For the 11th year running, some of the world’s most talented young minds have gathered to compete in the Imagine Cup with the one unchanging goal of using Microsoft’s technologies to address real #firstworldproblems and create a positive impact in the world.
Students from Singapore were no different.
Having found victory at the national stage after pulling countless all-nighters performing rounds of intense product testing and development, two student teams made it to the worldwide finals in St. Petersburg, Russia, representing Singapore in the Innovation and Windows Phone Categories.
Four days of project showcase, pitching and a great deal of fun (judging from their photos) interacting with likeminded inventive and gifted individuals from all around the world later, our teams prepared themselves for the grand finale – the Awards Ceremony where they would find out if their projects had won a spot in the coveted top three positions.
And guess what?
Our Windows Phone Challenge team vSoft Studio consisting of three students from Nanyang Technological University emerged as WORLDWIDE CHAMPIONS!
Read about their amazing team and app which captured the hearts of the judging panel here!
Alas…our Innovation Challenge team EyeCanSee from NYP fell just short of the top glory but reserve every right to feel very honoured of the valiant effort they’ve put up and of what they have managed to achieve. Last month, in fact, they had a project showcase here in our Microsoft Auditorium which won over a crowd of over 200 techies many of whom left encouraged and inspired by their invention.
Find out more about Team EyeCanSee and their Kinect Infantry Training System here!
My Personal Thoughts
I am extremely privileged to be amidst the tech scene where I witness first-hand the empowerment that has been achieved through technology. The advancement and understanding of digital technology has brought about many conveniences and helped countless underprivileged people move forward. And though it is true that there still exists many communities who have yet to benefit from the revolution; the good news is that technology is becoming increasingly accessible. Through initiatives such as Microsoft Citizenship, many more lives can and have been ameliorated.
To me, the greatest success of the Microsoft Imagine Cup is not just in providing budding developers with an important and supportive platform for exploring their interests, or in providing them with the most professional mentorship and recommendations. Rather, what I find most noble about this competition is that it encourages them to do good, to think like a social entrepreneur, to pay-it-forward.
With their strong inquisitiveness and aptitude coupled with the best technologies, one can only imagine what these youths will achieve with a few more years of experience and refining.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvhYZKnEk5Y[/youtube]
The Microsoft Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition. Over the past ten years, more than 1.65 million students from more than 190 countries have participated in the Imagine Cup where they are connected with other whip-smart creative from all over the world to share ideas, have fun, and be there when the next big thing is unveiled.
Follow