Publication on Microsoft News - UCTI Students Win Microsoft Malaysia’s Imagine Cup 2011

The following article is an extract from Microsoft News about the victory of the UCTI team in the Microsoft Imagine Cup Malaysia 2011.

Cyber Knightz develops system to help cancer patients and their loved ones in tough competition that inspires students to realize their potential.

Kuching, 6 May 2011 – Last night, team Cyber Knightz from the Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation (UCTI) emerged as the winners of the Imagine Cup 2011 Malaysia Finals for their Health3 system, and will represent the nation in the Worldwide Finals of the premiere global student technology competition in New York in July.

The students from UCTI had developed a system that for cancer patients to monitor their health, treatment and diets, as well as to help them and their loved ones to reach out online resources and to others in a similar situation.

The Health3 system was very much in keeping with the theme of this year’s competition, “Solve This,” in which participants were required to use technology to help solve real world problems as defined by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The team was announced the overall winners at a gala dinner hosted at the Pullman Hotel in Kuching Thursday night. They also won the supplementary Innovation Award, presented by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) for the solution with the most business viability.

Team Cyber Knightz was among 30 teams that took part in the national finals in Kuching. The annual event, conceptualised and organised by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Microsoft with the strong backing and support of the Ministry of Higher Education, has become known as the Olympics of student technology competitions.

“The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) looks forward to this annual collaboration with Microsoft in organising the Imagine Cup and I am happy to note that this effort has yielded amazing results in producing creative graduates with innovative entrepreneurial solutions and applications which benefit not only the participants, but the worldwide community as well,” said of  Y.B. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin, Minister of Higher Education.

“As a company at the vanguard of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Microsoft has shown its commitment to deliver its mandate to bring ICT closer to the lives of people.

“Its initiatives have brought academia and industry closer together to create a healthy environment for the students to gain new experiences and explore the world of ICT and gain access to the technology tools, skills and innovation they need to realize their full potential,” he said in a speech read by his Secretary-General, Datuk Ab Rahim Md Noor.

“Since its debut in 2003, the Imagine Cup has grown by leaps and bounds. Every year, we have seen an increase in participation. For the Malaysia Finals this year, we had 30 teams consisting of 18 teams from public universities and 12 teams from private universities,” said YBhg Prof Datuk Dr. Ahmad Yusoff, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknikal Melaka (UTeM) and Chairman of the Imagine Cup 2011 Organizing Committee.

“This encouraging response is a testament of the success of the Imagine Cup in reaching out to the hearts of students,” he added.

The Imagine Cup provides an opportunity for young people to use their creativity, passion and knowledge of technology to help solve global challenges and make a difference in the world.

The challenges are based on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aim to:

> Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
> Achieve universal primary education
> Promote gender equality and empower women
> Reduce child mortality
> Improve maternal health
> Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
> Ensure environment sustainability
> Develop a global partnership for development

“It is very heartening to see young people take on such challenges with such enthusiasm. As a technology company, Microsoft always has one eye on the future. And I can tell you that what I saw here in the competition earlier today, in terms of the idealism and dedication from the youth in Malaysia, bodes well for the nation’s future,” said Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.

“Malaysia has set some very inspiring targets for itself. It wants to become a high-income nation and to be a developed nation by 2020. This economic transformation is not merely about gathering wealth, it is about creating a better quality of life for all the rakyat. It is about harnessing the brightest minds to lead the country into its rightful place in the world.

“I saw a bit of that future at the Imagine Cup Malaysia Finals, which was a microcosm of what Malaysia aspires to be. The students here can act as catalysts to bring forth that transformation. They can catapult this country to greater heights,” Ananth added.

Since the introduction of the Imagine Cup in 2003, the number of participants worldwide has been growing steadily. This year, more than 300,000 students are expected to compete in the worldwide finals in New York City in June. The global success of the Imagine Cup is reflected in Malaysia. In 2010, about 1,200 students registered for the competition locally, and this increased to 1,671 participants this year.

A notable second in this year’s national finals was the Filius Educata team, also from UCTI, which had developed a system to tackle the issue of domestic abuse. Their project would help abused women reach out to supporting non-governmental organisations and agencies, and alter others to their plight.

Asia Science – yet another UCTI team – came in third with their power transmission automation system that tackles environmental sustainability and energy wastage. The team also took home the supplementary Presentation Superstars Award for their outstanding teamwork and presentation.

Team V-Real from Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) won the Windows Phone 7 Mobile Development Award for a solution that helps people in travel send out an SOS.

Finally, Team RGBY from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia won the Azure Cloud Computing Award for its Project Hive for a revolutionary idea around the implementation of cloud-based computing.

Malaysia’s participation in the Worldwide Finals
> In 2009, Team Cosmic and Team Capricorn, both from University Science Malaysia, took home the 1st and 3rd prize in the Unlimited Potential Design for Development Award.
> In 2010, Team HDC from APIIT-UCTI became the first Malaysian team to ever become one of the Top 6 finalists in the Software Design Category.

About the Imagine Cup
Initially branded as the Asia Pacific Student .NET Competition in 2001, and having changed its name to the Imagine Cup in 2003, this Microsoft-organized competition is held at the national and international levels. It is a competition that challenges tech-savvy, tertiary students to design the best new web services solution.  The Imagine Cup is part of Microsoft’s on-going and long-term commitment to students and academia, inspiring them to realize their full potential. For more information on the Imagine Cup, please visit www.imaginecup.com

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (www.microsoft.com/malaysia) is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation and was incorporated on July 8, 1992.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.

(Source: http://www.microsoft.com/en-my/press/archive2011/linkpage3018.aspx)