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Category Archives: contest

Have you already participated in our Office 365 for business contest?

21/05/2013

sahara

Office 365 gives you virtually anywhere access to the Microsoft Office tools you know and rely on, plus business-class IT services that are easy to administer. It’s your complete office in the cloud. And to prove this, we are giving away a trip to the Sahara! The ultimate spot to test Office 365 ;-) To participate in the contest you only need to test Office 365 and let us know how you feel about it. Every week there’s a Surface to win and at the end of the campaign we announce the winner of a trip to the Sahara!

But hurry, the contest lasts only till the 11th of June 2013!

 

URL: http://sdr.li/pdVca

 

PS: Keep an eye on your mailbox, the 18th of June we will announce the winner of the trip to the Sahara!

Hateya heeft de Belgische finale gewonnen van de Imagine Cup – Hateya remporte la finale belge d’Imagine Cup

19/04/2013

(Texte en français en dessous)

hateya

Imagine Cup is een initiatief van Microsoft en het grootste evenement in zijn soort. Het is een werelwijde wedstrijd waarin jongeren hun technologische kennis moeten inzetten in een concreet project.

Hateya mag naar de internationale finale die dit jaar plaatsvindt in St-Petersburg van 8-11 juli. Als het daar wint, kaapt het de hoofdprijs van 50.000 dollar weg.

Het project is een software-oplossing waarbij brandweerlui de weg kunnen terugvinden in een brandend huis – een actueel probleem want elk jaar verliezen hulpverleners het leven bij een brand.

 

Het team wordt momenteel klaargestoomd voor de wereldwijde finales in Rusland; het project moet technisch nog wat gepolijst worden en de sprekers kunnen rekenen op coaching inzake presentatievaardigheden en het geven van een ijzersterke demo. De voorbije 10 jaar namen ruim 1,65 miljoen studenten deel aan imagine Cup- uit meer dan 190 landen. De deelnemende teams dit jaar stelden projecten voor in drie verschillende categorieën: games, innovatie en wereldburgerschap. Studenten gebruiken hun verbeelding, creativiteit en technologische kennis om apps, games en software te creëren en zo de manier waarop we leven, werken en spelen te veranderen.

Technologie om sociale problemen op te lossen

Voor de eerste keer werd er tijdens de Belgische finale ook een ‘Innovate for Good’ workshop georganiseerd. Daarbij brainstormden studenten met non-profit organisaties over hoe technologie ingezet kan worden om sociale- en milieuproblemen op te lossen.

De beste ideeën die resulteren uit deze workshop kunnen verder uitgewerkt, ondersteund en eventueel gefinancieerd worden door Microsoft.

Bij Microsoft geloven we dat uitgerekend jonge mensen de grootste kans hebben om een positieve impact te hebben op de wereld. Initiatieven als de Imagine Cup helpen hen om hun projecten concreet te realiseren. Studenten kunnen tegelijk ervaring opdoen in technologische innovatie, ondernemerschap en teamwork. Daarnaast is het voor hen ook een ongelooflijke opportuniteit om met elkaar te netwerken”, zegt Sigrid Vandenweghe, Audience Marketing Manager bij Microsoft.

 

Meer info over Imagine Cup: http://www.imaginecup.com/
Meer info over Hateya: http://www.hateya.be/

 

Hateya remporte la finale belge d’Imagine Cup
et représentera la Belgique à Saint-Pétersbourg

 

Initiative de Microsoft, l’Imagine Cup est le plus grand événement dans sa catégorie.  Cette compétition permet aux jeunes de mobiliser leurs connaissances technologiques dans un projet concret.

Hateya a reçu le sésame pour participer à la finale internationale qui se déroulera cette année à Saint-Pétersbourg du 8 au 11 juillet prochain. À la clé, un premier prix de 50 000 dollars!

Le projet Hateya est un logiciel qui aide les pompiers à trouver leur chemin dans une maison en feu envahie par la fumée. Plus que jamais d’actualité, ce problème de visibilité coûte, chaque année, la vie à plusieurs combattants du feu.

