Al-Bayt Mitwahid, an association established by employees of the Crown Prince Court (CPC) of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces has announced its sponsorship for the Microsoft UAE Imagine Cup 2016

16th February 2016 - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Al-Bayt Mitwahid, an association established by employees of the Crown Prince Court (CPC) of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces has announced its sponsorship for the Microsoft UAE Imagine Cup 2016, taking place in April this year. The event, known to be the world's largest student competition, will span along a duration of one year commencing with local and online contests held in over than 100 countries. This partnership comes in line with Al-Bayt Mitwahid's mission aiming to address community needs and fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity among the youth, while encouraging them to keep pace and utilize latest technical skills to manifest a future they envision in UAE.

Imagine Cup 2016 revolves around the premise of combining education and technology, a vision shared by Al-Bayt Mitwahid which supports the objectives for promoting unity and solidarity through mutual responsibilities across UAE, providing a base for communities to give back and endorses IC CUP 2016 for boosting education and developing new concepts and ideas with Microsoft's latest resources.

Mohammad Al Qadhi, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of Al Bayt Mitwahid association, said "We are very excited to partner with Microsoft to deliver this important initiative which is expected to upgrade skills of participating students, promote STEM and entrepreneurship, and provide students with the opportunity to capitalize on their ideas"

Microsoft will be hosting road shows related to the Imagine cup in the months of February and March that will comprise of on-going events at various UAE universities, and will be designed to create more awareness amongst students for encouraging participation. Further training sessions will also be held to prepare participants in accordance with the criteria of the competition.

Samer Abu Latif, Regional General Manager Microsoft Gulf said "Microsoft firmly believes that technology can be used to make a real difference in today's world. We are excited to partner with Al-Bayt Mitwahid to celebrate the spirit of innovation and create an avenue for young minds to unleash their skills and creativity to achieve more. By endorsing Imagine Cup 2016, Al-Bayt Mitwahid shares our commitment towards generating opportunities that combine latest technology with education for driving future prosperity and growth in UAE."

As part of its YouthSpark initiative, Microsoft Imagine Cup creates an avenue for young entrepreneurs and innovators to use their creativity in generating new ideas, collaborate on technology applications and develop clear business plans leveraging the latest tools and services offered. The Imagine Cup Event Pan-Arab finals will be held in the last week of May, with inauguration of worldwide finals on the 29th of July.

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About Al-Bayt Mitwahid
Al Bayt Mitwahid is a non-for-profit association created by employees of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court which aims to celebrate and promote a culture of giving, feelings of solidarity and mutual responsibility across UAE communities

About Microsoft Gulf
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:'MSFT') is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Gulf opened its Dubai-based headquarters in 1991. Microsoft Gulf today oversees Microsoft activities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Microsoft Corporation's address on the World Wide Web is: www.microsoft.com Microsoft Middle East's Web site is www.microsoft.com/middle east

For more information, press only:
Hassan al Shouli
Communications Lead - Microsoft Gulf                    
Tel: +971509340133                                             
Email: alshouli@microsoft.com

Beenish Rehman
Account Executive, ProGlobal Media
Tel: +97155 412 3354
Email: beenish.rehman@Proglobal.ae  

© Press Release 2016