The winning team from University of Malta, DonationExpress, clinched the annual national prize of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup. The team, made up of four members, Mauro Pirrone, Keith Galea, Brian Fenech and James Abela, will travel and participate in the worldwide finals being held in Egypt between 3 and 8 July.
Microsoft Malta hosted the Imagine Cup presentation of the Malta finals at the Hilton Business Conference Center in Portomaso. This year Microsoft called on young people around the world to rise to this challenge: “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.” The current theme and for the next three years is based on the 8 UN millennium goals.
In his opening address, Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman Europe Microsoft Corporation, said: “Microsoft has introduced the Imagine Cup in 2002 – a competition that challenges students to use their technology skills and imagination. We are proud that Malta has a record of producing successful entrants.”
Three finalists competed for the grand first prize to represent Malta at the Imagine Cup finals. MCAST was represented by AidEngine and mentored by Ryan Attard, Mark Farrugia and Aaron Gusman, University of Malta by DonationExpress and mentored by John Abela and Kris Guillaumier and STC Training by R.E.M.S and mentored by Jeremy Pullicino.
The esteemed panel of judges comprised of five industry experts, namely Jonathan Cassar from MITA, Adrian Porter from Exigy, Joseph Borg from ICON Studios, Steve Giordano Imbroll from 6pm and Steve Casaletto from Key Services had the tough job of selecting a finalist from the very talented and innovative teams.
Jonathan Cassar, chairperson of the judging panel commented on the high quality of the submissions and the tough job they had in choosing a winner. “The students put a lot of effort. I believe they will be an asset to the local technical community as it moves into the future. It has been a great honour to be part of the Imagine Cup experience.”
Microsoft Malta has run the competition successfully for the past four years. This year students at MCAST, University of Malta and Swatar Training Centre took part not only in the Software Design category, but also Robotics and Mashup.
Imagine Cup is an annual competition sponsored and hosted by Microsoft, which brings together young technologists worldwide to help resolve some of the world’s toughest challenges. Primarily a software design competition, it enlists teams of four within University and higher education institutions to submit software solutions addressing a specifically provided theme. Started in 2002, it has steadily grown in size, where in 2008, 210,000 competitors representing over 100 countries competed.