Microsoft NZ Student and Academic Blog : Imagine Cup 2008

Imagine Cup 2008 WW Finals

nzacad — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:22:00 GMT

What Happened at the 2008 World Wide Imagine Cup Finals

Video: Imagine Cup 2008 World Finals - Paris

Boat Cruise on Day 4

nzacad — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:25:00 GMT

Boat Cruise on Day 4

Day 4 finished with a boat cruise along the main river in Paris, a great way to finish the day with a relaxing ride viewing some of the main attractions. The boat cruise also provided another French dining experience with tiny delights and also a big dance party on the boat that continued late into the night.

Day 4 - Time to enjoy Paris

nzacad — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:20:00 GMT

Day 4 - Time to Enjoy Paris

On day 4 of the Imagine Cup World Wide Finals, students, and media and Microsoft employees had the opportunity to have a day off and go and tour Paris.

Each individual was provided with an all day pass for the metro, bus and boat and provided with maps, and a guide to take them on a day tour of their choice.
It was a great way to experience Paris, giving students full control of what they want to do for the day. Some options considered were the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triumph, The Louvre, and many other amazing places.

Top Six Teams Announced on Day 4

nzacad — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:48:00 GMT

Top Six Teams Announced

After a gruelling second round for the top 12 teams, the top 6 teams were announced on the morning of the 4th Day. From the batch of 12 teams – the 6 that move onto the next round are...

Australia – SOAK (Smart Operational Agricultural toolKit) Team members: David Burela, Dimaz Pramudya, Ed Hooper, Long Zheng

Brazil – Ecologix
Team Members: Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues, Eduardo Sonnino, Renato Ferreria, Roberto Sonnino

China – UniqueStudio
Team Members: Jing Pan, Yang Liu, Haojian Jin, Zhou Y

Croatia – The Wall of Balance
Team Members: Ivan Maček, Jure Maleš, Marko Matijević, Berislav Tomašić

Hungary - Digital Mania
Team Members: Ákos Kapui, Laszló Zöld, Bálint Orosz, Gergely Orosz

Portugal – (void*)
Team Members: André Sousa, Marco Barbosa, Martinha Rocha, José Faria

Slovakia - Housekeepers
Team Members: Marián Hönsch, Michal Kompan, Jakub Šimko, Dušan Zeleník

Finalists Announced - Day

nzacad — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:04:00 GMT

Finalists Announced on Day 3 of the Imagine Cup World Wide Competition

A very excited group of students from all over the world gathered to hear the news they had been waiting for the past 12 months. The top 12 teams that will move onto the the next round in the Software Design Challenge.

The 12 teams moving onto the next round are...

Australia – SOAK (Smart Operational Agricultural toolKit) Team members: David Burela, Dimaz Pramudya, Ed Hooper, Long Zheng

Brazil – Ecologix
Team Members: Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues, Eduardo Sonnino, Renato Ferreria, Roberto Sonnino

China – UniqueStudio
Team Members: Jing Pan, Yang Liu, Haojian Jin, Zhou Y

Croatia – The Wall of Balance
Team Members: Ivan Maček, Jure Maleš, Marko Matijević, Berislav Tomašić

France – Well K’Home
Team Members: Regis Hanol, Gauthier Chanlieau, Sebastien Warin, Jean-Noel Gauthier

Hungary - Digital Mania
Team Members: Ákos Kapui, Laszló Zöld, Bálint Orosz, Gergely Orosz

Korea – Tree Talk
Team Members: Han-Wook Lee, Dong-Suv Lee, Man-Suk Ho

Portugal – (void*)
Team Members: André Sousa, Marco Barbosa, Martinha Rocha, José Faria

Russia – Ignition
Team Members: Anatoly Nikitin, Roman Belov, Daria Elkina

Singapore – MamaGaia
Team Members: Yang Lin Ko, Ryan Chia, Phyo Myat Thu, Alicia Tay

Slovakia - Housekeepers
Team Members: Marián Hönsch, Michal Kompan, Jakub Šimko, Dušan Zeleník

South Africa – Smile
Team Members: Devin de Vries, Christopher King, Nabeel Nazeer, Nadeem Isaacs
It was a close race for the New Zealand team with many judges showing their support and coming up and congratulating the team. The team can know relax and enjoy what France has to offer, they still have one final chance at the Innovation Accelator Challenge which will happen on the last day of the competition.

