India to host Microsoft Imagine Cup 2006
By agencies   |   Monday, 08 August 2005, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Microsoft Corporation today announced that India has been selected as the venue for Imagine Cup 2006, an annual worldwide contest held by Microsoft to help students across the world showcase their software development skills. The contest empowers students to apply their creativity, knowledge and technical abilities towards making the world not only a more-connected place but also a better place through technology. In keeping with this, the theme for next year's contest is 'imagine a world where technology enables us to live healthier lives'. India has emerged as the world's IT nation with diverse technology talent, making it an ideal destination for a global showcase of innovative solutions. The announcement was made at the Imagine Cup 2005 world finals that recently concluded in Japan. Over 16,000 students from 92 countries participated in the contest this year. Nearly 6,000 students participated from India, making it the country with the second highest entries worldwide. The contest includes nine "open" categories such as Software Design, Technology Business plan and Rendering, and three special categories created only for school students. Commenting on the announcement, Sheila Gulati, Director, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India said, "Imagine Cup provides a platform for convergence of technology talent from across the world - and there couldn't have been a better location than India for an event of this nature" She further added, "Nearly 350,000 engineers graduate from India annually and play a pivotal role in the global technology arena. This reiterates India's position as a hotbed for IT innovation, and Imagine Cup is a great opportunity for us to showcase the plethora of IT talent in the country."

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