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Manila Bulletin devider devider Malaysian students announced as winner of Microsoft Imagine Cup Asia Pacific Finals

Malaysian students announced as winner of Microsoft Imagine Cup Asia Pacific Finals

Published Apr 22, 2018 12:00 am
Microsoft crowned Team PINE from Malaysia as the winner of its second Imagine Cup Asia Pacific Regional Finals, after a nail-biting finale against 14 other teams from across the region. Six other teams were also selected to continue their journey at the Imagine Cup World Finals which will be held in Seattle in July. Team PINE developed a handheld sensing device that can help pineapple farmers efficiently and effectively evaluate optimal levels of ripeness prior to harvest, and in a non-intrusive manner. This is because traditional methods of determining ripeness use a refractometer, which subjects the fruit to destructive analysis. Team PINE’s solution aims to minimise wastage and help pineapple farmers maximise the percentage of harvest brought to market for export. The first runner-up and second runner-up places were awarded to Team BeeConnex from Thailand, and Team 7x from Singapore, respectively. Team BeeConnex from Thailand came up with the Smart Hive; an IoT device that enables beekeepers to track and monitor the health of a beehive. The device is also able to alert beekeepers when potential issues are detected within the hive. Singapore’s Team 7x created ProCubeX, an interactive smart-learning cube designed as an early intervention tool for children with dyslexia. The cube will intelligently generate an individualized education plan for dyslexic children, triggering multisensory stimulation as well as the parts of the brain responsible for language learning. In all, seven teams from the Imagine Cup APAC Regional Finals were selected to continue their innovation journey to the next level at the Imagine Cup World Finals.   The seven teams are:
  • Team PINE (Malaysia)
Champion
  • Team BeeConnex (Thailand)
1st Runner-Up
  • Team 7x (Singapore)
2nd Runner-Up
  • Team Beehive Drone (Indonesia)
Worldwide Finalist
  • Team Classum (Korea)
Worldwide Finalist
  • Team En#22.45km (Korea)
Worldwide Finalist
  • Team SochWare (Nepal)
Worldwide Finalist   The student teams will take their innovation journey to the next level at the Imagine Cup World Finals. Held in Seattle this July, the World Finals will gather more than 50 student teams from all over the world, all vying for the top prize of up to US$100,000 mentorship opportunities with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, as well as Azure grants and credits to bring their winning solution to the market. Team Onyx from the Philippines created Bionyx  – a mobile app that scans and analyzes fingernails and helps individuals easily identify diseases related to the liver, heart, lungs, and blood. They were one of 15 finalist teams who participated in the regional finals came from nine countries, including Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. These teams were selected from local finals that were held in each country earlier this year. Dave Miller, Commercial Software Engineering Lead, Microsoft Asia Pacific, said: “Imagine Cup has always strived to be the platform for students to turn their dreams into entrepreneurial realities. Every year, we have the privilege to witness great ideas from budding innovators working hard to solve pressing challenges with smart, effective solutions. We are here to help them take their first steps towards achieving their goals, and we are excited to see how their ideas will define the future we will live in.” The “People’s Choice Award”  was given to Team BeeTech from Vietnam, who developed a Smart Car Box that can help car owners pre-empt any possible complications before they occur. The team garnered admiration from fans through an online voting component of the regional finals. This year’s judging panel includes Siti Norliza Mohd Sahar, Director, Talent & Digital Entrepreneurship, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC); Kelvin Tan Cheng Kian, Programme Director, National University of Singapore Enterprise; Michael Teoh Su Lim, Founder, Thriving Talents; Bikesh Lakshminand, Founder & CEO of 1337 Ventures; Alvin Chai, UX Consultant & Co-founder of Netizen Experience; LJ Chiu, Director, Audience Evangelism, Commercial Software Engineering, Microsoft, and Chris Auld, Director, Technical Evangelist, Commercial Software Engineering, Microsoft. Michael Teoh Su Lim, Founder, Thriving Talents, said: “This year’s competition saw many outstanding projects by talented students who have the passion to solve real-world issues that many countries in the region face today.”
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