1. December 2, 2003 Imagine Cup 2004 US Software Design Invitational [name][title][school]

2. December 2, 2003 2 Imagine Cup First worldwide student programming competition Final held at Tech Ed Barcelona, June 29-July 1, 2003 100K+ students participated worldwide in 25 countries 15 teams representing 14 countries competed in final event University of Nebraska at Omaha won 1 st place ($25k cash award) Bombay University of India won 2 nd place ($15k) Nangyang University (Singapore) and University of Hull (UK) tied for 3 rd ($10k each) Human interest stories (on winner) in USA Today, CNN.com

3. December 2, 2003 3 Imagine Cup 2004 Theme “Imagine a world where smart technology makes everyday life easier…” All around the world,.NET programmers are proving that you can go from idea to prototype in less time than ever before. This year we’re focusing on projects that implement adaptive intelligence and utilize a mobile device client. Additionally, we’re looking for outstanding usage of the.NET Framework and Web services.

4. December 2, 2003 4 Imagine Cup 2004 US - Goals Raise Microsoft and.NET awareness among student developers 200 host universities 2,000 students competing via 500+ teams 15,000 students participating as bloggers, spectators and/or student judges De-mystify Web Services De-mystify device development using.NET Compact Framework Have a lot of FUN!

5. December 2, 2003 5 There can only be one! 2004 Competition Format Round 1 Qualifiers 50 Teams Round 2 Semi-Finals 8 Teams Round 3 US Regional Finals = Wildcard Seed

6. December 2, 2003 6 Competition Format Round 1 – Qualifying round (500 teams estimated) Hosted at one of the nearly 200 host universities All teams must enter via a host university Project briefs posted online as they become available Project Fair format judging Each campus yields 1 winner who will move on to the semi-finals There will be a wildcard seed of 1 team per semi-finals selected by student voters that will also compete at the semi-finals

7. December 2, 2003 7 Competition Format Round 2 – Semi-Finals (~204 teams) Hosted at 4 pre-selected host universities Campus winners must be willing/able to travel to semi-finals to compete Project briefs for semi-finals competitors updated online Each semi-finals will yield 2 winners to move on to the finals There will be a wildcard seed of 1 team across all semi-finalists selected by student voters that will also compete at the semi-finals

8. December 2, 2003 8 Competition Format Round 3 – US Regional Finals (9 teams) Regional winners must be willing/able to travel to US Regional Finals to compete Microsoft sponsors each winning team to attend US Regional Finals Full roundtrip airfare for each team member Hotel accomodations during the competition for 3 days, 2 nights Travel reimbursement to and from the hotel/airport for arrival and departure only Tech Ed Exhibitor pass and booth space to advertise/demonstrate application Project briefs for final competitors updated online Top team advances to worldwide finals in Brazil

9. December 2, 2003 9 How to Enter There is no purchase necessary to participate in this contest. You can enter the contest via filling out the entry form located at http://www.imaginecup.com/US. The form will remain active and allow contest registrations until March 1 st, 2004. http://www.imaginecup.com/US Submitting teams own all rights to their application and content submitted as part of the entry requirements. General Guidelines Each team may submit multiple entries. You may not participate on more than one team. You must be an actively enrolled student at a 2 yr, 4 yr, or advanced degree granting institution. You must be at least 14 years of age or older to enter You must be willing and able to travel to San Diego, CA to compete in the US Nationals finals. You must be willing and able to travel internationally to Brazil for the Worldwide Imagine Cup finals. Team members need not be from the same academic institution, however all must meet the above guidelines. Check http://www.imaginecup.com/US for the latest entry requirements and restrictions. http://www.imaginecup.com/US

10. December 2, 2003 10 Judging Considerations Judging of all submissions will take place after the contest entry period has closed. US National finalists will be selected and flown to the National finals. The winning team as judged by a panel will then move on to represent the USA in the worldwide Imagine Cup competition in Brazil. All applications & content submitted are the sole property of the team submitting the entry All submissions must be via the OneNote 2003 template provided to all competing teams The US and worldwide contest judging criteria is as follows: How smart is the system15% How innovative is the solution25% How useful is the solution25% Presentation15% Implementation20%

