Team Nerds, a team of four students from University of Technology, Akure, represented Nigeria in the just concluded 2011 Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals held in New York, the United States of America.
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| Imagine Cup perticipants |
The student competition, which is now in its ninth year, centers on the use of imagination, creativity and technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest problems.
David Olaniyan, Oluwafemi Alaba, Taiwo Orogbangba and Toluwanimi Kolawole made it through the local and regional legs of the competition in order to secure their ticket to the worldwide finals.
Their entry, Project Medicare, is a software which solves the problems of inadequate medical support systems in rural communities.
The Imagine Cup has grown to become the world’s premier student technology competition with more than 325,000 students representing 100 countries participating in last year’s event.
This year’s competition theme was inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems”.
“We have an innovative product which we believe, when further developed, will change the face of medical care in Nigeria’s rural communities” David Olaniyan, leader, Team Nerds, said.
For Oyeshina Oyetosho, Developer and Platform Evangelism Lead, Microsoft Corporation Anglophone West Africa, “We are extremely proud of Team Nerds for making it through to the global finals and representing Nigeria.
“ We hope that they will inspire other students in Africa to develop solutions that address the challenges faced by their communities. The potential for technology to empower people can only be realized through imagination, and Team Nerds’ project is a great example of how this translates into a tangible solution to real-world problems.”
This year, more than 350 000 students from 183 countries participated in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition.
124 teams secured their places at the July 8-13 Worldwide Finals event where they competed for international recognition and $215 000 (U.S.) in cash prizes in categories including Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media, Windows Phone 7, IT Challenge, Interoperability Challenge, Windows 7 Touch Challenge and the Orchard Challenge.
The overall winner of the competition was Team Hermes from Ireland. The team designed a device that plugs into a car and monitors dangerous driving behavior and road conditions, providing instant feedback to both the driver and the car owner.
The team’s solution uses embedded technology, Windows Phone 7, Bing Maps and the Windows Azure cloud computing platform to change driving habits and reduce road deaths, which impact a significant number of young lives each year.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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