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New European Kodu COMPETITION EUROPEAN SCHOOLNET AND MICROSOFT ARE PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO TAKE PART IN THE FIRST EUROPEAN KODU COMPETITION! Kodu Kup Europe is a new exciting competition that will challenge pupils to develop their own games using the user-friendly Kodu Game Lab tools. WHAT IS KODU? Kodu Game Lab is a visual programming language for creating games, accessible for children as young as 6 year olds and enjoyable for anyone. What made it so famous worldwide is that it is very easy and visually attractive and yet it allows for high degree of computational thinking and programming fundamentals. With strong links to numeracy and literacy, as well as science, maths and geography, teachers can use it across the curriculum. Building on successful national Kodu events, the Kodu Kup Europe will now bring teachers and pupils in eight countries together for an exciting new challenge in the heart of Europe. WHAT IS THE COMPETITION ABOUT? Pupils will be challenged to develop their own games using the Kodu Game Lab tools and thus take their first steps in coding (e.g. using directional commands, creating imaginary worlds, conditional loops, modelling and simulations). They can participate in a team of max 4 members. Teamwork is an important component of the game creation process, encourage them to exchange and work collectively on all issues from creation of landscapes, storyboard and characters development, to the design of the game cover. HOW TO ENTER? The first Kodu Kup Europe is open to 8 countries: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, and UK. Applications are now open to schools from Belgium, Finland, Greece, Estonia and Lithuania. Teachers from the above countries are invited to submit their entry by clicking HERE. You will be requested to upload two files: the kodu game and the game cover - find them on the resource page All entry materials can be submitted in the following competition languages (EN, GR, NL, FR) All team members must be within the 6 to 16 age group. More details on the rules available on the Competition Guidelines. DEADLINE: 15 September 2014 One finalist team per country will be invited to the Microsoft Center in Brussels to attend: A two-day European Coding Camp on October 13-14, 2014. The Microsoft Innovation Center Brussels will organize a programme of interactive digital trainings to develop coding expertise and computational thinking as a reward for the national finalists of Kodu Kup Europe. During this camp, pupils will further their knowledge through coding challenges, problem solving using computer science, eSkills trainings alongside pitching and teamwork skills to prepare the national finalists of Kodu Kup Europe for their presentation to the judging panel at the European Kodu Kup Final. The Kodu Kup Europe Final on October 15, 2014. This European coding competition will bring together the 8 winning national teams to battle it out in a dragons den style - each national team will pitch their winning game that they have developed through Microsoft Kodu Game Lab. Both this events are aligned with the Europe Code Week initiative. Join the competition now, start playing with coding and have fun with your class! Follow #kodukup_eu for updates and news.