14 DAY TRIAL // People around the world now have the chance to vote for the leaders of tomorrow participating in the eighth annual Imagine Cup, a contest described by Microsoft as the world’s premier student technology competition. The Redmond company, which is sponsoring the event, has kicked off the People’s Choice Award, and is allowing visitors to the Imagine Cup website to get a deeper insight into the projects that students from around the world have put together and vote for their favorite entry.
Over 325,000 high-school and university students from more than 100 countries around the world have entered in this year’s Imagine Cup. Following the complex selection process that they all went through, only 400 students “are left standing” for the Worldwide Final, which is set to take place in Warsaw, Poland, in July 2010.
As of June 8th, and July 7th, everyone could vote for their favorite Imagine Cup project, Microsoft informed. Users only need to visit the People’s Choice Award section of the competition’s official website, view videos put together by the Imagine Cup finalists and vote for the team they want to support. The Redmond company has even made it extremely easy for the videos to be shared through a variety of social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.
“We believe that, now more than ever, young people have the ability to make a positive impact on the world,” Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft, noted. “These students will be the global leaders of tomorrow, and we want to provide opportunities to demonstrate their creativity and innovation on the world stage. I’m in awe of the quality and sophistication of the Imagine Cup projects. It illustrates the promise of technology to positively transform education and change the way people live, think, work and communicate.”