Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Imagine Cup for 2011. The Imagine Cup is a global competition started in 2003 and targets college students between the ages of 16 and 25 years of age. The cup has grown from 1,000 entrants in 2003 to 325,000 in 2010. Applications are ranked in four categories namely software design, embedded development, game design and digital media. This year’s theme will be “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.” The theme seeks to have entrants solve problems facing most of the world’s poor that have been identified in the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals.  The East and Southern Africa Africa region is currently accepting registration from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia and Zimbabwe amongst others. National finals for Kenya will be held on April 4, Ugandan finals on 7 - 8 April, while the East and Southern Africa regional champions will be held on 9th May 2011. Finals will be held from July 8 - 13 2011 in USA. In 2010, China, India, US and Brazil were among the top entrants.

“What begins with a burst of inspiration and a lot of hard work can become a future software breakthrough, a jump start for a career or a flourishing new industry,” said Vincent Mugambi, Developer and platform manager at Microsoft, East and Southern Africa. “Through Imagine Cup Solve This, Microsoft is providing a marketplace of ideas that students can select to address issues that matter most to them,” he added.
Finalists in digital media taking a first prize of US$ 8,000,  while other categories attract a first prize of US$ 25,000, second prize of $15,000 and third price of $5,000. Other perks for 3 winners in each category include opportunities for internships at Microsoft Research Labs amongst others.
Mugambi also announced the Microsoft Dreamspark program that targets university and college developers by providing them with free editions of Microsoft Developer applications such as SQL server , visual web developer, Visual C# amongst others.
Joseph Sevilla, an ICT lecturer at Strathmore University hailed the competition saying that it forces students to think about real life programs and apply knowledge learned in class. Strathmore produced the national winner in last year’s competition. The university has also opened a research lab called iLab Africa which plans to foster and fund innovations, particularly local applications. The university has also started a master’s program in mobile application development. The program is a partnership with Safaricom with the telecom operator fully funding the students.