Welcome to the 20th anniversary of the Imagine Cup

The 2022 Imagine Cup is where passion meets innovation, and you can build together with students around the world to make a difference. Over the past 20 years of the competition, students have created inspiring and inclusive projects using cutting-edge technologies, while developing valuable skills as part of the journey.   

 

This year, you can bring a project to life in one of four competition categories—Earth, Education, Health, and Lifestyle. To support your journey, Microsoft is offering more opportunities than ever before to meet fellow change-makers and build resume-worthy skills, including an Imagine Cup kick-off event and the chance to unlock additional mentoring and training opportunities. You can solve pressing community challenges, build skills for your personal portfolio, and win great prizes along the way. Sign up today to start your journey. 

 

Here’s everything to look forward to in the 2022 Imagine Cup: 

 

Sketch graphic depicting the timeline of the 2022 Imagine Cup.

 

Gather together 

 

After you’ve registered, join a community of fellow competitors on Discord to find teammates, get project tips, and more. Throughout the competition, you can use Discord as a virtual hub to support your ideation and skill building. Connect with like-minded students who share a passion to create change and transform your ideas into action with Microsoft Azure technology.   

 

To get access, first register for Imagine Cup, then sign up for Discord (you’ll receive the invite link once you register). 

 

Learn together 

 

This year, we’re offering more resources for competitors than ever before to increase your real-world skills and help build your career portfolio, including curated training developed by some of our amazing Imagine Cup mentors (who are Microsoft professionals and technical experts)! Participating in and completing the training gives you the chance to unlock additional mentoring and coaching opportunities. Here’s how it works: 

 

• Step 1: Browse all the free training available on GitHub covering topics such as an overview of the Imagine Cup, brainstorming project ideas, getting started on Azure, and more.   

• Step 2: Once you complete all the training and test your knowledge in a short quiz, you and your team can unlock mentorship with Microsoft professionals and former Imagine Cup competitors!  
• Step 3: As an optional bonus, take your tech skills even further and dive into Microsoft Learn modules that align with your competition category.  

 

Build together  

 

To support your project ideation, we’re introducing an Imagine Cup kick-off event and challenge for the first time. Participation is optional, but highly encouraged to support you in developing your submission. By getting involved, you have the chance to outline your project proposal and pitch and get early feedback, and propel your project straight to the Imagine Cup World Finals! 

 

First, kick off the competition in our Build Your Epic 2-day live event on Microsoft Teams, October 8 and 9: 

• Join event hosts, Microsoft professionals and experts, and students from around the world to welcome the 2022 competition. 
• Build Your Epic is packed with resources and information to help you navigate finding a team, ideate inclusive projects, collaborate, understand your audience, and more.   
• Plus, level-up your tech skills with an Azure Bootcamp and learn how you can join Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions hosted on Discord with Microsoft Cloud Advocates!   

 

Then, participate in the Epic Challenge:  

• All competitors will have the chance to participate in this optional Epic Challenge. 
• Teams can submit a 3-minute project pitch and proposal to enter the challenge. 
• Each team will have their Epic Challenge submission judged, and one winner from each region will be selected to automatically advance to the World Finals and win USD1,000. Plus, the top 5 teams from each region will receive feedback from judges to improve their projects and pitches.  

 

Compete together 

 

The foundation of Imagine Cup has always been the incredible student community working hard to make an impact in the lives of others. Over the past 20 years, over 2 million competitors from 163 countries have brought their ideas to life with Azure. You could be next! 

 

Compete and showcase your idea on a global stage with other students from around the world. This year’s World Champions will take home a USD 100,000 grand prize and a mentoring session from Microsoft Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella.   

 

Showcase together 

 

Throughout the competition, you’ll have the opportunity to innovate through hands-on experience, grow your pitch skills, and take your project from an idea to a marketable solution. Develop your own skills as part of the journey to help prepare you – and the world – for the future.  Plus, use your project as a portfolio centerpiece as you move forward in your career. 

 

Check out the 2022 Rules and Regulations to see what the judges will be looking for in a successful solution, and all the prizing you could win on your journey.  

 

Add your legacy to 20 years of the Imagine Cup  

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the journey bringing together over two million past competitors. Register for the 2022 competition now.  

 

Plus, see what other student developers are up to and follow competition updates on Instagram and Twitter.