Imagine Cup 2015 World Finals – Part I by Terence Lim

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It has been 2 days since the start of the Imagine Cup 2015 week, and things are starting to heat up around here. In case you’re not yet aware, the Imagine Cup is the world’s most premier IT competition for students. From over 2000 teams who joined the Imagine Cup competition back in September last year, to the 150 teams in the World Semifinals, down to 33 World Finalists to compete for the Imagine Cup. Team Mozter, from Temasek Polytechnic, will be representing Singapore as one of the 33 World Finalists.

Day 1 – Monday, July 27

Competitors and their mentors flew into Seattle on Day 1. The students trickle in to the University of Washington – Alder Hall shortly before lunch for their registration of the Imagine Cup. These students are definitely the cream of the crop – they were instantly given lots of media attention as camera crew charged towards them with cameras and video recorders for interviews and team photos.

Group Shot
Team Mozter taking their official group shot upon arrival

Despite having traveled for hours without much sleep, teams such as Mozter were already expected to proceed with a demo for a presentation coaching session, where they had the opportunity to give their 10-minute pitch to Microsoft employees for feedback. These trial runs were important, as it gave teams the opportunity to understand the stressful condition they had to face during the actual live presentation. Based on the feedback obtained, they may also tweak their presentations to improve on them. For Team Mozter, they had a rough start as their equipment were still packed in their luggage, and they almost exceeded the time provided for setting up. Fortunately, their feedback from the employees was even better than expected, although they had to be constantly reminded to slow down on the presentation.

Coaching
Presentation Coaching Session with Microsoft staff

After the presentation coaching, the students all gathered into the Alder building auditorium to listen to Microsoft Distinguished Engineer James Whittaker coach them on the “art of the pitch.” He had an awesome presentation, where he shared about interesting stories which really stuck to our minds – such as how peeing in the toilet got him a lot of attention, and eventually a job! In a nutshell, he shared 5 important pitching points.

  1. Have a compelling idea, a large market, the right leadership.
  2. You only have 5 minutes, so stay on the point!
  3. The concept wins an audience, so speak for them, not to them; Show and don’t tell.
  4. First impressions matter; best material first
  5. Show them the better world you provide and help them make a difference!
  6. Pitching
    The Art of the Pitch by James Whittaker

    Day 2 – Tuesday, July 28

    Oh my, Day 2 can’t be any more awesome for the students. Clusters of competitors boarded the buses that would ferry them across Lake Washington to the Microsoft Campus in Redmond. Today is the day they got to be ‘Microsofties’ – it was the very first time they stepped foot onto the Microsoft Redmond Campus. All the excited students were busy rushing towards the Microsoft Logo to snap a picture upon arrival. And best of all, competitors had the rare opportunity to attend the Holographic Academy, which is a 3-hour experience for the students as a fun, informative journey where they will learn how to build apps for the Microsoft HoloLens. With this exclusive opportunity, students had the hands-on experience with the device and interact with members of the engineering team. Unfortunately, the Holographic Academy was a student-only event, and cameras weren’t allowed. As a Microsoft staff, I was not allowed to attend the event. Was secretly wishing that I could be a student once again!

    Pi
    A demo of the Raspberry Pi robot

    A surprise came during lunch, the students enjoyed a special presentation from the CEO of Raspberry Pi, Eben Upton. With a quick demo, Upton used a Windows Phone to control a robot created on the Raspberry Pi platform, which definitely got the students excited about the seamless integration of Raspberry Pi with the new Windows 10. Best of all, they were surprised again as each student were awarded with a set of the Raspberry Pi! Have I not already mentioned that I wished I were a student?

    Towards the end of the day, the teams had the prestigious opportunity to Ask The Experts @ TechReady at the Washington State Convention Center. This gave the student competitors the opportunity to present their projects to thousands of Microsoft technical employees from around the world who were in Seattle for the TechReady conference. TechReady attendees also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite teams in the People’s Choice Award!

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    Mozter’s booth at Ask The Experts @ TechReady

    The students have definitely settled in by now and everyone is starting to feel the intensity of the competition which starts the next day. Click here to check out the exciting events for the second half of the Imagine Cup week!

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