Final Imagine Cup 2017 through the eyes of the MIPT team
Friends! Summer has passed, but good memories have remained of him. One of those memories was the international final of the Imagine Cup in Seattle, which was attended by three teams from Russia at once. We bring to your attention an article by Maria Sandrikova , a member of the MIPT team, in which she shares her impressions of the trip.
These days there are many competitions of student IT projects, but few of them can be compared in scale with the Imagine Cup from Microsoft. Every year, students from more than 40 countries from around the world take part in the competition. Teams go through several stages of selection at the national level in their cities and countries, and only the strongest get into the final.
A few weeks ago, 54 teams met at the Microsoft headquarters in Seattle to compete for the grand prize of the Imagine Cup 2017. Including our three teams from Russia, assembled by students from Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Higher School of Economics.
We, the MIPT team, will tell about our experience in participating in the Imagine Cup. We hope that we will succeed in motivating other students to take part in the competition next year, because this is really an amazing opportunity! :)
Each team has its own story of reaching the final of the Imagine Cup. So the guys from the Higher School of Economics and Moscow State University became the winners of the hackathons in their universities with the main prize - a ticket to the final, and our team from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology won the Moscow and Russian qualifying stages.
From left to right, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University and the Higher School of Economics at the Russian finals.
EverMind team members from Moscow State University met right at the hackathon. Alexander Safonov (3 year, Fizfak) was responsible for marketing, and Roman Krivonogov (2 year, VMK) and Daniil Iskhakov (2 year, Mehmat) implemented a prototype application for protecting roads from drunk drivers in 24 hours. Inspired by recent Microsoft Cognitive Services integrationIn the Uber application for identifying drivers from the phone’s camera before trips, the guys decided to implement several quick tests that allow them to determine whether they should be allowed to drive using the eye movements of a person.
HSE 3rd year students Artyom Shafarostov, Ilya Soloviev and Daria Walter were able to get around the other hackathon participants by subjugating the jury with the Boremeter system to evaluate the audience’s attentiveness during the presentation. The algorithm determines the location of each listener in the hall and monitors the direction of his gaze and the tilt of his head in order to measure his interest in speaking. The guys came up with the idea, working on a course project and were able to successfully present it at the selection.
We presented the MeetArticles project, which a large team worked on.from almost 20 students of the Institute of Physics and Technology of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology as part of the training course “Innovation Workshop” We have created a platform for interactive and visual search among scientific articles, which allows us to accelerate the process of finding sources for research, identify current trends in science and find talents around the world. Beautiful and lively visualizations together with well-thought-out architecture of the solution allowed us to win the competition in Moscow and Russia. There are restrictions on the size of teams in the competition, so at the Russian and international finals we presented the project only three of us: Maria Sandrikova (5 year), Andrey Sautin and Alexey Zhuravlev (4 year). Keep this in mind if you decide to take part next year;)
Reaching the final was only the beginning of the journey for our teams. For three months, all the teams actively finalized their projects and rehearsed their presentations dozens of times independently and together with representatives of the Microsoft office in Russia, Dmitry Soshnikov and Anastasia Makeenok, for which we are very grateful to them. And so, at the end of July, after 20 hours of flight, our teams were in the very heart of Microsoft in Redmond at the final, which they had been preparing for so long.
The competition itself took place in two days, and its scheme was somewhat reminiscent of the World Cup. It all started with the exhibition, during which several jury members approached each team and evaluated the demonstration of projects from a technical point of view. 32 teams out of 54 went to the next stage, and within groups of 4 teams a struggle arose for reaching the semifinals. Each stage was evaluated by independent jury teams. Two projects that didn’t go directly to the semi-finals had a chance to still get their tickets, having won the audience’s prize. In the final, the 4 most persistent teams met for the struggle for the main prize of $ 100,000 and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
The exhibition is a very entertaining and lively event. Each team had its own small space, which they used at their discretion. Someone attracted attention with colorful roll-ups, others with unusual designs, interesting costumes or good handouts: sweets, brochures and stickers.
Technical exhibition of projects
During the exhibition, teams communicate not only with the jury, but also with the press and bloggers, and get to know other participants in the competition. New acquaintances and communication are among the main advantages of the Imagine Cup. No one leaves Seattle without new acquaintances with people from all over the world.
The most dynamic stage of the competition is Pitch Battle. He allowed to get to the semi-finals, bypassing the fight in the quarter-finals. Each team was given only 2 minutes and a microphone to present their project to the other participants, who then themselves chose the winner.
Our team from Moscow State University won this stage, having beaten more than 20 teams from around the world. Roma managed to conquer everyone with his story and, most importantly, make the whole audience laugh. Later we learned from Roma that he was very worried during the performance, although from the audience it was completely unnoticed.
Pitch Battle, left Roma from the EverMind team
Roman Krivonogov, member of the Moscow State University EverMind team:
Semifinals and quarter finals were held in the form of presentations. The teams were given 10 minutes to speak: 5 minutes for presentation and demonstration and 5 minutes for answers to the jury's questions.