11. December 2, 2003 11 Entry Requirements Contest Entry Requirements Design Specification Teams must submit a written specification that describes the architecture of the entire application, including objects, hierarchies, etc. The specification should include user scenarios and requirements (hardware, software, etc). The specification will be in English, maximum of five pages in length. Application Design Elements The system must contain some smart element that trains and improves the user experience, system accuracy or efficiency over time. Participating teams must create and publish at least one Web Service on a separate Web server. There must be a mobile client application that consumes at least one Web Services and interacts with or contains the smart element. Contest entry must include a data design and storage element. Client Application The client must incorporate UI elements that enable users to interact with the Web services created. The client must consume at least the self-developed Web service described above. Clients may and are encouraged to consume other, existing Web Services. The participating team is responsible for seeking relevant permissions and rights to use other external Web services. Demonstration Requirements Teams making it to the US Finals and worldwide competition in Brazil will be given 20 minutes to present their projects to a panel of judges. Presentation should include a discussion of the purpose/benefit of the project, and the architecture of the contest entry. Presentations must be made in English, however translators will be permitted.

12. December 2, 2003 12 Platform and Technology Requirements Technical Requirements Web servers may be public, institution-owned (a University, for example), or self-owned. Contest entries will be judged in part on their abilities to showcase the Windows platform and the.NET Framework. (See Judging Criteria section) Recommended Server platforms: Web services are served from a machine running Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 Server, and the corresponding versions of IIS. Web Servers running the Microsoft.NET Framework 1.0 or 1.1. Recommended Database technology and platforms ADO.NETMSDE Microsoft Access 2000 or higher Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Recommended Development Tools: Microsoft ASP.NET Web Matrix Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2002 or higher Recommended Client Application designs: Thin client: WebForms application using ASP.NET Rich client: WinForms application Mobile client: mobile device client using either WAP, Mobile Explorer or.NET Compact Framework (emulators accepted) Recommended platform for running UI Client(s): Windows XP (all versions) Pocket PC 2003 Windows CE.NET

13. December 2, 2003 13 Timeline December 1 st Imagine Cup US Soft Launch January 1 st Imagine Cup US Official Launch March 1 s Entry Deadline March 4 th – 5 th Round 1 judging & winners announced March 13 th – 14 th Round 2 judging, career fair & winners announced March 23 rd – 27 th Round 3 judging & US Regional winner announced June/July (TBD) WW Finals in Brazil

14. December 2, 2003 14 Imagine Cup US Launch January 1, 2003 Full US contest details and entry form published on website by Dec 1 st. Student Choice voting system published & enabled Imagine Cup 2004 Host University Kits sent to each host university for Round 1 of competition IC 2004 Fliers, Posters & PPT templates Limited quantities of Imagine Cup US 2004 contest kit Registration required to receive kit Visual Studio.NET 2003 Microsoft OneNote 2003 Visual Basic.NET Resource Kit ASP.NET Resource Kit Imagine Cup US 2004 contest entry template SWAG item Door prizes

15. December 2, 2003 15 Sustain the Momentum Monthly release of.NET content to SA/SC for Tech Talks New monthly 2 minute video clip of Imagine Cup US 2004 contest for use by SA/SC to kick off all meetings Website updates as entries roll in, extracts from blogs on http://www.theSpoke.net http://www.theSpoke.net Secure and announce partners that will augment contest (i.e., additional prize categories, beefed up prizes, increased prize purse, etc.)

16. December 2, 2003 16 Engaging the Masses Participants have a say! Judge-a-long, students can watch and judge presentations along with judging panels Student choice winners advance from round 1 to round 2 and round 2 to round 3. Student choice winners receive a special Student Choice prizes Smartest System category Most Innovative category Most Useful category Best Presenter category Best Implementation category

17. December 2, 2003 17 Blog It! Tight link to http://www.theSpoke.net http://www.theSpoke.net Incentives built in to drive blogging ContestantsViewers Student Judges First 100 bloggers who are active at contest end win choice of any releasd Microsoft PC or Xbox game title All bloggers receive a t-shirt

18. December 2, 2003 18 Get Started Now! Start building the buzz on your campus Drop teasers at events Drive students to http://www.imaginecup.com/US http://www.imaginecup.com/US Get teams signed up for Windows ChallengE Get people thinking about teams for Imagine Cup

19. December 2, 2003 … see you in Brazil!