The Microsoft 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza this spring will bring the best of Brazilian technology talent to the city. The four day event will also place Fortaleza firmly on the world for technological innovation and reinforce the state’s commitment to high-tech.
The annual Imagine Cup run by Microsoft searches the world for students with the best ideas in IT and development. Brazil has a history of success in the event winning first place in 2015 and third last year. This year’s Imagine Cup celebrates the 15th anniversary and has prize money worth US$100,000.
The announcement of the 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza came in mid-February. The capital of Ceará competed against big-name Brazilian cities such as Sao Paolo and Bahia to win the bid to host the Brazilian national finals.
The calibre of 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza
The Imagine Cup ranks among the world’s best events for discovering new talent and is an important platform for start-ups. For Rodrigo Dias, head of Microsoft’s start-ups and academic programmes in Brazil, the choice of Fortaleza is very significant.
“It’s a pleasure to bring this event to Fortaleza,” he said at the press conference announcing the success of the city’s bid. “We have made an important selection for an event of great calibre.”
History of technology in Ceará
For his part, the Ceará secretary of education, science and technology Inácio Arrudo, the choice of the 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza is almost logical. “We have over 4,000 students studying technology at different levels in the state,” he said.
“Furthermore, we have people thinking, developing and working in technology,” he added. Arrudo also talked about the surge of technology in the state and attributed it to the Ceará trait of “exporting intelligence”. Arrudo believes the 4-day event will place Ceará firmly on the world technology map and act as a springboard for new jobs and businesses in the technological sector in the state.
Logistics of the world-class event
The 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza will be held over four days between 15 and 18 May. During the event, some 15 finalists from all over Brazil will compete for the national prize. The two best projects will represent Brazil in the world finals in Seattle in June.
Fortaleza is hosting the Microsoft event in its Olympic Training Centre, Centro de Formaçao Olímpica do Nordeste, a vast sporting complex located in Arena Castelao in the south of the city. Completed last year with a total investment of R$226.8 million, the Training Centre is one of the best in the area. According to the authorities, it makes a fitting backdrop for an event of this significance.
“Ceará is undoubtedly making its mark within Brazil as a centre for national excellence,” says Dies Poppeliers, Managing Director of BRIC Group. “We are gradually seeing the state and its capital raise its profile as is reinforced by the 2017 Imagine Cup in Fortaleza.”
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(Sources: Ceará government, Microsoft)
