IT and Society: Image Cup Solve This invites students to come up with innovative solutions

Microsoft has announced Solve This Imagine Cup, the “databank” of socially significant ideas, which is called to provide inspiration for students looking to help solve the world’s toughest problems. In the spirit of “crowdsourcing,” intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits now will be able to seek the help of the brilliant and passionate students competing in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition, to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems.

IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits often encounter difficult challenges while working to address tough global issues such as education and literacy, disaster relief, environmental sustainability, and global healthcare. These organizations recognize that technology solutions can expand the reach of their services and help them more effectively meet the needs of their audiences.

“The Imagine Cup competition features students who are very passionate about societal issues, problem-solving and technology,” said Pamela Passman, corporate vice president of Global Corporate Affairs, Microsoft. “To help students generate project ideas, we created Imagine Cup Solve This, which connects them with nonprofits and organizations in need of new approaches to the variety of problems they encounter. This pairing illustrates how we are evolving the competition to empower students to help make a real difference in the world.”

Students can register for Imagine Cup 2011 and access a library of problems submitted by the organizations to find project ideas that address issues that matter most to them. Microsoft plans to expand Imagine Cup Solve This over time to include submissions from additional global IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits that are interested in participating.