Video: Finalists Announced

Second Presentation went off without a Hitch!!

nzacad — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Now We Wait For The Big News...

The second presentation held on the third day of the IC WW Finals went off without a hitch. The guys did an amazing job, slicker then slick. From the dramatic intro, to the flawless demo right down to the final last words, it all went off brilliantly.

The judges in this round were very impressed, interested more on the business model and how the team plan to put this project into action.

The team now will have to wait till 4.30pm Paris time, another 1.5hours before they find out if they make it to the next round. Only 12 teams will go through to the next round and in return they will need to get ready to present again from 6-8pm to qualify for the top 6 teams in the world.

Till then, all teams have an opportunity to showcase their project to media and press from all over the world, waiting in anticipation of the big news. Good Luck Team Phoenix.

Presentation Time!!!

nzacad — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:34:00 GMT

Presentation Time!!

Day 2(yesterday) of the Imagine Cup World Wide Finals, presentations slots had been scheduled for each team. Each Team will present twice over two days to two sets of judges. The results will then be collated and the best 12 of the Software Design Challenge will move on to round two.

Team Phoneix were the last team to present on the first day of presentations, there was a lot of tension and excitement as the team prepared to whoo the judges about their exciting revolutionary project.

The teams spent the hour prior to their kick off sipping red bull and miming their parts of the presentation, also testing the demo multiple times with 100% success rate.

The time came for their presentation - 9.30pm Paris time - which is about 7.30am NZ time Saturday morning. The judges look excited as they walked into the presentation room. The team were under pressure to set their laptops and connections up, with only minutes to kick off, the demo decided that it won't work this time. So with seconds to spare the team had no chance to rectify the issue and had to work with a non-working demo.

The team did a great job, with a slick presentation, connecting with the judges and inspiring them about the impact their project will have on society. Then came the tough questions, and it was tough, according to the team, the toughest they have faced to date.

The judges left the room with kind emotions and positive feelings of the group. One down and the second one awaits at 2.30pm today, the final chance to make their mark!!

The day was also marked with further excitement, with the entire venue having multiple power shut downs during team presentations.

BEFORE THE STORM

Video: Before the Storm

DURING THE STORM

Video: Team's Message

Find out more on the Finals

nzacad — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:05:00 GMT

Want to see more on the WW Finals?

Welcome Ceremony IC WW Finals 2008

nzacad — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:05:00 GMT

Welcome Ceremony for 2008 WW Imagine Cup Finals

Today the 3rd of July was the kick off for the 2008 Imagine Cup World Wide Finals. This was an intense day with up to 60 countries arriving at the main venue, the Novotel Hotel.

The entire day saw teams registering for the event, collecting goodies including t-shirts, water bottles, flash drives, electronic map, more t-shirts, bags, etc etc.

It was a great atmosphere where teams from all around the world got to meet and talk about their ideas, make friends, share their stories knowing that in 24 hours they would be competing against each other.

The day finished with a huge welcome ceremony held at the Paris Town Hall (“Hotel de Ville”). An amazing venue filled with spectacular architectural design and lighting. On the way to the venue students, media, judges and MS employee’s from all over the world were given a short 60 minute tour of Paris. A great way to welcome the students across the globe. The event was very much customised for students with a DJ playing in the background, and finger food that covered 26 different types of famous French delights. An opportunity for students to unwind, relax, mingle, and bring together our community of IT students.

