For all those of you entering Imagine Cup Canada, a reminder: the submission deadline for the Canadian finals is March 23rd, that’s earlier than the world finals deadline (since we have to have time to pick our Canadian finalists!)
If you are entering World Citizenship, Innovation, or Gaming you have two important deadlines coming up! This post is to help make sure you don’t miss any deadlines or requirements.
If you are entering one of the challenges (Windows 8, Azure, or Windows Phone), you have until April 15th to submit your entry, I’ll post some tips and requirements for the challenges next week!
We can’t wait to see your entry in the Imagine Cup competition. We want to make sure you don’t miss out on your chance to compete because of a missed deadline or requirement. This post outlines deadlines, submission requirements, and FAQ for Imagine Cup Canadian Finals in the World Citizenship, Gaming, and Innovation competitions. Get coding, because the winning team in Canada will receive new Windows 8 devices and one of our winning teams will win a trip to St Petersburg Russia to represent Canada at the worldwide Imagine Cup finals! That could be you!
Deadlines
- Teams must be registered by midnight GMT March 15th, 2013
- Entries must be submitted by midnight GMT March 23rd, 2013
Deadlines are GMT! So don’t forget to convert that to your local time, you may discover the deadline is 3 PM in your time zone rather than midnight!
In the rest of this post we’ll share
- Registration requirements and tips
- Entry submission requirements
- Games submission requirements
- Innovation submission requirements
- World Citizenship submission requirements
- Boosters that can win you more prizes
- FAQ
Registration Requirements and Tips
Teams must be registered by midnight GMT March 15th, 2013. That means you must
- Every team member has registered at www.imaginecup.com
- Sign up for your selected competition
- Someone on the team has selected “Create Team” specified a team name, country to represent, a short bio and specified the team captain (a team can be 1-4 people.)
- You have used the Invite Member search box on your team page to invite the other team members to be part of the team and they have accepted the invitations
- Your mentor, if you have one, is also a member of your team
- If you enter more than one competition, each entry in each competition must be a significantly different project. You can’t enter one project in multiple competitions.
Entry Submission requirements
Entries must be submitted by midnight GMT March 23rd, 2013 (THIS IS NOT THE SAME DEADLINE AS THE ONLINE WORLD FINALS, WE REQUIRE ENTRIES EARLIER SO WE CAN SELECT TOP CANADIAN ENTRIES FOR CANADIAN FINALS)
Don’t wait until the last minute to put your entry together. Divide the work among your teammates and tackle the different components! You will find details and deadlines for the different competitions below.
TIP: You can download Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 Screen Capture to capture video of your software. This software is available to students for free at DreamSpark
Games submission requirements
When you submit your entry you must include:
- A video demonstrating your game (.WMV format, file size <250 MB, < 10 minutes with intro clip)
- Your video should clearly address the judging criteria outlined in the rules
- Game play instructions
- A Game Trailer video (.WMV or .MP4 format, file size < 50 MB, <30 seconds long)
- Game prototype (The file should be < 300 MB)
All the technical requirements for the project and entry submissions can be found here in the Games Competition Rules.
The Canadian judging will be based on the criteria listed in the Games Competition Rules. Fun (40%), Execution (30%), Innovation (20%), and Business Viability (10%). Take the time to read the rules and find out exactly what we are looking for when we score each area to increase your chances of winning.
Innovation submission requirements
When you submit your entry you must include:
- An overview video that shows the functionality of your app and what you are trying to achieve (.WMV format, file size <250 MB, < 10 minutes with intro clip)
- Your overview video should clearly address the judging criteria outlined in the rules
- Innovation App instructions that informs the judges and prospective users how to setup and use your app
- A Trailer video (.WMV or .MP4 format, file size < 50 MB, <30 seconds long)
- Innovation App – we need to be able to use your app in order to judge it (The file should be < 300 MB)
All the technical requirements for the project and entry submissions can be found here in the Innovation Competition Rules.
The Canadian judging will be based on the criteria listed in the Innovation Competition Rules. Innovation (45%), Impact (30%), Execution (25%). Take the time to read the rules and find out exactly what we are looking for when we score each area to increase your chances of winning.
World Citizenship submission requirements
When you submit your entry you must include:
- An overview video that shows the functionality of your app and what you are trying to achieve (.WMV format, file size <250 MB, < 10 minutes with intro clip)
- Your overview video should clearly address the judging criteria outlined in the rules
- World Citizenship App instructions that informs the judges and prospective users how to setup and use your app
- A Trailer video (.WMV or .MP4 format, file size < 50 MB, <30 seconds long)
- World Citizenship App – we need to be able to use your app in order to judge it (The file should be < 300 MB)
All the technical requirements for the project and entry submissions can be found here in the World Citizenship Competition Rules
The Canadian judging will be based on the criteria listed in the World Citizenship Competition Rules: Impact (50%), Feasibility (30%), Execution (20%). Take the time to read the rules and find out exactly what we are looking for when we score each area to increase your chances of winning.
Imagine Cup Boosters
Did you know about the Windows 8 boost?
At the worldwide finals, first, second, and third place winners who include a Windows 8 Store app in their project will earn an extra $1000 for their team. See Windows 8 Boost rules for details
Did you know about the Windows Azure boost?
At the worldwide finals next July in St. Petersburg, our first place winners who include Windows Azure in their project can earn an extra $1,000 or $3,000 for their team. We actually have two Windows Azure Boosts. Our first boost is for those teams using Windows Azure Cloud Services, Websites, or Virtual Machines. Use any or all of those technologies and your team could win $1,000. Our second Boost is for using Windows Azure Mobile Services. Incorporate that into your project and your team could win $1,000 for it. And you can go for the double shot: if your team wins both Boosts you'll get $3,000! Get more details here.
FAQ
What happens if I win?
We’ll contact you with the good news, and we’ll make arrangements for you to participate in the Canadian finals, an online event, where you will present your game to a panel of judges who will determine which Canadian team will be the overall winner and represent Canada at the world finals.
What happens if I don’t win?
As long as you have submitted the required content (video, instructions, etc..) as specified in the rules and regulations by midnight April 15th, 2013 GMT you have a second chance to qualify for the world finals. Your entry will go into the online finals and will be judged along with other entries from around the world. The judges will select teams from the online entries to compete at the world finals along with the local finals winners.
Do I have to publish my app to the store?
It is not required for the competition, but if your project includes a Windows 8 app or Windows Phone app you can publish that app and get rewards through Developer movement. You’ve already written the code so why not publish it? What a great addition to your portfolio when applying for a job. Students even get free Windows Store and Windows Phone accounts through DreamSpark.