Team Cosmic with their winning solution - 'Virtual Paper'Pictured here are:· Loo Wan Koe, Matthew Phiong Yoon Kheong, Ooi Keng Siang & Jasy Liew Suet Yan.
Kuala Lumpur, May 15, 2008 – The world’s premier student technology competition, Imagine Cup, is back again to challenge young minds around the globe to use their imagination, passion and creativity for technology innovations. This year, Microsoft is calling young programmers, students, artists and technologists to go green, dream big and rise to the Earth conservation driven theme of “Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment.” Participants bring their ideas to life in nine categories which spans from Technology Solutions, Skills Challenges to Digital Art.
“The face of the world is changing. Global warming is heating up the planet. Rampant deforestation is emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases. The release of millions of tonnes of pollution into the atmosphere is changing Earth’s very fragile ecosystem. And these are some of the signs that these environmental issues must be addressed immediately. While we cannot undo what has been done, we can certainly use technology to develop solutions that help solve some these critical environmental issues,” said Tyson Dowd, Senior Director, Malaysian Software Economy Division, Microsoft Malaysia.
“This year’s theme for Imagine Cup, which focuses on going green, is a fitting one given the growing concerns for the environment. For some, a sustainable environment means something as simple as breathing fresh air each time they open their window. For others it means making significant change in key environmental indicators. At Microsoft, we are inspired by the possibilities technology can influence, and are therefore calling on young technologists around the world to step up to this worthy challenge for an even worthier cause."
Industry caretaker, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) also sees the value in competitions such as these. Roslan Bakri Zakaria, General Manager of the Technopreneur Development Division said, “Competitions like the Imagine Cup are a positive step towards encouraging young people to not only apply their imagination, passion and creativity to technology innovations but also a good measure to develop future leaders who are aware of the current economic and environmental climate. This consciousness of world-issues fused with their technology skills will make their creative innovations more relevant to and able to make more effective an impact on society and its needs.”
Imagine Cup 2007 Competition in Malaysia
Leading up to the world finals in Paris, more than 1,000 entries by Malaysian students from tertiary institutions around the country were submitted for the nine Imagine Cup 2008 competing categories, reflecting a tremendous increase in participation and interest towards this competition over the years. Six selected teams battled it out in Malaysia’s finals to earn the right to represent Malaysia in the worldwide finals in Paris, France.
Announcing the winners, Dowd said, “We are pleased to bring the sixth edition of the Imagine Cup competition to Malaysia. The competition has seen many exciting submissions, and a marked difference in the level of innovation and creativity these students bring to the table, this includes Team Cosmic’s winning solution – Virtual Paper,” said Dowd.
The team, comprising of Jasy Liew Suet Yan, Matthew Phiong Yoon Kheong, Ooi Keng Siang and Loo Wan Koe of USM were crowned Malaysia’s best and walked away with RM10,000 worth of prizes, including an all-expense paid trip to Paris, France; beating five other teams for a place to compete in the Imagine Cup 2008 worldwide finals. Team Cosmic impressed the judges with their ability to develop a solution that aimed at creating a paperless environment through the use of an electronic device to substitute all core functions of the paper such as writing memos, sketching notes and drafting reports, a solution that indirectly contributes to lessening tree logging for paper production; thus building a sound case for the solution in creating a strong impact on environmental conservation on an international scale.
“Throughout the duration of this competition, we have come up with more than just a software solution. We have learnt to create an entire business model around a solution that addresses a critical social issue and one that can help make a difference in the world today. We would like to thanks Microsoft for this opportunity - the Imagine Cup is an exciting event which encourages students like ourselves to think beyond the box and allows us to demonstrate our capabilities and talents. We are very excited about the opportunity to represent Malaysia at the worldwide finals in France, and look forward to competing with the world’s top innovators. We will give it nothing but our best!”
Mr Thiagarajan Nadeson, Acting Chief Technical Officer, Peninsular Malaysia Programme, WWF-Malaysia, who participated as a judge for the Malaysia finals, said “This competition (Imagine Cup) is an excellent platform to encourage students to develop innovative, software-based solutions that addresses current social issues on the environment and as a wildlife conservationalist, this is heartening to see. Beyond this competition and with the feedback received here, these students can further fine-tune and bring their ideas to relevant markets such as forestry and recycling to make a very real impact for the environment.”
The Biggest Idea Challenge in France
Over the years, the Imagine Cup competition has gained popularity with evidence from increased participation, both locally and globally. 132,000 students from 173 countries participated in the 2007 competition. Now in its sixth year, 2008 competition in France will be the biggest of them all, the numbers have already surpassed that of last years', with more than 150,000 students participants registered only for competing rounds.
For the finals in July 2008, student country representatives from all over the world will converge at France to compete for USD $180,000 worth of cash prizes across the nine categories and the honor of calling themselves “world champions”; a platform that will spotlight their solutions for talent-scouts, giving them a stepping stone to start building their careers.
The nine categories for Imagine Cup 2008 are:
Software Design: To create real-world, dynamics and powerful software solutions using Microsoft’s .NET Framework and Windows platform to change the world for better
· Embedded Development: To build a working prototype of a device that can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems using Windows CE and the hardware
· Game Development: To create games that are not only entertaining but also conveys a social message about sustaining the environment using Microsoft’s new XNA Game Studio Express
· Project Hoshimi: To devise and implement a program for a multi-player head-to-head game
· Algorithm: To compete in a series of brain teasers, coding challenges and algorithmic puzzles
Photography: To communicate a story about creating sustainable environment using a photo essay format
· Short Film: To highlight the art and science of telling a story on “the environment” that includes taking a project from an abstract to storyboard; and finally the final product
Interface Design: To create useful and compelling user interfaces that are unique and forward thinking and connects to the theme of the Imagine Cup
Previous hosts of the Imagine Cup worldwide finals include Spain (2003), Brazil (2004), Japan (2005), India (2006) and Korea (2007).
