CAIRO - Microsoft Egypt has recently organised the final round of the local finals of Microsoft's Imagine Cup competition at the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre "TIEC". Out of 2,500 students representing 18 teams who participated in the local competition, seven teams reached the final stage out of which two teams won the local finals and will represent Egypt in The Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals that will take place in New York City, US, on July 8–13. All the participating students showcased creative new ways to use technology to solve the world's toughest problems. "Cairo Team 3", from Cairo University, Faculty of Computer Science, will represent Egypt in the global finals in the software design category while "Idea 4 u" from Ain Shams University, will represent Egypt in the embedded design category. "Held this year with the theme Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems, the Imagine Cup Competition continues to prove itself as a global phenomenon," commented Ayman Abd el-Latif, Microsoft Egypt Country Manager. "This year's round drew the participation of hundreds of thousands of students from 120 countries from allover the world, with a record increase in the number of participants from Egypt who have presented innovative projects that mainly aim at developing Egypt during the critical timings it's passing through," added Abd el-Latif. Tabeeb project that was presented by Cairo Team 3, is a web and mobile based Arabic application that aims at creating a public database for physicians categorised based on their specialisation. The project enables patients to easily locate nearby doctors and also enables physicians to create online files for their patients. The winning team from the embedded design category presented a device that serves as an eye for those who don't have that blessing of vision. The device is merely composed of eye glasses with a fixed camera that transmits audio signals which notify blind people of colours and things. The local finals ceremony was held at TIEC. “The Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre is delighted to host the finals of the imagine Cup in Egypt at its premises. Our support to this Microsoft's world's premier student technology competition is based on the many set of values it brings to our youth to prepare them to be a pioneers in building Egypt's future knowledge economy and adding to its global competitiveness. Such values are the core of what TIEC is targeting to build through an entrepreneurship and innovation cultivation culture within Egypt. “We invite all students to learn, collaborate, and make the world a better place by applying their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations that can and will change the world … Especially from Egypt." commented Tareq el-Saadani, the Director of the Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. The Imagine Cup is the world's premier student technology competition. It provides an opportunity for students to learn new skills, make new friends and change the world. The brightest young minds join together and, using technology, take on some of the world's toughest problems. From software and video games to mobile apps and videos, students create technology solutions in several categories of the competition to help improve education, healthcare, the environment and more. To provide inspiration for projects, students may address one or more of the issues outlined by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals or select an Imagine Cup Solve This Problem to solve.
