Now in its tenth year, Imagine Cup celebrates student technologists who are committed to using their brainpower to bring about global change. Last year, students created projects such as a Windows Phone app to diagnose malaria, a tablet-based device to help vision-impaired students take notes in class, and a Kinect-based system to aid with stroke recovery. This year students from around the world will compete for a chance to attend the Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in Sydney, Australia in July.

In last year’s Imagine Cup, students used Kinect for Windows to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems, creating projects to help with stroke recovery, physical therapy and sign language translation. With the Kinect Fun Labs Challenge, Microsoft is expanding the role of Kinect in Imagine Cup, asking students to think about entertainment with a social conscience and solve the world’s toughest problems using Kinect technology for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.