Our teams prepared for this stage within a few months before the final. Evaluation criteria were known in advance and it was necessary to have time to cover all the questions indicated in them:
It was very difficult to put my whole story in 5 minutes. So much I wanted to have time to convey to the jury in order to present my project in the best possible light, meet the criteria and have time to demonstrate the solution. Therefore, we rehearsed again and again at home and with the rest of the teams in the Microsoft office for several months.
Two of our teams participated in these stages: we (MIPT) in the quarter-finals and Moscow State University in the semifinals , but unfortunately, our teams were unable to go further.
The winners were the X.GLU team from the Czech Republic. They made a blood glucose meter and a mobile app to gamify the process of monitoring glucose levels in children with diabetes. The second and third places were taken by teams from America and Argentina. Watch the presentation of the finalists here .
Four final teams on the left, winners on the right, the X.GLU team from the Czech Republic
It is worth noting that this year the jury gave preference to projects related to social topics and health. So two of the four teams that qualified for the finals presented health-related projects. A team from Argentina helped find people during emergencies using quadrocopters. Perhaps this will help you choose the right idea for your project next year;)
In addition to the competitive component, the Imagine Cup is a great way to make new acquaintances, share your ideas with the world, collect a lot of reviews and useful tips, as well as listen to instructions from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The party after the competition was a great way to find out better than the other participants, which, in our opinion, was one of the main advantages of the competition.
Andrey Sautin, member of the MIPT team MeetArticles:
Satya Nadella on the left with the participants, on the right a party after the competition.
Many participants, thanks to the competition, first visited America and continued their journey to other cities after the competition. This little adventure was a great conclusion to our long journey to the Imagine Cup finals.
Imagine Cup 2017 Russian team
I hope that our story will encourage even more students to participate in the Imagine Cup next year, and Russian teams will be able to defeat everyone in the final. Do not put off your ideas for the future, assemble a team of like-minded people and present them to the world right now! Do not miss the great opportunity to gain experience and see the world.
Maria Sandrikova, mashaka,
member of the MIPT team MeetArticles
These days there are many competitions of student IT projects, but few of them can be compared in scale with the Imagine Cup from Microsoft. Every year, students from more than 40 countries from around the world take part in the competition. Teams go through several stages of selection at the national level in their cities and countries, and only the strongest get into the final.
A few weeks ago, 54 teams met at the Microsoft headquarters in Seattle to compete for the grand prize of the Imagine Cup 2017. Including our three teams from Russia, assembled by students from Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Higher School of Economics.
We, the MIPT team, will tell about our experience in participating in the Imagine Cup. We hope that we will succeed in motivating other students to take part in the competition next year, because this is really an amazing opportunity! :)
Long road to Seattle
Each team has its own story of reaching the final of the Imagine Cup. So the guys from the Higher School of Economics and Moscow State University became the winners of the hackathons in their universities with the main prize - a ticket to the final, and our team from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology won the Moscow and Russian qualifying stages.
From left to right, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University and the Higher School of Economics at the Russian finals.
EverMind team members from Moscow State University met right at the hackathon. Alexander Safonov (3 year, Fizfak) was responsible for marketing, and Roman Krivonogov (2 year, VMK) and Daniil Iskhakov (2 year, Mehmat) implemented a prototype application for protecting roads from drunk drivers in 24 hours. Inspired by recent Microsoft Cognitive Services integrationIn the Uber application for identifying drivers from the phone’s camera before trips, the guys decided to implement several quick tests that allow them to determine whether they should be allowed to drive using the eye movements of a person.
HSE 3rd year students Artyom Shafarostov, Ilya Soloviev and Daria Walter were able to get around the other hackathon participants by subjugating the jury with the Boremeter system to evaluate the audience’s attentiveness during the presentation. The algorithm determines the location of each listener in the hall and monitors the direction of his gaze and the tilt of his head in order to measure his interest in speaking. The guys came up with the idea, working on a course project and were able to successfully present it at the selection.
We presented the MeetArticles project, which a large team worked on.from almost 20 students of the Institute of Physics and Technology of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology as part of the training course “Innovation Workshop” We have created a platform for interactive and visual search among scientific articles, which allows us to accelerate the process of finding sources for research, identify current trends in science and find talents around the world. Beautiful and lively visualizations together with well-thought-out architecture of the solution allowed us to win the competition in Moscow and Russia. There are restrictions on the size of teams in the competition, so at the Russian and international finals we presented the project only three of us: Maria Sandrikova (5 year), Andrey Sautin and Alexey Zhuravlev (4 year). Keep this in mind if you decide to take part next year;)
Reaching the final was only the beginning of the journey for our teams. For three months, all the teams actively finalized their projects and rehearsed their presentations dozens of times independently and together with representatives of the Microsoft office in Russia, Dmitry Soshnikov and Anastasia Makeenok, for which we are very grateful to them. And so, at the end of July, after 20 hours of flight, our teams were in the very heart of Microsoft in Redmond at the final, which they had been preparing for so long.
