ARMENIAN STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN "IMAGINECUP" CONTEST
FOR FIRST TIME
08-12-2007 16:00:00 | Armenia | Economy
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian students will
participate for the first time in "ImagineCup" international
contest held by Microsoft, with the final stage of the contest
to take place in Paris in July 2008, NT correspondent was
informed by Grigor Barseghian, the director of Microsoft RA
company - Microsoft's Armenian subsidiary. This annual contest
has been held since 2003.
According to G. Barseghian, the use of information
technologies in education is the subject of "ImagineCup 2007",
while the subject of the 2008 contest is related to
environmental protection. The teams, which must be composed of
up to 4 students and a lecturer, may already register at
www.imaginecup.com or the website of the same name in .ru
domain. The contest has nominations on software solutions,
photos and videofilms. The prize fund for the international
finals is 200 thousand dollars.
G. Barseghian said that the teams to reach the final stage,
which will be held in Armenia in late May or early June 2008,
will receive prizes, while the best team will take part in the
international finals in Paris. Armenian teams may also
participate in the contest by sending their works to the
website, and the travel expenses of the teams to reach the
international finals in this way will be financed by Microsoft.
By the way, Synopsys Armenia and some other companies of the IT
sector have expressed their intention to contribute to the prize
fund of the Armenian finals.
In the words of Miscrosoft RA's director, ideas proposed by
student teams during the contest may become a commercial
product. It is possible that either the teams will form
companies for further development of these ideas, or these ideas
and products created on their basis will be purchased by other
companies. "On the other hand, the participation in "ImagineCup"
will demonstrate our youth's potential in the IT sector. It will
encourage investments in the educational system," he added.
G. Barseghian said that the Enterprise Incubator Foundation
and the USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Program
will assist Microsoft RA in the organization of Armenian teams'
participation in the contest.