Thailand’s Team Skeek Win $25,000 Imagine Cup 2010 Grand Prize

As Microsoft closes another chapter in the history of its Imagine Cup student completion, the focus now turns to the next edition, which, for the first time since debut will be held in New York, US. Students around the world have until next summer to match the performance of Thailand’s Team Skeek, the winners of the $25,000 Imagine Cup 2010 Grand Prize in the software design category. The members of Skeek bested no less than 325,000 high school and university students from over 100 countries and regions around the globe to take home the top prize of Microsoft’s student contest.

Of course, there is a range of additional winners, with the Redmond company offering $240,000 in cash prizes for across five competition categories, and six awards additional awards. Students leveraged a plethora of technologies laboring to put together projects designed to solve the world’s most critical problems, from social networks to the software giant’s Cloud platform Windows Azure.

“These student projects are sophisticated technology accomplishments that highlight the incredible things that can happen when inspired ideas and the will to make them happen come together,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International. “These students should make us all proud, as they are taking concrete steps to help others and make our world a better place. With their passion and the assistance of technology, these young adults can and will affect the future.”

Team Skeek won the software design category with eyeFeel, an augmented reality environment which allows hearing impaired people to communicate better with others. “We wanted to implement something that would have a unique impression on the user and also be fun to use,” explained Pichai Sodsai of team Skeek. “We dared to dream and worked hard to make it come true.”

Below are additional winners from Imagine Cup 2010:

Software Design • First Place: Thailand, Skeek

• Second Place: Serbia, TFZR Team

• Third Place: New Zealand, OneBeep

Embedded Development

• First Place: Taiwan, SmarterME

• Second Place: Russia, MCPU

• Third Place: France, GERAS

Game Design

• First Place: Philippines, By Implication

• Second Place: Belgium, NomNom Productions

• Third Place: France, Gears Studio

IT Challenge

• First Place: China, WeiQiu Wen

• Second Place: Bolivia, Miklos Cari Sivila

• Third Place: Singapore, Zhengbin Hu

Digital Media

• First Place: Taiwan, Mirror Vita

• Second Place: Saudi Arabia, Dreaming Spirits

• Third Place: Singapore, Woolgathering

Envisioning 2020 Award

• First Place: Taiwan, Jigga-Dongxi

• Second Place: India, KOLA

• Third Place: India, Target Locked

Interoperability Award

• First Place: Jamaica, Xormis

• Second Place: Brazil, Uptiva Dreams IT

• Third Place: Indonesia, Chandradimuka

Next Generation Web Award

• First Place: Korea, Wanna Be Alice

• Second Place: Poland, Rhea

• Third Place: Brazil, Samba Samba

Touch & Tablet Accessibility Award

• First Place: United States, Team Note-Taker

• Second Place: United States, OneView

Windows Phone 7 “Rockstar” Award

• First Place: United States, Beastware

• Second Place: Indonesia, Tselina

• Third Place: Malaysia, Hypo Team

Windows Internet Explorer 8 Award