Microsoft Announces India Winners of the 13th Edition of Imagine Cup 2015

-13,900 students participated from 25 states, of which, 29 student teams battled it out at the India Finals of Microsoft’s premier technology competition.

-Teams from Lonavala, (Maharashtra), Rau (Madhya Pradesh), and Faridabad (Haryana) emerge winners of the three categories of the competition

Microsoft India announced the winners of the India leg of Imagine Cup 2015, at the conclusion of the National Finals held in Palwal, Haryana. The winners under each of the three categories of the competition - World Citizenship, Gaming and Innovation, are Team Turing from Singhad Institute of Technology, Lonavala, Maharashtra and Medi-Caps Institute of Technology and Management, Rau, Madhya Pradesh, and represented by Sanket Ghorpade, Divya Damahe, Akshay Tak and Gaurav Chouhan; Team Aether from Manav Rachna University, Faridabad, Haryana, and represented by Nikhil Dalmia, Saurabh Kanwar, Himanshee Bhadana and Priya Dugaya; and Team Eyeluminati from Manav Rachna University, Faridabad, Haryana, and represented by Roopam, Akshita, Debajit and Neeraj, respectively. One grand winner will now be chosen to represent India at the upcoming worldwide finals in July in Seattle, USA, to compete among global teams for a USD 50,000 prize.

Commenting on the caliber of the teams in the India-leg of the Imagine Cup 2015, Joseph Landes, General Manager, Developer Experience and Evangelism, Microsoft India, said, “It is rewarding to see this year’s talented young innovators develop ground-breaking technology solutions to address world challenges and create a bright future in a mobile-first, cloud-first era. From the initial online stage of this year’s competition to the India Finals, it has been amazing to see the passion and commitment among young Indian technologists and their enthusiasm to change the world. I heartily congratulate the winners as well as all the students who participated in Imagine Cup 2015. I’m really rooting for the India team to win big at this year’s Global Finals and bring the Cup home to India!”

The winning teams were awarded for their innovative solutions to address everyday challenges. Team Turing developed a solution to assist ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) patients in communicating with others, while Team Aether developed an innovative gaming solution to raise consciousness on waste management and Team Eyeluminati developed a device to aid visually-impaired persons with mobility. This year, 13,900 students participated from 25 states across India in the contest. Of these, 29 teams were shortlisted for the National Finals.

Furthering Microsoft’s commitment to transform education, nurture young talent and help them grow into tomorrow’s leaders, the Microsoft Imagine Cup continues to not only witness strong participation from India, but also boasts of several success stories emerging from the competition. After competing in the Imagine Cup, Mrityunjay Bhadauria launched his project into a company, EDUKINECT, which provides an educational service platform to help more than 20,000 students be future-ready. The business has grown by 400% annually – supporting educational services in more than 150 engineering campuses across India. Last year, CodeBlue, an Indian team, bagged second place in the Apps for Office Challenge at the Imagine Cup 2014 Worldwide Finals held in Seattle on July 31, 2014. Team CodeBlue was awarded a cash prize worth USD 3,000 for their innovative app – Molecule Maker, which provides a library of molecule visualizations in World, Excel and Powerpoint, enabling the representation of molecules visually.

Now in its 13^th year, this global technology competition features three categories - World Citizenship, Innovation and Gaming. While the World Citizenship category is focused on solving global problems in areas such as health, environment, and human rights, the Innovation category seeks ideas that appeal to consumer audiences, as well as inspire and delight a wider audience. The Games category challenges teams to develop innovations that raise the bar in the global game revolution. This year’s competition included three engaging contests under these three categories - the Pitch Video Challenge, the Project Blueprint Challenge, and the User Experience Challenge, in addition to the main competition, to empower students to explore various avenues and platforms to develop and showcase their ideas.

About Microsoft Imagine Cup

Microsoft Imagine Cup is the company’s premier technology program and competition providing opportunities for student technologists, developers and aspiring entrepreneurs from all academic backgrounds to collaborate, develop a technology application, create a business plan and gain a keen understanding of what is needed to bring a concept to market. The Imagine Cup is a year-long activity open to students across the globe. The competition begins with local, regional and online contests, followed by screening of best projects from each country and with winners from these legs participating in the global finals. Over the past eleven years, more than 1.65 million students from more than 190 countries have participated in the Imagine Cup.

More information about Imagine Cup can be found at http://www.imaginecup.com/country/details/in

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