INSIGHTS / News

The University of Exeter Students’ Guild successfully hosted the southern heat of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Appathon this weekend, with Exeter students scooping the top three places. Putting their innovative and entrepreneurial skills to the test, the teams were given 48 hours to create an app for the future from scratch.

Drawing together a variety of university teams from across the southern region, the heat was organised by SETsquared and hosted on the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus.

The winning Exeter teams will now compete in the national final of the competition this April. If successful, they will attend the global final held in Russia this July, where the total prize money stands at fifty-thousand dollars.

The winning performances of Exeter’s teams is a great success for the Students’ Guild’s entrepreneurial support unit Ignite. Ignite has been working with business-minded students since the beginning of this academic year to provide expert assistance for those interested in developing their skills of entrepreneurship while at university.

Tracy Costello, Deputy Chief Executive of the Students’ Guild, said: “The Microsoft Imagine Cup competition is a great opportunity for students to really get an inside edge for their future careers and employability. Event participants had access to great mentors and support thanks to SETsquared and OpenMIC.

Graham Harrison, SETsquared partnership director, said: “The level of entries in the competition was very high and proof of the young talent emerging in the UK. Events like this are vital in putting talented app developers into the spotlight and arming them with the additional skills they need to turn great apps into successful businesses.”