Is code the universal language of the future?

For the 34 teams descending on Seattle from all over the world for the Imagine Cup, code is not just the way they created their projects, it’s a common and essential language they all speak — and represents the power to promote change.

“With coding we can change our lives. We can change the world by using our keyboard to import,” says Ge Zhuochen, whose team created PersePhone, a peer-to-peer emergency communications platform hosted on Microsoft Azure. “It is amazing. It is the most universal language. Not just like writing a book, but doing active things that can change the world.”

The Imagine Cup finalists begin competition Wednesday. The winners will be announced Friday morning, after which the top three teams from each category will face Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Founder Hadi Partovi and General Manager Erik Martin for a final round of questions, live.

Grand prize is a private audience with Microsoft Founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates.

Discover why code is the universal language of the future, and dive into the interactive map to meet the 2014 Imagine Cup finalists.

Aimee Riordan
Microsoft News Center Staff