Microsoft announces winners of Imagine Cup 2012 in Vietnam

The Imagine Cup is a key endeavor by Microsoft to help Vietnam’s information and communication technology industry achieve its goals of building human capital to improve the country’s economic competitiveness.

Imagine Cup is recognised as the world’s premier student technology competition which provides an opportunity for students to use their creativity, passion and knowledge of technology to help solve the world’s toughest societal challenges.

“The Imagine Cup has become a global movement that allows students to be creative, explore their potential and learn from each other regardless of national boundaries or location. The competition also helps students find prospective solutions for specific real-world challenges and kick-starts their entrepreneurial development,” said Vincent Quah, Academic & New Markets lead, Microsoft Asia Pacific.

Since the first local competition in2004, Imagine Cup has been well-received by school administrators and teachers and is seeing increased participation by young people across the country. More than 1,000 students from throughout Vietnam registered for this year’s competition, vying to provide solutions that tackle the contest’s theme: “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.”

“The projects the students in Vietnam have developed highlight the incredible things that can happen when great ideas and determination come together,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer, Microsoft Corporation.

“I truly believe that through the combination of the participant’s passion and use of technology, they can and will make a positive impact for future generations,” he continued.

“Vietnam has enormous potential to become a powerhouse in the technology world. We are fully committed to help develop a knowledge workforce that has the power to help transform Vietnam’s economy. We strongly believe that Vietnam’s greatest asset is its people and Microsoft will continue investing in Vietnam’s incredible talent pool through programmes like Imagine Cup and Dreamspark,” he added.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Dam Bach Duong, deputy head of  Hitech Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology said: “Microsoft’s Imagine Cup is a very helpful playground for Vietnamese youth whichinspires and creates opportunities for students to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow. I am happy that the winner will be chosen to represent Vietnam at the global competition and it is a great chance for the Vietnam team to showcase their talent and ingenuity at an international level.”

The government of Vietnam expects the IT industry will contribute 20 – 23 per cent  its GDP and that the IT workforce will reach international standards by 2020.

Competitions like the Imagine Cup are an opportunity for all Vietnamese youth to play an active role in contributing to the national goal of reaching 60^th on the ITU ICT Development Index.

“Technology has tremendous potential to help solve humanitarian problems and Imagine Cup provides a platform to share my ideas for making the world a better place. I am grateful that Microsoft provides this engaging and helpful competition to make a positive impact on our future,” said Nguyen Tran Tri, team member of GP3Sthe first prize winner.

The top three winning projects from Vietnam in Imagine Cup 2012 are:

·         The first winner: GP3S team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry with the project “Public problems warning system”

·         The runner-up: 6Fingers team of Hanoi FPT University with the project “Maritime Information Visualisation”

·         The second runner-up: C4B team of Hanoi University of Science and Technology with the project “BiboCare – A solution for communication with infant babies through mobile devices”