You can still register for the Imagine Cup 2017 contest in Poland – applications are open until January 8th. Startups can compete in two categories: Business Acceleration Program for regular acceleration and Smart City for projects that increase the quality of life in urban areas.
Imagine Cup, focused around the Microsoft technology, is one of the largest technological competitions in the world. Its objective is to empower students to implement their ideas in practice and equip them with entrepreneurial knowledge required to commercialize their projects. Participants will receive support of mentors, network with investors and take part in workshops and courses organized in 7 cities in Poland.
This edition of Imagine Cup includes a new category – Smart City. Contestants in this category are not required to have a student status. Their products and ideas should include solutions from fields such as transport, energy, administration, environment or quality of life.
To apply to Imagine Cup, you need to record a short video presenting your project. Jury will choose top 90 projects from the general category and additional top 30 projects in the Smart City field. These projects will undergo a 3-month acceleration, finished by a Demo Day in March 2017. Winners of Demo Day will be able to compete in national finals that will take place on 26-27 April.
Imagine Cup accepts a wide variety of projects – from the newest technologies such as IoT, drones, robotics or big data, through social-oriented projects, to various games, both traditional (PC, console) and modern (VR, AR). The necessary condition for qualifying for national finals of Imagine Cup is to use at least one of the Microsoft Azure services in the competing project.