 

L’équipe se prépare d’ores et déjà pour la finale russe ; le projet doit encore recevoir quelques améliorations techniques, et les porte-paroles recevront un coaching pour leurs compétences oratoires.

Ces dix dernières années, un peu plus de 1,65 million d’étudiants de plus de 190 pays y ont participé. Cette année, les équipes participantes ont soumis des projets dans trois catégories : jeux, innovation et citoyenneté du monde. Ils ont exploité leur imagination, leur créativité et leurs connaissances technologiques pour créer des apps, jeux et logiciels destinés à modifier notre manière de vivre, de travailler et de jouer.

Technologie pour résoudre des problèmes sociaux
C’est la première fois qu’un atelier « Innovative for Good » est organisé dans le cadre de la finale belge. Dans cet atelier, des étudiants ont échangé idées et réflexions avec des associations sans but lucratif sur la manière d’exploiter la technologie pour résoudre des problèmes à la fois sociaux et environnementaux. Les meilleures idées distillées dans ce contexte pourront être développées plus en profondeur, être soutenues et, le cas échéant, financées par Microsoft.

« Microsoft pense que ce sont les jeunes qui ont le plus de chance d’exercer un impact positif sur le monde. Des initiatives telles qu’Imagine Cup les aident à concrétiser leurs projets. Dans le même temps, les étudiants peuvent acquérir de l’expérience dans les domaines de l’innovation technique, de l’entrepreneuriat et du travail d’équipe. Par ailleurs, il s’agit pour eux d’une opportunité incroyable pour créer un réseau de relations », souligne Sigrid Vandenweghe, Audience Marketing Manager de Microsoft.

Plus d’information sur Hateya, ici et sur l’Imagine Cup sur ce lien.

 

Windows 8 Apps Contest for Developers

17/04/2013

Back in November last year we opened a contest for Windows 8 app developers in Belgium and Luxembourg. The rules of the contest were short & clear: publish 5 apps to the Windows Store and be fast! Speed was important, because to win one of the Asus Vivo Tabs you had to be among the first 20 people to do so …

With this blogpost we want to say thank you to everyone who participated – we hope it helped you learn a lot about developing apps for the Windows Store!

But unfortunately, not everyone can win … so here are the 20 winners (in alphabetical order). Congratulations!

Alexander Siccard
Dieter Brouckaert
Dieter Casier
Dries Peeters
Dries Vanmeert
François Rémy
Gene Vangampelaere
Iemen Uyttenhove
Jef Daels
Jérémie Melchior
Joeri Van Herreweghe
Kenneth Christiaens
Kevin Van Ryckegem
Lies Pinket
Mathias Raets
Michiel De Geeter
Niels Declercq
Sven Vervynckt
Tom Meersman
Wouter Vanmeert

They have all been notified personally –  some have already received their tablet, others will receive it very soon! Here are some pictures we received from them :) :

Photo 4Photo 2Photo 6

photo 1Photo 3Photo 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you aren’t among the winners or if you would like to start with developing apps for Windows 8, you can now join the Windows 8 App Race:

step 1Step 2

 

How to win

Your app(s) need to be published between April 1 and June 15, 2013. Complete the contest form(s) on http://aka.ms/race.

There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit but each entry must be substantially unique and different. The date and time of the first and fifth application as part of the entry submitted in a particular timeframe will determine the winners of the tablets. Please read the full terms & conditions of this contest before entering. Questions? Contact us msdnbewm[at]microsoft.com.

We’re looking forward to see your apps in action!

Take part in Expert Educator Program

15/04/2013

msf innovative education

 

Written by Koen Daems & Bart Verswijvel

Microsoft believes in the power of the educator and the impact educators can have when they are brought together and recognized for their achievements. To that end, Microsoft has launched the Expert Educator Program, a one-year program that recognizes global education pioneers who are paving the way in the effective use of technology and in preparing their students for the 21st century.

Selected educators to the Expert Educator Program will have access to technology, specialized professional development, and… they will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Partners in Learning Global Forum.

Expert Educators will have opportunities to share their passion for Microsoft technology with peers and policymakers through social media. They will be mentors and trainers and they will provide professional input for other educators.

