Are your students ready to change the world?
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We believe that students today will be the changemakers of tomorrow, so we need to empower them with the tools, resources, and opportunities to learn new skills and prepare for the future workforce.
Imagine Cup Junior 2024
Now in its fifth year, Imagine Cup Junior is an exciting opportunity for students aged 5-18 years old to learn about technology and how it can be used to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, while participating in a global student challenge. It’s a great introduction to technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and cybersecurity, and is suitable for all levels, especially beginners.
We are very excited to add a new category for students aged 5-12 years old this year! Students in this age group will focus on Technology for Good with lessons designed especially for early learners. The newly designed teaching resources will help support educators in offering this opportunity to their students.
We are also excited to announce that we have added a lesson around Generative AI as well as 5 new hands-on activity lessons for Imagine Cup Junior’s AI for Good competition for students aged 13-18 years old.
Draw inspiration from the 10 global winners for 2023 who came up with incredible concepts to address Microsoft’s AI for Good initiatives.
How to Register and Participate
Registration for Imagine Cup Junior opened on January 10, 2024. Team Leaders must submit projects on behalf of their student teams by May 8, 2024 23:59 (GMT+0).
Participation in Imagine Cup Junior for students is via a Team Leader (such as an educator, instructor, staff member, parent, guardian) over the age of 18. Team Leaders register on behalf of students and gain access to the Imagine Cup Junior Resource Pack outlined below to facilitate learning and the challenge.
Once registered, Team Leaders can access all the resources needed to educate students and run a great Imagine Cup Junior challenge. These resources include:
AI for Good Resource Pack for students ages 13-18:
- Getting Started Kit: includes six 45-minute lessons, student guides, submission template, rules and regulations, and rubric.
- 2024 Imagine Cup Junior Hackathon: The ICJ AI for Good Hackathons offer students aged 13-18 and their team leaders an accelerated journey through all six essential lessons of the ICJ curriculum. These engaging and hands-on webinars will guide participants through collaborative activities focused on identifying impactful problems, understanding AI concepts, inventing AI solutions, exploring technology ethics, and ensuring cybersecurity. By the end of the webinar, teams will have a solid foundation for their innovative AI concepts and will be prepared to finalize their submissions with their teams.
- Webinar 1: 28TH March 10am-12pm SGT: Download recording
- Webinar 2: 4TH April 10am-12pm PT: Teams link
- Webinar 3: 18TH April 8am – 10am UTC: Teams link
- Deep Learning Modules: in-depth overview of the six technology modules that supplement the Beginners Kit, for more advanced learning. Modules include Intro to AI, Machine Learning, AI Applications in Real Life, Deep Learning and Neural Networks, AI for Good, and Cybersecurity.
- Team Leader Toolkit: includes student certificates, social templates, posters, and more to leverage throughout the challenge.
- Judging Criteria and Rubric: to understand what will be used by judges to determine the winners.
- Rules and Regulations
Tech for Good Resource Pack for students ages 5-12:
- Getting Started Kit: includes five 45-minute lessons, Tech for Good playbook, submission template, rubric, and rules and regulations.
- Rules and Regulations
Students work in teams sized two (2) to six (6) students for the AI for Good category and teams of two (2) to forty (40) for the Tech for Good category to develop an original concept addressing Microsoft AI for Good and Tech for Good initiatives and complete the Imagine Cup Junior PowerPoint submission template.
Team Leaders can also access hackathon materials to run a hackathon in their classroom to help further understand best practices for running Imagine Cup Junior and facilitate additional learning for students.
Winners Announcement: We are excited to see the ideas students submit! The top 10 global submission winners will be announced June 13, 2024 via the Microsoft Education blog.
Welcome to Imagine Cup Junior!
*Open only to student teams ages 5-18 with a team leader 18+. Game ends 5/8/24. For full details, see Official Rules. Note: If a winning team leader is a public sector employee, the prize will be awarded directly to the public sector institution and subject to receipt of a gift letter signed by the institution’s ethics officer, attorney, or designated executive/officer responsible for the organization’s gifts/ethics policy.