Microsoft Announces Finalists for Global Student Technology Competition

23 May 2011 13:00 Africa/Lagos


Microsoft Announces Finalists for Global Student Technology Competition

More than 400 students invited to showcase their technology to solve the world's toughest problems at Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals in New York.

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, May 23, 2011

NEW YORK, May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In July, more than 400 of the brightest young minds from around the world will travel to New York to showcase their innovative ideas for using technology to solve the world's toughest problems. As the winners of regional, national and online Imagine Cup competitions, these high school and university students represent the pinnacle of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurialism from 73 countries and regions around the globe.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

This year, more than 350,000 students from 183 countries registered for Microsoft Corp.'s Imagine Cup, the world's premier student technology competition. The 124 student teams secured their places at the July 8–13 Worldwide Finals event, where they will demonstrate technological advancements in problem-solving and compete for international recognition and $215,000 (U.S.) in cash prizes in categories including Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media, Windows Phone 7, IT Challenge, Interoperability Challenge, Windows 7 Touch Challenge and the Orchard Challenge. The students' projects tackle serious humanitarian issues, often inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, such as the environment, health, accessibility and education.

"Some of history's greatest inventions were created by students. With the Microsoft Imagine Cup, students apply their innovative thinking to real-world causes in order to generate the future's greatest inventions as well," said S. Somasegar, senior vice president, Developer Division at Microsoft. "To see young innovators and entrepreneurs harness their creativity and talent to benefit a greater good is absolutely inspiring."

Last year, Team GINA from the Czech Republic was among the finalist teams that competed at the Imagine Cup 2010 Worldwide Finals in Warsaw, Poland. The team developed GINA (Geographical INformation Assistant), an innovative software system for mobile equipment that provides navigation in difficult terrain, helps coordinate rescue teams, and enables the efficient exchange of geographical information. Together with the humanitarian organization Hand for Help Europe o.s. and its partners, the GINA system has been deployed in Haiti to track the progress of the cholera epidemic, and recently has been helping rescue workers in Japan monitor areas affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country.

"Technology has tremendous potential to solve humanitarian problems, and the Imagine Cup gave me a platform to share my ideas for making the world a better place," said Team GINA member Zbynek Poulicek. "The Imagine Cup was also a launching pad to start my own business and have an impact in places like Haiti and Japan."

More information about the GINA system is available at http://www.ginasystem.com.

2011 marks the first time that the Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals event, now in its ninth year, will take place in the United States. Although the primary focus of the gathering is the competition, the finalist teams will also have opportunities to attend special training sessions, meet peers from around the world, and participate in volunteer and cultural activities while in New York. The final event of the competition, the Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony, will take place on Wednesday, July 13.

Click here to see the worldwide finalist teams:

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US Justice Dept Closes Investigation of the Internet Search and Paid Search Advertising Agreement Between Microsoft and Yahoo

19 Feb 2010 01:01 Africa/Lagos


Statement of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on its Decision to Close its Investigation of the Internet Search and Paid Search Advertising Agreement Between Microsoft Corporation and Yahoo! Inc.

Investigation Shows That Agreement Not Likely To Reduce Competition

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after announcing the closing of its investigation into the proposed Internet search and paid search advertising agreement between Microsoft Corporation and Yahoo! Inc.:


"The Antitrust Division obtained extensive information from Microsoft, Yahoo! and a wide range of market participants. Experience and expertise developed during our 2008 investigation of the proposed Google/Yahoo! search advertising agreement also informed our analysis. After a thorough review of the evidence, the division has determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States, and therefore is not likely to harm the users of Internet search, paid search advertisers, Internet publishers, or distributors of search and paid search advertising technology. In addition, the proposed agreement likely will enable more rapid improvements in the performance of Microsoft's search and paid search advertising technology than would occur if Microsoft and Yahoo! were to remain separate.


"The proposed transaction will combine the back-end search and paid search advertising technology of both parties. U.S. market participants express support for the transaction and believe that combining the parties' technology would be likely to increase competition by creating a more viable competitive alternative to Google, the firm that now dominates these markets. Most customers view Google as posing the most significant competitive constraint on both Microsoft and Yahoo!, and the competitive focus of both Microsoft and Yahoo! is predominately on Google and not on each other.


"The search and paid search advertising industry is characterized by an unusual relationship between scale and competitive performance. The transaction will enhance Microsoft's competitive performance because it will have access to a larger set of queries, which should accelerate the automated learning of Microsoft's search and paid search algorithms and enhance Microsoft's ability to serve more relevant search results and paid search listings, particularly with respect to rare or "tail" queries. The increased queries received by the combined operation will further provide Microsoft with a much larger pool of data than it currently has or is likely to obtain without this transaction. This larger data pool may enable more effective testing and thus more rapid innovation of potential new search-related products, changes in the presentation of search results and paid search listings, other changes in the user interface, and changes in the search or paid search algorithms. This enhanced performance, if realized, should exert correspondingly greater competitive pressure in the marketplace.


"Although this particular transaction is not likely to cause harm, the department will continue to be vigilant in our enforcement of the antitrust laws in the search and paid search advertising industry.


"The offices of the attorneys general from California and Washington actively participated in the division's investigation of the proposed transaction."


The division provides this statement under its policy of issuing statements concerning the closing of investigations in appropriate cases. This statement is limited by the division's obligation to protect the confidentiality of certain information obtained in its investigations. As in most of its investigations, the division's evaluation has been highly fact-specific, and many of the relevant underlying facts are not public. Consequently, readers should not draw overly broad conclusions regarding how the division is likely in the future to analyze other collaborations or activities, or transactions involving particular firms. Enforcement decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and the analysis and conclusions discussed in this statement do not bind the division in any future enforcement actions. Guidance on the division's policy regarding closing statements is available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/guidelines/201888.htm.


Source: U.S. Department of Justice

CONTACT: DOJ Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD
+1-202-514-1888


Web Site: http://www.justice.gov/