Six groups of talented students from across the world will be making their designs into business ideas at an international student contest at the University of Cambridge.

This year Cambridge’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL), BT and Microsoft have organised the final event of the 2006 Imagine Cup competition at Microsoft Research Cambridge. The Imagine Cup provides an opportunity for talented students to explore and create new technology and design with people from across the world.

The winning teams from the 2006 Imagine Cup will enter the Innovation Accelerator, a two week design ‘hothouse’ refining their software with expert advice from Microsoft and BT. Other students have been invited to the event for the opportunity to meet and network with people from around the world who are at the leading edge of technology innovation.

Now in its second year, the Innovation Accelerator event is already a success, with the Russian team Inspiration from 2005 already incorporating their project Musigy Inc.

“During the Innovation Accelerator, we worked with a team of business experts who helped us work out the business model of our future company,” said Stan Vonog, one of Musigy’s founders. “Our participation in this program has brought new opportunities for our business that we would not have had otherwise.”

Musigy (http://www.musigy.com) enables musicians to plug their instrument into a computer and be connected to other musicians all over the world, performing live via the Internet. The young business team already have two patents in Russia and the USA.

The 2007 imagine cup competition asks talented young minds to “Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all”. Entry to the competition is open until 28th of February, with the UK finals on the 30th March.

Winners have a chance to win HP laptops, an all expenses paid trip to the world finals in South Korea, and the opportunity to be in the 2008 Imagine Cup Innovation Accelerator. Students can register online at http://imaginecup.com/ .

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