UK Academic Team Blog : competitions

Imagine Cup Registrations

ukacademia — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:44:17 GMT

Hello Everyone,

Interest for the Imagine Cup has been strong and we can confirm the various categories are now open for competition. From experience we know that the next couple of months will be key in getting great UK representation in the Imagine Cup.

Here are just a few of the reasons for encouraging your students to compete:

- PR: The Imagine Cup attracts the attention of both regional and national newspapers, together with technology and education press and news websites such as the BBC. Having students from your university compete in the Imagine Cup is great for raising the profile of your university in two important ways. Firstly it demonstrates the quality of your graduates to IT employers and makes them more attractive as employees (e.g. Dominic Green, UK winner of the 2008 competition) and secondly, it attracts new students to your university.

- Skills Development: Fundamentally the Imagine Cup is about helping students get real world experience with Microsoft technology. The skills learned during the various competitions compliment their studies and are invaluable when students apply for jobs with IT companies.

- Students Inspiration: With every technology interest area catered for, the competition is a great way to channel students’ passion for technology out of class.

We want as many UK institutions and students to get involved with the Imagine Cup as possible, and to help you participate we provide:

- Giveaways for students: Every week we give away web cams and Starbucks vouchers. We also hold a monthly draw for a Dell laptop, providing everything a student needs to see them through their studies and the Imagine Cup competition.

- Donation of an Xbox 360 gaming lab kit for your university: The university with the most registrations will receive 4 Xbox 360s, 8 wired controllers and an assortment of the latest Xbox 360 titles. You are free to use them for XNA development or as a social/recreation area for students.

If you would like to receive regular updates on the registration numbers from your university then please let me know and I will happily send them to you. You can contact me by telephone (0118 909 3409) or if you prefer by email (mailto:ukacinfo@microsoft.com).

And just to give you an idea of how we are doing so far, here are the top fifteen universities with the highest number of registrations:

University	Registrations
Brighton	89
Birmingham City	38
Cumbria	38
Bradford	37
Reading	35
Robert Gordon	35
Derby	31
Nottingham	24
De Montfort	23
Keele	23
Cambridge	20
Hull	20
Imperial College	20
Brunel	18
RHUL	20

If you would like to know more, them please email or telephone me. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

Good luck,

Allison

Microsoft Tech-Ed 2007 Conference DVD sets to give away

ukacademia — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:29:00 GMT

Good morning,

I thought I’d start the week with a give-away of the ten Tech-Ed Conference DVD sets sitting on my desk.

So, if you live in the UK and would like me to pop one in the post to you, email me your address details and the first ten to reply will get the goodies.

Have a good week.

Allison

Pixel Poetry

ukacademia — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:14:17 GMT

Hi,

It was our very great pleasure to sponsor and support the Microsoft Photography Competition at the Department of Engineering 2008, at the University of Cambridge.

Blue Spikes, by Sonja Findeisen-Tandel

If proof were needed, these photographs exemplify the strong connection between art and science and that engineering particularly, has an inner beauty. The winning photograph, Blue Spikes, by Sonja Findeisen-Tandel, together with other stunning entries can be viewed at Microsoft Photography Competition at the Department of Engineering.

Which puts me in mind on Imagine Cup 2009 and the category for best photo story. It isn’t too soon to get your students involved and thinking about the competition. You never know, the lucky winner could be from your university and joining us in Cairo for the world finals. The next set of photographs could be of the pyramids and feluccas on Nile.

For an overview of the photo story competition please visit Photo Story.

All the best,

Allison

The simplest New Year's Resolution to achieve

ukacademia — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:26:50 GMT

Happy New Year to all!

While many a student is still sleeping off the effects of their festivities we are aware that a dedicated few are polishing up their ideas for their entry into the Software Design Challenge of the Imagine Cup. A minority are sleeping smugly because they have already submitted theirs. The extended deadline is January 9th - one week away - so we want to encourage all who have an idea to submit it.

Unlike previous years, we do not require working code at this stage so the idea is all that is required. A sample entry shows you what is involved and the rules and other info on the Imagine Cup Website but if there is anything else that you need to know then please get in touch. WIth competitions, I know from personal experience that taking part can bring huge rewards; past competitors in this competition who now have top jobs, memories and career-building experiences will agree.

Make it your New Year's resolution to encourage a team (or ten) to enter and by next week you can relax and know that you have started the year with success.

Claire

How much work is involved in the Software Design Challenge?

ukacademia — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:30:00 GMT

With lots of coursework and other pressures it is understandable that some students may be daunted by the amount of work required to enter the Imagine Cup. The format for the Software Design Challenge has changed this year so that round one is about the idea not code and we have produced a sample entry to show what this might look like. However we understand that at the back of their minds, the students will be wondering about the quantity of work required in the subsequent rounds. Find out more here.

And just in case your students haven't registered yet, you might want to show them these pictures of students who have already seen the benefit this year by receiving on of the XBox 360 Elites. The next draw will take place next week so have them sign up now to be in with a chance to join Tien and Stephen in the 'lucky student' gallery.

Claire

Technorati Tags: Imagine Cup

Life changing prizes to be won in the Imagine Cup

ukacademia — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:30:00 GMT

Technorati Tags: Imagine Cup, Students

The Imagine cup registrations are flooding in and the competition is definitely hotting up. If you need any more compelling reasons to prompt your students into registering (apart from the chance to win an Xbox 360 Elite) I thought I would share with you the prizes that are on offer which could really make a difference to their lives and give them a great start into their chosen career.

