This post continues from Imagine Cup 2015 World Finals – Part I
Day 3 – Wednesday, July 29
This was definitely an intense and pressurizing day for our competitors and students. Team Mozter shared with me that they were extremely nervous the night before, and they had trouble sleeping due to the excitement. With months of hard work, the students are finally down to judgement day. After travelling thousands of miles, team Mozter representing Singapore, alongside 32 other teams, was ready to give it their best shot!
Upon arrival at the Microsoft campus where judging took place, mentors and even Microsoft staffs like myself could feel intensity of the heat from the competition as teams were either seen scurrying to their own corners rehearsing their pitches, tweaking presentation slides, or interviewing with the official Imagine Cup crew.
Different time slots were assigned to each team for their presentation throughout the day, and Mozter was given an early 9am slot. Teams were briefed that they will be given a 10-minute slot to set up their equipment, and another 10 minutes to present their solutions to the judges.
Right after the presentations, teams were not given the opportunity to lay their hairs down and relax, as there was still the hands-on judging sessions. During the session, judges go round the different showcase booths set up by the teams, where they had the opportunity to interact with the team’s apps in real-time, ask questions and provide feedback, up to 10 minutes per team. Apart from their presentation earlier, this session was extremely important, as it could affect the judge’s impression of their work, and had a direct impact on their scores.
I suppose it was fortunate for Mozter to be given an early slot, as that would allow us to relax for the rest of the day. Apart from resume 101 sessions, where Microsoft staff provide our students with feedback regarding their resumes, teams also had the free rein to check out other team’s presentations, roam around the Microsoft Redmond Campus, visit the Company Store, or to attend Microsoft’s OneWeek, a weeklong celebration of Microsoft people, products and ideas.
Day 4 – Thursday, July 30
Early in the morning, teams were treated to a red carpet fanfare and an awesome breakfast as they arrived at the Mixer on campus, where the results for the Imagine Cup will be announced. Definitely another exciting day for the participants, as they find out how much their hard work translates to tangible results and glory for their school and country.
Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President and Chief Evangelist of Microsoft was also present to grace the occasion and present the awards. As we all waited with excitement and anticipation, the results were finally announced. Before we knew it, team Mozter was called on stage and awarded second place in the World Citizenship category, taking home a cash prize of US$10,000.
Coinciding with the Microsoft Imagine Cup, Jason Chee from Singapore Polytechnic was awarded the inaugural Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) of the Year Award during the Worldwide Microsoft Student Partner summit. The award is bestowed upon the most outstanding student partner who has exhibited advanced technical skills, and displayed excellence in terms of the quality of apps created and the events organised to reach students in their respective countries. Jason received the prestigious award, taking home a cash prize of US$2,000.
It was a really awesome day to party, especially having bagged 2 prestigious awards for Singapore. It was extremely heartwarming as fellow Microsoft staff sent us their congratulations for our achievements throughout the day. This is definitely one of the SG50 moments we celebrate!
The same evening, the excitement and party was extended to the students and staff of the Imagine Cup, where we were invited to the TechReady party. The party took place at Century Link field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, where Microsoft rented out a world-class football stadium for its employee party, which comprises of live bands, great food, open bars, sporting stations, together with thousands of Microsoft techies from around the world!
Day 5 – Friday, July 31
On the final day of the Imagine Cup World Finals competition, students gathered at the Washington State Convention Centre for the intense battle between the top team of each category for the Worldwide Champions. The Imagine Cup team brought in an awesome lineup of judges, including actor Thomas Middleditch, star of HBO’s hit show “Silicon Valley,” HoloLens inventor and Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman and Jens Bergensten, lead developer of Minecraft, who will help select the next Imagine Cup World Champion. The students were entertained with questions from the judges in three categories; how they dreamed the idea, how they built the idea and how they plan to live the idea. It was definitely an amazing atmosphere at the battleground.
After an intense 3-min pitch by each of the 3 competitors which was broadcast live worldwide, Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, eventually crowned Team eFitFashion from Brazil as the World Championship winner of Imagine Cup 2015, where they will get a one-on-one session with Satya. Satya also took the opportunity and told the competitors, “all of you represent that passion to dream the impossible and make it possible. I want you to keep that dream alive.” If you missed the live webcast, you can see it here.
It has been an awesome week here in Seattle, and definitely an eye-opening one for many of the students here. Even for myself, it was extremely exciting to engage with the brightest minds from all over the world! For more reviews on the entire week, be sure to check out In Review: The 2015 Imagine Cup World Finals
Feeling inspired to take part in the Imagine Cup 2016 competition? Great news, as registration is already open! Register at www.imaginecup.com to get started dreaming, building and living an amazing future, and you may be competing on the same world stage next year!
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