I just flew into Poland yesterday to attend the week long Imagine Cup 2010, organised by Microsoft.

There are two Malaysian teams participating in the competition – from UCTI and USM respectively. You might have read previously about the UCTI team which won the Imagine Cup Malaysia competition (to represent Malaysia here in the Software Design category) in R.AGE.

Well, the finals are finally here and tomorrow, the UCTI team will compete against 64 other teams, while the USM team will take on five.

If you’re on Twitter, make sure to follow @thestar_rage for updates and I follow the teams and keep you updated with their progress.

The event was officially opened earlier this evening (last night for you folks in Malaysia) by Microsoft Corporation Education Group general manager Jon Perera together with the Prime Minister (yes!) of Poland, Waldemar Pawlak (pictured below).

The ceremony was simple – just a couple of speeches from the PM and Perera – but it was followed by a performance by Polish folk group (though it sounded more folk-pop or folk-rock) called Zakopower. We didn’t understand anything he sang or said (other than one time the lead singer Sebastian Karpiel-Bulecka – who just walked past me at the lift lobby a few minutes ago, mind you – said, “Stand up.”)

Nevertheless, it was still good music and a fitting way to welcome the hundreds of young students around the world vying to win at the world cup of technology.