We are thrilled to announce that two of the four grants program for Imagine Cup will be deploying their programs on Windows Azure.  The program is focused on providing opportunities for young people by helping competitors create a business or non-profit that will help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, with the aid of technology.  The packages include $75,000 for each team, as well as software, cloud computing services, solution provider support, premium BizSpark account benefits and access to local resources such as the Microsoft Innovation Center.

• Team Apptenders (Based in Croatia)- is working on developing a Kinect-based solution system for on-premise and remote physical therapy for children (especially those with Cerebral Palsy).  The team will be using Windows Azure to deploy software that will monitor a child’s exercises and provide statistical analysis to their therapist.  
• Lifelens (Based in the US)– will be producing a point-of-care tool to diagnose malaria using an augmented Windows Phone 7 application, which will be hosted on Windows Azure. The project addresses the high child mortality rates caused by the lack of detection and availability of treatment of malarial diseases. 

The winning teams were selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants that competed in the Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals.  To learn more about the program, the winning teams, and to see photos, please check out Imagine Cup blog.