Microsoft U.S. Imagine Cup: Drexel team wins mobile game design category, $6000 cash prize

Kids these days do seem to love their mobile devices. So what better way to help them learn some arithmetic than with a mobile game?

That simple concept is what helped Drexel University’s Drexel Dragons claim the “Game Design in Mobile” victory at the Microsoft U.S. Imagine Cup last week.

Matthew Lesnak, 23, Keith Ayers, 23, and Nicolas Mullen, 22, — all Drexel seniors — designed “Math Dash,” to help elementary schoolers learn a subject they often hate — math. The application is scheduled to be released on the Windows Marketplace, according to a release to Technically Philly.

In addition to a $6,000 cash prize to be split between the team members, the group also netted a $10,ooo donation to their alma mater, according to the press release.

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is an international student technology competition. This year’s U.S. Competition was held at the Microsoft office in Redmond, Washington. The competition is in its tenth year.

In total, 74 students competed in three different categories, though approximately 113,000 students applied to participate, according to the release. Team FlashFood from Arizona State University won the entire competition and will go on to compete at the international level in Sydney, Australia in July.