Microsoft has opened entries for the Imagine Cup and is calling on SA's brightest young minds to tackle the world's toughest problems using technology.
According to the tech giant, the competition, now in its ninth year, gives students the chance to gain international exposure and turn their ideas into businesses.
The finals take place in early December and local winners will get to pit their wits against the world's best student programmers in New York next year.
Nyaladzi Mpofu, the academic developer advisor at Microsoft SA, says: “Imagine Cup is a great way for students to apply their creativity, intellect and brainpower to start thinking like entrepreneurs and open up a world of opportunities.”
Mpofu says Imagine Cup is one of Microsoft's key drives to promote local software development and innovation. He explains that advantages include developing technology that benefits South Africans and enabling students to meet their peers from other universities, and start their own businesses.
Mpofu adds: “Time and again, we've seen students lead technology shifts. Research and development often starts with commercial companies and educational institutions, but students are the ones who get to engage with technology and make it real for us.”
Last year's winners, Johannesburg's Kieron Ekron and Jacobus Bijker, designed a program that can predict crowd behaviour in stadiums, which has safety and efficiency uses for events such as the Fifa Soccer World Cup.
According to Microsoft, 2007 Imagine Cup winner Devin de Vries and his colleagues built a solution called 'Where is my transport' that gives Cape commuters up-to-the-minute information on taxis and buses directly to their cellphones.
Imagine Cup is open to any student at a tertiary institution and students can submit their existing or new projects into various categories including game design, development and software design. Entries close on 30 October.
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