“The face of the world is changing. Global warming is heating up the planet. Rampant deforestation is emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases. The release of millions of tonnes of pollution into the atmosphere is changing Earth’s very fragile ecosystem. And these are some of the signs that these environmental issues must be addressed immediately. While we cannot undo what has been done, we can certainly use technology to develop solutions that help solve some these critical environmental issues,” said Tyson Dowd, Senior Director, Malaysian Software Economy Division, Microsoft Malaysia.
“This year’s theme for Imagine Cup, which focuses on going green, is a fitting one given the growing concerns for the environment. For some, a sustainable environment means something as simple as breathing fresh air each time they open their window. For others it means making significant change in key environmental indicators. At Microsoft, we are inspired by the possibilities technology can influence, and are therefore calling on young technologists around the world to step up to this worthy challenge for an even worthier cause."
Industry caretaker, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) also sees the value in competitions such as these. Roslan Bakri Zakaria, General Manager of the Technopreneur Development Division said, “Competitions like the Imagine Cup are a positive step towards encouraging young people to not only apply their imagination, passion and creativity to technology innovations but also a good measure to develop future leaders who are aware of the current economic and environmental climate. This consciousness of world-issues fused with their technology skills will make their creative innovations more relevant to and able to make more effective an impact on society and its needs.”
Imagine Cup 2007 Competition in Malaysia
Leading up to the world finals in Paris, more than 1,000 entries by Malaysian students from tertiary institutions around the country were submitted for the nine Imagine Cup 2008 competing categories, reflecting a tremendous increase in participation and interest towards this competition over the years. Six selected teams battled it out in Malaysia’s finals to earn the right to represent Malaysia in the worldwide finals in Paris, France.
Announcing the winners, Dowd said, “We are pleased to bring the sixth edition of the Imagine Cup competition to Malaysia. The competition has seen many exciting submissions, and a marked difference in the level of innovation and creativity these students bring to the table, this includes Team Cosmic’s winning solution – Virtual Paper,” said Dowd.
The team, comprising of Jasy Liew Suet Yan, Matthew Phiong Yoon Kheong, Ooi Keng Siang and Loo Wan Koe of USM were crowned Malaysia’s best and walked away with RM10,000 worth of prizes, including an all-expense paid trip to Paris, France; beating five other teams for a place to compete in the Imagine Cup 2008 worldwide finals. Team Cosmic impressed the judges with their ability to develop a solution that aimed at creating a paperless environment through the use of an electronic device to substitute all core functions of the paper such as writing memos, sketching notes and drafting reports, a solution that indirectly contributes to lessening tree logging for paper production; thus building a sound case for the solution in creating a strong impact on environmental conservation on an international scale.
“Throughout the duration of this competition, we have come up with more than just a software solution. We have learnt to create an entire business model around a solution that addresses a critical social issue and one that can help make a difference in the world today. We would like to thanks Microsoft for this opportunity - the Imagine Cup is an exciting event which encourages students like ourselves to think beyond the box and allows us to demonstrate our capabilities and talents. We are very excited about the opportunity to represent Malaysia at the worldwide finals in France, and look forward to competing with the world’s top innovators. We will give it nothing but our best!”
Mr Thiagarajan Nadeson, Acting Chief Technical Officer, Peninsular Malaysia Programme, WWF-Malaysia, who participated as a judge for the Malaysia finals, said “This competition (Imagine Cup) is an excellent platform to encourage students to develop innovative, software-based solutions that addresses current social issues on the environment and as a wildlife conservationalist, this is heartening to see. Beyond this competition and with the feedback received here, these students can further fine-tune and bring their ideas to relevant markets such as forestry and recycling to make a very real impact for the environment.”
The Biggest Idea Challenge in France
Over the years, the Imagine Cup competition has gained popularity with evidence from increased participation, both locally and globally. 132,000 students from 173 countries participated in the 2007 competition. Now in its sixth year, 2008 competition in France will be the biggest of them all, the numbers have already surpassed that of last years', with more than 150,000 students participants registered only for competing rounds.
For the finals in July 2008, student country representatives from all over the world will converge at France to compete for USD $180,000 worth of cash prizes across the nine categories and the honor of calling themselves “world champions”; a platform that will spotlight their solutions for talent-scouts, giving them a stepping stone to start building their careers.
The nine categories for Imagine Cup 2008 are:
Software Design: To create real-world, dynamics and powerful software solutions using Microsoft’s .NET Framework and Windows platform to change the world for better
· Embedded Development: To build a working prototype of a device that can help solve some of the world’s toughest problems using Windows CE and the hardware
· Game Development: To create games that are not only entertaining but also conveys a social message about sustaining the environment using Microsoft’s new XNA Game Studio Express
· Project Hoshimi: To devise and implement a program for a multi-player head-to-head game
· Algorithm: To compete in a series of brain teasers, coding challenges and algorithmic puzzles
Photography: To communicate a story about creating sustainable environment using a photo essay format
· Short Film: To highlight the art and science of telling a story on “the environment” that includes taking a project from an abstract to storyboard; and finally the final product
Interface Design: To create useful and compelling user interfaces that are unique and forward thinking and connects to the theme of the Imagine Cup
Previous hosts of the Imagine Cup worldwide finals include Spain (2003), Brazil (2004), Japan (2005), India (2006) and Korea (2007).
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