Competition	Prize
Software Design	2 weeks in Seattle working alongside the Popfly team. A great work experience opportunity to see how Microsoft builds software that the winners can use when they apply for jobs and go into industry
Game Development	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft Games Studio in the UK
Embedded Development	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft embedded partner
IT Challenge	A Tranquil PC Windows Home Server
Project Hoshimi	2 weeks work experience at a Microsoft Games Studio in the UK
Algorithm	A top specced desktop PC with Visual Studio 2008
Interface Design	A top specced desktop PC with Expression Studio
Short Film	An HD video camera with tripod and accessories
Photography	A Digital SLR camera, tripod, extra lens and accessories

As you can see, some of the prizes could really make a difference to your students' future so what are you waiting for, go to the Imagine Cup Website and find out how you can get involved.

Kate

XNA at Gamecity, the follow up

ukacademia — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:05:54 GMT

Hi everyone,

We held our events at Gamecity Nottingham last week and were delighted by the enthusiasm of everyone who attended. The afternoon saw the academics eating popcorn while hearing about:

XNA Game Studio 2.0
the XNA User Group,
Rare's 2008 lecture programme
and the experiences of students at Huddersfield, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent.

Delegates also received an Imagine Cup brochure and an XNA CD. We are having more of each made so if you are a UK academic and would like some, let me know (full name, job title and university postal address please)

In the evening we all decamped to Bluu and were joined by hundreds of students for a games party like no other. The video of the party can be found on Channel 10 soon.

Thanks to the Xbox team for the equipment, Rare for the Games and Gamers, the Frag Dolls for being great fun and everyone else who helped and played. The next step is to have all those students and many others enter the Game Development category of the Imagine Cup. If you need info about this then please get in touch.

Claire

The Imagine Cup 2008

ukacademia — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:02:00 GMT

Those of you who have already hosted the Inspiration Tour will know that the Imagine Cup is a really exciting opportunity for students this year and includes some great new categories. In the UK we are even adding extra value. The key points are:

1. There are 9 competitions for all interests and skill levels and in the UK we are providing life-changing prizes for each UK category winner in addition to them winning a trip to the global finals. See prize table below.

2. It is really easy to register this year and fun too! Have your students take the online quiz and get your university at the top of the leader-board. Each registration is automatically entered into a monthly prize draw where the prize is an Xbox 360 Elite. As last year, registration is not a commitment to enter so EVERYONE should have a go.

3. Software Design has been split up into 3 sections –

The Idea; spend the time between now and Christmas on the this
The Innovation Accelerator; A unique opportunity for the students to learn entrepreneurship and higher level technology skills while developing their idea in the form of a 3 day event at our offices in Reading lead by business partners and key Microsoft staff . Think ‘Dragons Den’ meets ‘The Restaurant’ meets Silicon Valley!
The Code Submission

4. The UK Imagine Cup culminates in a celebration day in London in June for the top competitors in all 9 competitions to meet and hear from leading industry speakers and employers to talk jobs. There will be a prize giving ceremony and maybe even a party at a club in London.

We know that students aren't always easy to motivate so here are some ways to help get them engaged:

Point them to these URLs http://www.microsoft.co.uk/uk/academia/imaginecup/2008/quiz/default.mspx and www.imaginecup.co.uk
Order a box or two of glossy guides which explain all of the 'invitationals' (an invitational = a competition category)
Download the guide
Use our sample emails and other resources including graphics

Software Design Challenge	2 week work placement in Seattle with the Popfly team	Prizes of Xbox 360 Elites, MP3 players for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place teams
Embedded	2 week UK work placement with specialist Microsoft embedded partner
XNA	2 week work placement with UK Microsoft Game Studio	Xbox 360 Elite pack
Project Hoshimi	2 week placement at UK MGS	Xbox 360 Elite pack
Algorithm		Developer PC (top spec, e.g. Quad core, 24” LCD monitors)
IT Challenge		Windows Home Server
Photography		Digital SLR camera, lens, bag and tripod
Short Film		HD video camera, accessories and tripod
Interface Design	2 week work placement with major UK creative agency	Designer PC (top spec, e.g. Quad core, 24” LCD monitors)

(Note: Prize list was changed from the published list above. Please refer to the About section of the Imagine Cup UK website)

As always, if you have any questions then please get in touch

Claire

Tell us why you like Windows Vista and Office 2007 - and win a Tablet PC

ukacademia — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:30:00 GMT

Lots of education establishments are already using Windows Vista and even more are using Office 2007. And if you are one of those, then here's your chance to tell others why you like it...and win a prize. There are two Tablet PCs up for grabs in the competition (one each for the best Student and Staff entry). And 20 x 2GB memory sticks for the first 10 featured entries in each category.

All you need to do is answer the question "How have the new features in Windows Vista and Office 2007 helped you with your teaching and lesson planning?".

The competition runs from now until the end of October, so there’s plenty of time to find the ways that Windows Vista and/or Office 2007 is helping you, even if you haven’t yet started using it.

You can enter through the website, which contains all of the detail and fine-print too, at http://www.microsoft.com/education/lovecompetition/

UK Academic Team Blog : competitions

Imagine Cup Registrations

Microsoft Tech-Ed 2007 Conference DVD sets to give away

Pixel Poetry

The simplest New Year's Resolution to achieve

How much work is involved in the Software Design Challenge?

Life changing prizes to be won in the Imagine Cup

Competition

Prize

XNA at Gamecity, the follow up

The Imagine Cup 2008

Point them to these URLs http://www.microsoft.co.uk/uk/academia/imaginecup/2008/quiz/default.mspx and www.imaginecup.co.uk

Order a box or two of glossy guides which explain all of the 'invitationals' (an invitational = a competition category)

Download the guide

Use our sample emails and other resources including graphics

Tell us why you like Windows Vista and Office 2007 - and win a Tablet PC