The students were also welcomed by the Mayor of Paris, Microsoft’s International Director and Joe Wilson, Microsoft’s Lead in supporting and nurturing our next generation of IT students. The night ended with a bus ride back to the hotel where the teams were able to get some shut eye on the eve of round one starting the next day.

Video: Welcome Ceremony for NZ

Bonjour France - Day 1 and 2

nzacad — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:06:00 GMT

Finally in France - Day 1/2

After a gruelling 12 hour flight we arrived on a warm humid night in Paris. With little to do in the airport we caught two taxis to shuttle us to our hotels. 40 minutes and 100 Euros later we made it to our final destination the Novtel Hotel.

Not much to do now but sleep.

Day 2 – 4 hours of sleep and a day before the competition begins, instead of spending the day relaxing we decided to all go out and head off to Euro Disney for the entire day.

An early 8am start and a short 1.5hr train ride to Euro Disney got us at the theme park right on opening time 10am.

This was a spectacular day, rollercoaster after rollercoaster, ride after ride, thrill after thrill, with a bit off time to catch your breath at the “sit down” shows, it was an exhaustive day taking its toll on everyone’s feet.

A great way to start the week off in Paris experiencing one of its must see attractions.

Video: Euro Disney Attraction

Waiting At Auckland International Airport

nzacad — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:02:00 GMT

Waiting at Auckland Interntational Airport

Checked in and ready to go...this will be the final day of rest as we embark on our journey to the other side of the world, Paris, France.

11 hours to Singapore then 13 hours to Paris, 6 hours in transit, 30 hours later we should arrive in a hotel miles away from where we started.

Keep watching as I put photos up as we progress though the week.

Want to know more about Imagine Cup 08 - Check out http://channel8.msdn.com

nzacad — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:37:00 GMT

Want to find out upto date info on the Imagine Cup WW Finals 2008 - http://channel8.msdn.com

Joe Wilson's Pre-Kick Off: Imagine Cup 2008 Paris

Imagine Cup World Wide Finals Countdown - Paris Here We Come!!

nzacad — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:31:00 GMT

Imagine Cup World Wide Finals 2008 Countdown - Paris Here We Come!!

Till The Welcome Ceremony of WW Imagine Cup Finals in Paris, France

Follow the NZ Winning Imagine Cup Team

nzacad — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:55:00 GMT

Support and Follow the Winning Imagine Cup Team : Team Phoenix

Stay upto date with the Imagine Cup World Wide Finals Competition. We will be updating the student blog with pictures and status reports on the Competition being held in Paris, France. The comeptition starts on the 3rd of July and concludes on the the 8th of July. You can support the team here by adding comments to this post.

There are over 59 countries competiting in the Software Design Challenge in 2008.

Andean Region: Colombia	Armenia	Australia	Austria	Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegevonia	Brazil	Bulgaria	CCA Region: Dominican Republic	China
Croatia (Hrvatska)	Czech Republic	East and Southern Africa	East Med Region: Jordan	Egypt
Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Gulf Region: United Arab Emirates
Hong Kong	Hungary	India	Indonesia	Ireland
Italy	Japan	Korea	Malaysia	Malta
Mexico	Netherlands	New Zealand	Nigeria	North Africa Region: Algeria
North America region: United States	Norway	Pakistan	Philippines	Poland
Portugal	Romania	Russia	Saudi Arabia	Serbia
Singapore	Slovakia	Slovenia	South Africa	South Cone Region: Argentina
Spain	Sri Lanka	Taiwan	Thailand	Turkey
UK	Ukraine	Viet Nam	West and Central Africa

The NZ Imagine Cup Coordinators will update this post as we move through the competition with pictures, comments and videos.

Imagine Cup 2008 - Videos

NZ Imagine Cup 2008 Winner	Top Four NZ Finalists	What To Expect In France

Photos of the Winning Team from the 2008 NZ Finals held in May