Competition Scheme
The competition itself took place in two days, and its scheme was somewhat reminiscent of the World Cup. It all started with the exhibition, during which several jury members approached each team and evaluated the demonstration of projects from a technical point of view. 32 teams out of 54 went to the next stage, and within groups of 4 teams a struggle arose for reaching the semifinals. Each stage was evaluated by independent jury teams. Two projects that didn’t go directly to the semi-finals had a chance to still get their tickets, having won the audience’s prize. In the final, the 4 most persistent teams met for the struggle for the main prize of $ 100,000 and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Exhibition
The exhibition is a very entertaining and lively event. Each team had its own small space, which they used at their discretion. Someone attracted attention with colorful roll-ups, others with unusual designs, interesting costumes or good handouts: sweets, brochures and stickers.
Technical exhibition of projects
During the exhibition, teams communicate not only with the jury, but also with the press and bloggers, and get to know other participants in the competition. New acquaintances and communication are among the main advantages of the Imagine Cup. No one leaves Seattle without new acquaintances with people from all over the world.
Wildcard round
The most dynamic stage of the competition is Pitch Battle. He allowed to get to the semi-finals, bypassing the fight in the quarter-finals. Each team was given only 2 minutes and a microphone to present their project to the other participants, who then themselves chose the winner.
Our team from Moscow State University won this stage, having beaten more than 20 teams from around the world. Roma managed to conquer everyone with his story and, most importantly, make the whole audience laugh. Later we learned from Roma that he was very worried during the performance, although from the audience it was completely unnoticed.
Pitch Battle, left Roma from the EverMind team
Roman Krivonogov, member of the Moscow State University EverMind team:
I knew the text that should be spoken, I rehearsed for a long time and persistently, I encouraged myself and still could not help myself: my hands and feet were shaking as if they had jackhammers instead. I thought I would drop the microphone, and prayed that the text would not fly out of my head. He, of course, flew out.
Presentations
Semifinals and quarter finals were held in the form of presentations. The teams were given 10 minutes to speak: 5 minutes for presentation and demonstration and 5 minutes for answers to the jury's questions.
Our teams prepared for this stage within a few months before the final. Evaluation criteria were known in advance and it was necessary to have time to cover all the questions indicated in them:
- 50% - Technology and implementation
- 20% - Innovation
- 15% - Relevance
- 15% - Market Entry Plan
It was very difficult to put my whole story in 5 minutes. So much I wanted to have time to convey to the jury in order to present my project in the best possible light, meet the criteria and have time to demonstrate the solution. Therefore, we rehearsed again and again at home and with the rest of the teams in the Microsoft office for several months.
Two of our teams participated in these stages: we (MIPT) in the quarter-finals and Moscow State University in the semifinals , but unfortunately, our teams were unable to go further.
The winners were the X.GLU team from the Czech Republic. They made a blood glucose meter and a mobile app to gamify the process of monitoring glucose levels in children with diabetes. The second and third places were taken by teams from America and Argentina. Watch the presentation of the finalists here .
Four final teams on the left, winners on the right, the X.GLU team from the Czech Republic
It is worth noting that this year the jury gave preference to projects related to social topics and health. So two of the four teams that qualified for the finals presented health-related projects. A team from Argentina helped find people during emergencies using quadrocopters. Perhaps this will help you choose the right idea for your project next year;)
In addition to competitions
In addition to the competitive component, the Imagine Cup is a great way to make new acquaintances, share your ideas with the world, collect a lot of reviews and useful tips, as well as listen to instructions from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The party after the competition was a great way to find out better than the other participants, which, in our opinion, was one of the main advantages of the competition.
Andrey Sautin, member of the MIPT team MeetArticles:
This year's competition was held in record time (2 days instead of 4 days last year and weeks in earlier years). Nevertheless, even this time was enough to feel that you came not just to a competition, but also to some kind of summer student camp, a camp of ambitious creative peer-minded children. Communicating with them is not only a great practice of English and other foreign languages, but also a great opportunity to learn a lot about other countries and cultures, have fun and, most importantly, find friends around the world.
Satya Nadella on the left with the participants, on the right a party after the competition.
Many participants, thanks to the competition, first visited America and continued their journey to other cities after the competition. This little adventure was a great conclusion to our long journey to the Imagine Cup finals.
Imagine Cup 2017 Russian team
I hope that our story will encourage even more students to participate in the Imagine Cup next year, and Russian teams will be able to defeat everyone in the final. Do not put off your ideas for the future, assemble a team of like-minded people and present them to the world right now! Do not miss the great opportunity to gain experience and see the world.
Maria Sandrikova, mashaka,
member of the MIPT team MeetArticles
