Today, Microsoft launched two new competitions that focus on women and female technology innovators in the Imagine Cup.
- The Women’s Empowerment Award was established in partnership with UN Women, the UN organization working to accelerate gender equality and the empowerment of women, and will be awarded to two student teams of any gender who create projects that best address issues that impact woman globally.
- The Women’s Athletics App Challenge was established in partnership with the Seattle Storm women’s basketball team and will inspire female developers, innovators and entrepreneurs to create software related to sports, health or fitness.
During Imagine Cup last year, one all-female team from Oman created a mobile application that monitors blood bank levels and sends alerts to eligible donors via SMS when there are shortages. “Participating in Imagine Cup offered us the chance to meet other student developers and build new skills,” said Omaima Al Muraikhi, from Team Grawesome, recounting her experience participating in the event. “Because of the opportunities that came through Imagine Cup, we’re now entrepreneurs working hard to create our own technology startup business, based in the Middle East.”
To learn more about these new Imagine Cup competitions, you can read the full press release or the Imagine Cup blog. If you would like any additional information or an interview with a spokesperson, I am happy to set something up for you.
