.NET developers can help make the world a better place in Microsoft's Imagine Cup

4/19/2010 12:53 PM

Skilled IT professionals have the option, through Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition, to put their skills to altruistic use in the development of applications to aid charities and non-governmental organizations.

Network World's Robert Mullins reports that the entries, from university students from across the U.S., have been winnowed to 10 finalists. The winners of this final competition, who will be judged on their ability to solve problems faced by the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, will advance to a global final in Warsaw this July.

Mullins details several of the entrants, including a team from the University of Utah, which has produced a social media network aimed at improving the efficiency of micro-lending programs in developing nations.

The opportunity to use the extensive skills granted by IT training in the service of more than the corporate bottom line can come with its own benefits, experts say: Socially engaged IT professionals are more attractive to prospective employers.

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