I’m excited to announce the top 10 global winners of the Imagine Cup Junior AI for Good Challenge 2021. Thousands of students, aged 13 through 18, participated in this year’s competition to come up with ideas to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges using the power of artificial intelligence (AI). With so many amazing projects, the judges had a difficult task on their hands, and every student should be incredibly proud of what they accomplished. 

We were excited to celebrate the winners in a live event announcement. You can relive this experience by watching the on-demand video.

Despite the uncertainty during a global pandemic and adjusting to remote and hybrid learning, students found creative ways to bring their teams together, innovate, and learn about AI along the way. From hardships experienced by friends or family to issues they have read about in the news, or their determination to preserve the earth and create a better world for future generations, the standard of the student submissions was truly awe-inspiring. Every student who took part brought their heart to their projects, which really came through to all the judges.

The top 10 global winners recognized this year and their concepts are:

  • “Here to Hear” from Western Canada High School in Canada: A language-learning tool that supports children with hearing impairments, helping to support inclusiveness in education for the DHH community.
  • “Sense and Save” from Daffodils Foundation for Learning in India: An AI-powered, bio-resistive graphene sensor for real-time amniotic fluid monitoring in pregnant women, supporting those who do not have regular or easy access to healthcare.
  • “Gaia Eye 80 degrees” from Beijing No. 80 High School in China: A global environmental diversity and anomaly discovery sharing platform, empowering people to report environmental concerns and observations and get feedback powered by AI.
  • “CORRA” from St Aloysius College in Australia: The “Companion Obedient Response Robot,” designed to interact and support children with autism in the form of a robot doll that can be with them at all times.
  • “Titans” from Maharaja Agrasen Model School in India: A scan and check app for consumers to detect counterfeit medicine packaging, to help reduce the growing issues with counterfeit medicines being sold in India.
  • “HygieneNET” from Jesuit High School in Oregon, US: A deep learning and sensor-based system for enforcing hand hygiene compliance in healthcare facilities.
  • “Imagineering” from Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore: An AI-powered app that identifies any anomalies in baby’s fecal matter to support and guide new parents and provide early diagnoses of any diseases.
  • “Ying Wa Crazy” from Ying Wa College in Hong Kong: Designed to bring Chinese medicine to a digital platform, embracing the major principles of Chinese medicine and building those into an app to increase the speed of diagnosis.
  • “G Force” from On My Own Technology in India: A non-invasive pressure mapping method to screen skin cancer and enable earlier detection.
  • “SMSR” from Hurlstone Agriculture High School in Australia: The “Smart Mobile Sanitizing Robot” to supply and clean feminine products to support with period poverty and efficient waste management.

What I love most about Imagine Cup Junior is seeing educators embrace these new technologies—like AI and machine learning—and then provide these experiences to their students. Not only do students get the opportunity to learn about Microsoft’s AI for Good initiatives, but they also further develop and practice 21st century skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. 

Congratulations to ALL the students who participated this year and thank you for sharing your ideas. We can’t wait to hear from you in the future and see how you continue to create innovative ideas about how to use AI to improve our world.

To anyone who is starting their journey of learning AI, take a look at Microsoft Learn for Students, MakeCode, Minecraft Hour of Code AI tutorial, and Hacking STEM. For students older than 16 who want to take their learning even further, I encourage you to register for the Imagine Cup Collegiate Challenge and apply to be a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador. 

Stay tuned for the next Imagine Cup Junior Challenge!