Microsoft, Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), Tamkeen and eGovernment Authority announced the names of the three winning teams of Imagine Cup 2015 Pan Arab Semi-Finals. Team T2 from Tunisia, Team BCR from Palestine and Team Freedom Fragrance from UAE will travel to Seattle to represent the Arab World at the Worldwide Finals. Team BCR from Palestine was named Arab World Champion taking home the Imagine Cup trophy and a special award, a one-week internship at Tech Wadi, Silicon Valley.
The event was held under the Patronage of Prince Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Economic Development Board in the presence of an array of dignitaries and delegates from Bahrain and the Arab World.
The ‘Readathon’ project by team Kitabi from Oman won the second place in the World Citizenship category; ‘Readathon’ is a revolutionary mobile applicat-ion that allows users to read books online in a smart marathon-like manner and connects them with their family and friends who encourage them, as a group, to read and benefit from useful information.
‘Back in Time’ by Team T2, winner of Games category, is a 3D game where the player incarnates as a young character in a post-apocalyptic era. Earth is destroyed by a nuclear war and most of its population has been turned into zombies. The player will travel back in time to save the world by infiltrating military zones and disable nuclear heads in it.
‘Brain Controlled Robot’ by BCR Team, winner of Innovation category, uses EEG signals or brain waves-reading technology to help paralysed people around the world communicate with the people around them and also give them access to control things that make them partially independent on others help.
‘LAMAPP’ by Team Freedom Fragrance, winner of World Citizenship category, is a mobile application that provides the community (victims and passers-by) with a reliable reporting tool that enables them to record a video when an abuse is happening in public and record an audio when abuse is happening behind closed doors. The chief executive of the EDB, H E Khalid al Rumaihi commended the winners on their achievement. “We are pleased to support initiatives which offer young people in Bahrain the opportunity to develop their knowledge and exchange their experiences with peers from different Arab countries.”
H E Rumaihi wished the winners the best on their journey to the global stage while encouraging all the teams to build on what they’ve learnt and use their applications and ideas to tackle tough problems and change the world.
“Technology has become an integral part of everyday life and today, it is the reason to celebrate Bahrain and the young bright minds from across the Arab World,” said Sherif Tawfik, regional country manager for Microsoft in Bahrain and Oman. The Imagine Cup aims to reduce the opportunity gap and build an information society through youth empowerment and ease of access to technology, innovation and world-class skills.
The Imagine Cup Pan Arab Semi-Finals is a series of contests that bring together the brightest young minds from Arab countries to showcase student innovation. Thirty-six student teams, first-prize winners of the national rounds of Imagine Cup 2015 from 13 Middle East and North African countries competed for the Imagine Cup 2015 Pan Arab Champion title. The teams presented their projects to different judging panels, two panels for each of the 3 categories; they assessed the projects based on the criteria for each category including concept, execution, use of technology, relevance to the category and feasibility. Teams T2, BCR and Freedom Fragrance will compete at the World Finals in Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle in July.