration, winners of the 2005 Imagine Cup, went on to become entrepreneurs after going through the 2005 Innovation Accelerator program. They formed a company and incorporated their winning idea as Musigy Inc., an online social network for live music entertainment. Musigy enables musicians to plug their instruments into a computer and be connected to other musicians all over the world, perform live in a distributed environment, and share the real-time performance over the Internet. The company has hosted several concerts, including a 2007 New Year performance that was broadcast over Russian National Television to 50 million people, even though the musicians were playing in different studios a thousand miles apart.

According to Ognissanti, several students from the 2008 Imagine Cup competition are developing technology solutions with strong market potential, but he is just as excited about the cultural change he sees taking place as a result of the Imagine Cup.

"Today's students are the next generation of technologists, consumers, and citizens," Ognissanti said. "By motivating thousands of exceptional students to start thinking and talking about the environment, the Imagine Cup is helping to create a culture of environmental sustainability among tomorrow's leaders."