Imagine Cup

Since2021, we’ve been creating bold new ways to present and all the thrilling moments of the Imagine Cup, reflecting the energy and passion of the teams. Taking a few cues from e-sports, we position our participants as intellectual athletes they are — highlighting the amazing minds, the hard work, and of course, the solutions themselves.

Over the course of 3 months and 20 episodes, we follow the global teams as they go through each elimination round, capturing all the action of the intense competition and celebrating the hard work, dedication, and passion of the young competitors. All of it leads to a big finale that gets shown at Microsoft’s biggest annual developer event — Microsoft Build where one team wins the prize, but all are left inspired.

The 20th anniversary of Imagine Cup came at a time when the lines between our physical and digital lives were becoming increasingly blurred. This year, we took on a new hybrid format, and with it a new set of challenges, but by embracing the spirit of the competition we found solutions for all of them.

Just like everyone else in 2021, we were adjusting to a remote-first way of life, which meant a fully remote Imaging Cup. As all innovators know, big dreams can come with big obstacles, and we were determined not to let the format change take away from our student competitors’ experience.