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Meet John Scott Tynes, Microsoft Imagine Cup

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Previously a game designer with Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade, John Scott Tynes, Microsoft Imagine Cup program lead, has developed a deep relationship with the MVP Community for Imagine Cup 2014.

For John Scott Tynes, Microsoft Imagine Cup program lead, MVPs became a critical resource in helping meet a new Imagine Cup challenge: providing deep, thoughtful feedback to more than 120 top-scoring student teams across several rounds of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2014.

“In the past, we’d seek qualified Microsoft team members who could serve as judges for the Imagine Cup,” said John. But this year, Microsoft expanded the scope of the Imagine Cup with new global online contests to help students learn the Software Development Lifecycle. Part of the prize for those contests was to receive valuable feedback on their projects from the judges. “We needed to expand our search to find additional judges with a wide range of technical and professional knowledge.”

“The MVP community is incredibly generous with their time and expertise. With Imagine Cup, they have an opportunity to share that generosity with the next generation,” explained John. This year, in addition to the many roles MVPs play in the Imagine John Scott Tynes 2013Cup, John’s team partnered with the community to serve as judges for the worldwide online semifinals.

“Many of these students come from towns, schools, even colleges, where they don’t have access to a strong technology community. The ability to gain access to the deep level of expertise the MVPs bring to Imagine Cup and get clear guidance on how to take their projects to the next level is invaluable,” said John.

John, who came to the Imagine Cup team a couple of years ago after serving as a game designer for Xbox Live Arcade, is looking forward to working with the MVP community for the next Imagine Cup season. “Their compassion and the quality of their feedback was truly amazing,” he said.

If you have a project in mind for next year’s Imagine Cup, and want help from one our amazing Microsoft MVP Mentors, please submit the request form here.