In addition to this, the selected educators will receive free technology for their schools, publicity and promotion, insider access to Microsoft strategy and technologies, professional development opportunities and certification, access to special events, etc.

Expert Educators will also work closely with Microsoft to lead innovation in education, advocating and sharing their thoughts on effective use of technology in education. They will provide insight on new products and tools for education as they work together to promote innovation in teaching and learning.

Applications are now open!

More information and the application procedure can be found on the Microsoft Partners in Learning Network http://www.pil-network.com/Educators/expert

200 developers participated to Belgium’s first Superhackathon!

28/03/2013

 

Yesterday, from 8am to 12pm, some 200 developers and students worked on developing the best new apps for Windows Store (the online shop for Windows 8 apps). The Superhackathon took place in 4 Belgian cities: Brussels, Genk, Kortrijk and Mons.
One of the winners will have the chance to win a ticket for the TechEd conference, Microsoft’s big event for developers and IT professionals.

Superhackathon is a combined initiative of Microsoft’s 4 Belgian Innovation Cnters and Kortrijk’s KATHO school. A hackathon is the perfect occasion to find inspiration and share comments with other teams of developers. Beginners and professional developers worked hand in hand to develop apps on the theme “Spring and Well-Being”.

Amongst the best apps developed there, let’s cite a few:

  • - Sporcial, one of the award winning apps. The app  encourages people to team up to do sport: you can invite people to join you on your jogging trail, collect points if you take part in several sport session, organize you training sessions, etc.
  • - Homebrewers Toolkit, developed by Diederik Krols, helps people who want to brew their own home-made beer.
  • - Cooking Club Hero, developed for young guys who love cooking. It enables you to easily organize and plan your group cooking sessions.
  • - MeetATrainee, helps you find an internship or a trainee by matching your profile with a suitable firm or candidate.
  • - 101 Drinking Games, the perfect app to bring fun and games to your parties. Use it on your Windows 8 tablet: it is designed to be used with the touch function.
  • - Your Weight Today, helps you control your daily weight change. You can set a weight target and a date to achieve it and check your progress thanks to an easily-readable graph.

Many of the Belgian apps already in Windows Store are created during the Hackathon, making it a major event for the developer community. The popularity of this event keeps growing and we are determined to keep it that way by organizing other similar events this year!

We hope to see these “Hackathon babies” make the Belgian top 5 one day, which is currently made of: La Dernière Heure, Bumba (Studio), RTL.be, Le Soir and MINE for Facebook.

We can’t guarantee that all our participants will get rich with their creations, but we make sure they learn a lot and get to share their adventures with other passionate developers.

For more info on the Hackathon and the apps, click here

Framerate Fest 2012: a contest for developers in Belgium and in the Netherlands

13/03/2012

Frame Fest 2012, the second edition of this contest, brings together web designers and developers from Belgium and the Netherlands to design a ‘frame’ based on HTML5 and controlled by the Kinect. The best frames will be selected by a jury of 3 experts. Each judge composes his own team of developers and every participant has to fight to win his place against the others.
Developers who want to participate in this contest must submit their HTML5 frame on this website. Participation is completely free.

Participants have to deliver a frame and post it on the website before the 25th of March. Through various communications’ channels, they can  promote their design. The website’ visitors who vote will determine the finalists.

In the second stage of the competition, the contest becomes even more exciting. Two Dutch coaches (Wesley ter Haar from MediaMonks and Boris van de Ven from Gamekings) and a Belgian coach (Bart de Waele from Netlash-bSeen) pick the finalists for each team and build from the starting frames a Superframe.
The Grand Final is held in the Netherlands for a live audience. Public and fans vote online for their favorite Superframe and choose the winner.

“The entire contest is a creative challenge for designers and developers,” said Vincent Joris, Manager for Internet Explorer in Belgium and Luxembourg. “The theme of Framefest 2012 ‘Let the Frames Begins’ was planned by the company These Days to demonstrate the capabilities of Internet Explorer and the Kinect in the Benelux but also beyond. I am convinced that both Internet Explorer 9 and all the developers who participate have everything to gain by joining this contest.”