Fifteen student teams in the national finals of Imagine Cup 2015

Imagine Cup, organized by Microsoft, is the world\'s largest technology competition for students. Its previous editions attracted nearly 2 million students from 190 countries.

In this year\'s edition of the competition, projects could be submitted in three categories: Games, Innovation and World Citizenship. Polish jury selected the five best projects in each of the three categories. On 8 and 9 April students will present their ideas to the judges. "This year, Warsaw universities will have the largest representation in the finals, with students from Warsaw in four teams. Teams from Kraków, Łódź, Poznań and Białystok have also reached the finals" - announced the organizers of the competition in a release.

The winners of the first places in each category will represent Poland in the world semi-finals, which will be held in May. In July, the team selected in the semi-finals will compete for the top places in the world finals in Seattle. The winners will receive 50 thousand dollars.

In the World Citizenship category, the final five includes the Auxilium team from Warsaw University of Technology, who will present the medication process management application. The app reminds the user to take medicine and to refill the prescription. The project Cervi prepared by the team from the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów and AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków is a data transmission and analysis system supported by a drone. The team Science Sergeants from the Military University of Technology in Warsaw submitted the project iSULIN, which aims to help diabetics effectively monitor their health. The Animus project of the Spinal Crew from the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw is a remotely operated vehicle with cameras designed for people with disabilities. Students of Białystok University of Technology from the team Toast and Brains prepared the project Photon - an innovative system that teaches kids programming and logical thinking through play.

The top five in the Innovation category includes the team Fighters Against Laziness from Białystok University of Technology. Students developed the project e-motion, a smartphone app that helps to fight against the lack of motivation and be consistent in action. Students of Łódź University of Technology from the team EduDevs prepared an application for learning foreign languages. Another project in the competition will be Smartmirrors, witch which motorcycle riders will no longer need to adjust mirrors depending on the position of the body - they will adjust automatically. The idea was developed in collaboration of students of H. Cegielski School of Communication in Poznań, Collegium Da Vinci in Poznań and the Polish Open University in Warsaw and Poznań University of Technology.

Another student application in this category is the project Untwisted developed by students of the University of Bielsko-Biała and the Polish National Film School in Łódź. The application displays the current information about the traffic in clubs, cafes and pubs. Students of the Jagiellonian University have prepared the solution Stattist.com. This personalized newspaper allows tailored selecting of publications and data analyses from the vast amounts of information on the Internet.

Among the five teams that will present their projects in the Games category is the team GuARds - students of the Military University of Technology in Warsaw. Their educational game F.A.R.M. - Fancy Augmented Reality Machines allows to learn the secrets of engineering. The J Team from Opole University of Technology and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Wrocław prepared the project Soul of Magic. The player can play the magician and duel with other players or play against artificial intelligence. Gdańsk team of students Lumi-Systems will present the Card Games Platform. The team Serious English Name from the University of Łódź submitted the game Bandbarian. It follows a warrior on a mission. Dude Wars is the project of Jagiellonian University student. Vivid Dream Team prepared an RTS (Real Time Strategy) game designed for multiple players fighting each other online.

The Imagine Cup 2015 puts special emphasis on the business aspect of student projects. At the beginning of competition, all teams took part in the training in project commercialisation strategy development. Finalists will also be given the opportunity of receiving business support for their solutions from the investment fund Zernike Meta Ventures.

"We are pleased that each year we receive more applications that are comprehensive business projects, and not just interesting technological solutions. When defining the requirements of the competition, we are trying to emphasize business strategies, because we believe that for the participants the Imagine Cup competition will be the first step towards the creation of start-ups with unique potential" - said Academic Programs Manager in the Polish branch of Microsoft Agata Dudar.

More information about Imagine Cup competition can also be found on the website of the Polish edition of the competition: www.imaginecup.pl

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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