Windows 8 Sponsors Imagine Cup

Hi, I'm Jura Clapman, your Windows 8 App Challenge captain, and I'm very pleased to announce that the Windows 8 team here at Microsoft has signed on as an official sponsor for Imagine Cup!

Windows 8 is a great development platform for students. You can build apps in lots of languages from C++, C#, even Web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript. Putting their app in the Windows Store offers students a chance to have their app listed right next to one from a large software company and have just as much chance of being downloaded. It’s the ultimate level playing field for developers to allow students to reach potential customers around the world. The Windows Store supports a range of revenue models from ads to subscriptions to free or time-limited trials.

The Windows 8 App Challenge is for students who want to go deep with everything the Windows 8 app platform supports. We’ll be looking for apps which do a phenomenal job using the platform to its fullest. But sometimes the best technology solution for a problem isn’t with a super-rich PC app; maybe the primary use case is on a mobile phone device, or an integrated project that involves many platforms and hardware configurations. We don’t want you to miss out on showing the Windows team what you’ve got and using Windows 8 to its best in your solution. For those of you whose project better fits in another competition or challenge, we’re offering the Windows 8 Boost to recognize awesome projects that include a Windows Store app. If you include a Windows Store app in your project and you win money as a worldwide finalist, the Windows team will kick in more prize money. How awesome is that?

Windows 8 and the opportunity of the Windows Store is all about allowing anyone to build their dream and live it. We're proud to be part of Imagine Cup to inspire and enable students to dream big and make their dreams a reality with Windows 8. 

Jura Clapman
Windows 8 App Challenge Captain
Microsoft Windows 8 Team