Microsoft Thailand Imagine Cup Alumni pursue their paths to success and play a part in helping to strengthen the country's software industry.Microsoft (Thailand) has empowered Thai students with the amazing opportunity to exhibit their IT development skills to the world through the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 competition. The winning Thai teams JubJub and NewKrean proudly represented the country at the Worldwide Imagine Cup 2011 finals in New York, USA. This year Thailand's JubJub Team received a trophy and USD$ 4,000 as the 2nd place award for Best Game Design.

In the Game Design category, there were three subcategories in which teams competed: all winners focused on some element of environmental sustainability. Students chose one of three tracks (Mobile, Web or Windows/Xbox) to create games that are not only fun but also help to improve the global community at the same time. This year, Thailand's very own JubJub Team has been awarded second place for their Windows/Xbox game 'Junk Master: The Journey to Junk Lord'. NewKrean Team's 'Terra' application was also Terra praised by actress Eva Longoria as one of the most useful applications for dealing with the world's natural disasters.

This year's competition challenged students from around the globe to imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems. More than 350,000 students representing 183 countries registered to compete, with 124 total projects representing 73 countries went to final. Now in its ninth year, having collected 1.4 million registrants in total, Microsoft's Imagine Cup is the world's premier student technology competition. Next year's ten-year anniversary competition in 2012 is set to be held in Australia.

The Imagine Cup 2011 Awards Ceremony also included the announcement of a new $3 million grant program to help recipients realize their vision of solving the world's toughest problems. Imagine Cup teams will be eligible to apply for grants that include a combination of cash, software, training, consulting and other support. More details about the grant program and application process will be announced later this summer.

"As advocates of using IT to make the world a better place, we are proud to support JubJub Team in this year's Imagine Cup Worldwide Competition. I'm especially impressed with this team's perseverance as this is the second time they have joined the competition," said Khun Birathon Kasemsri na Ayudhaya., Managing Director, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited. "Microsoft is dedicated to IT development and also the enrichment of students. Therefore, we have provided the ideal stage for these young innovators to show the world their special talents and abilities. By combining IT skills and a touch of creativity, Thai students have proven they have the power to tackle global issues and change the world. With JubJub Team's stellar achievements at this year's worldwide Imagine Cup competition in addition to the previous triumph of the SkeeK team at the Imagine Cup 2010 in Poland and the 3KC Returns team in 2007, Thailand is now the only country to win the competition three times."

Wasin Thonkaew, a member of the JubJub Team who won 2nd at the Imagine Cup Worldwide 2011 competition in New York under the category of Game Design for Windows/Xbox and new graduate from Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Mahidol University, said, "It feels great and is very encouraging since it is the second time we have competed in this contest. We have learnt that hard work and dedication really pays off! We were impressed by the quality of many of the entries. This year's participants seemed to have put great effort and time into their work. We are proud to have competed with such qualified designers from all over the world. "

In addition to JubJub Team's victory, this year also marked the second time that two teams from Thailand have made it to the worldwide competition in the categories of Game Design and Software Design. JubJub Team from Mahidol University made it to the final three finalists in the Game Design category for their 'Junk Master' game. 'Junk Master: The Journey to Junk Lord' is a creative and innovative game that offers both challenging and fun gameplay, as well as educational information about garbage classification and the '3Rs' of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Players adopt the role of a 'Junk Master' who must collect garbage around the world and overcome increasingly difficult obstacles in order to save the world from the brink of destruction under the command of the evil 'Junk Lord'. With this concept integrated into the gameplay of 'Junk Master', the youthful players are encouraged to be socially conscious about garbage collection and classification. They can then to apply their knowledge to the real world and eventually create a cleaner world for all.

To further support all participating teams, they are eligible to join Microsoft BizSpark, the program for software startups who will be granted software development tools.

Participation of Thailand Imagine Cup in worldwide level is also supported by sponsors, including Kasikorn Bank, Delta Airlines and The Value Systems Co., Ltd. For more information about Worldwide Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011, please visit www.microsoft.com/Presspass and about Thailand Imagine Cup 2011, please visit www.microsoft.com/thailand/imaginecup.