- The first virtual edition of Imagine Cup saw 353 team entries and 10K individual entries across India
- Team Detectd and Team Intelli-Sense advance to the world finals, will be mentored by Microsoft experts
- World champions of Imagine Cup 2021 will win USD 75,000 and a mentorship opportunity with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
New Delhi, March 10, 2021: Microsoft today announced the India winners of the 2021 edition of Imagine Cup, its flagship innovation challenge for students and technology enthusiasts. The India winners, Team Detectd from G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur and Team Intelli-Sense from the Vellore Institute of Technology will proceed directly to the world finals of Imagine Cup.
Imagine Cup is a global competition designed to empower students to apply artificial intelligence and other technologies to solve some of the world’s most critical social and sustainability problems. The 2021 India edition saw 353 team entries and over 10K individual entries from students across the country, competing to solve global challenges across four categories: Earth, Education, Health, and Lifestyle. The two winning innovations were focused on cybersecurity to counter deepfakes (Team Detectd) and assistive technology for people with low vision (Team Intelli-Sense).
Microsoft joined hands with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the India edition of Imagine Cup. As knowledge partner, NSDC enabled nation-wide reach of the challenge across states, districts, and skill development centers. The finals of Imagine Cup India were judged by an eminent panel, including Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, Pulkit Jain, Co-founder and Product Head of Vedantu and Dr. Manish Kumar, CEO and MD, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Congratulating the winners, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, “As India makes rapid strides in tech led transformation, the impact and scale of this transformation will depend on how we empower our most valuable asset, our youth. Microsoft’s Imagine Cup is a commitment to create a culture of innovation in students, enabling them to use technology for solving some of the world’s most critical social and sustainability problems. It was truly inspiring to see the passion, collaboration and innovation of students across the country and I wish our winning teams luck as they prepare for the global stage.”
Dr. Manish Kumar, CEO and MD, National Skill Development Corporation congratulated the winning teams and said, “Imagine Cup provides opportunities to the youth in our country to compete with, and learn from, their peers across the globe. We are proud to witness the passion, efforts and dedication of these young competitors and congratulate them on their journey so far and wish them the very best for all their future endeavors. I believe they will be an inspiration to others who aspire to excel in careers in new-age skills.”
The 2021 edition was the first virtual edition of Imagine Cup. The four finalists from India, who were the winners in each category received a Surface Go 2 device each: Earth (Team DENSITY), Education (Team CodeCapture), Health (Team Intelli-Sense) and Lifestyle (Team Detectd). At the world finals, the top four teams will be awarded USD 10,000 each for the best solution in each category. The world champion will take home the Imagine Cup and win an additional USD 75,000 along with a mentorship opportunity with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.
