Microsoft NZ Student and Academic Blog : Imagine Cup 2009

Imagine Cup WWF Update

nzacad — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:09:00 GMT

Imagine Cup New Zealand Winners miss out on the top 12 spots for the Software Design Finals. Check out the Imagine Cup Blog to get full results and the Imagine Cup NZ Facebook Group to follow the team as they handle the hot sun of Egypt.

Win an XBOX360 + 2 games or 1 of 4 copies of Halo2 for PC

nzacad — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:03:00 GMT

Win an XBOX360 + 2 games or 1 of 4 copies of Halo2 for PC

How:

Go to www.imaginecup.co.nz/community and make a post on the wall of an idea (doesn’t matter how wild or crazy) that could solve the world’s toughest problems today (anything works!).

When:

Each week in June, a person at random who has posted an idea will be chosen as a winner of a copy of Halo2 PC Game. The winner will be announced on the Imagine Cup NZ Facebook page and will have two days to contact icnz@micrsoft.com to claim their prize, otherwise another recipient will be selected. Please note that multiple posts by one user will be counted as one entry. Imagine Cup organisers will randomly draw the lucky winners, the competition will last for the entire month of June, at the end of June one lucky person will be randomly drawn to win an XBOX360 + 2 games.

Who:

NZ residents are eligible for this competition, just go to www.imaginecup.co.nz/community and start posting ideas. Everyone who posts an idea will go into the weekly draws in June.

Advice –

keep checking the www.imaginecup.co.nz/community to find out if you’ve won.

Dates on Competition

Begins now
First Draw – 8th June
Second Draw – 15th June
Third Draw – 22nd June
Fourth Draw – 29th June
Final Draw – 29th June

Good Luck!!!

Juice TV At the Imagine Cup Finals

nzacad — Tue, 12 May 2009 06:40:00 GMT

Juice TV At The NZ Imagine Cup Finals

Peoples Choice Award

nzacad — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:54:00 GMT

Winners of the Imagine Cup Peoples Choice Award

Team Think

Synopsis on Top 6 Imagine Cup Teams

nzacad — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:43:00 GMT

Synopsis on Top 6 Imagine Cup Teams

Team Ahurei - from AUT have implemented a new mobile phone-based notification system to reduce the destruction of forest/trees due to fires. Using sensors remotely deployed around a given area, signals based on changes in temperature are sent to a central software program. The program processes the signal and sends an ‘early detection warning’ message to the appropriate organisations via both mobile and software channels.
Team Biometritec - from the University of Auckland created an embedded mobile phone technology which tracks, connects, and reunites families and communities separated by catastrophes. The concept design gathers personal information of individuals separated by disasters through a mobile device. The information is then transferred to a central core server, which manipulates the data and checks if there are any resemblances with other individuals. This information is then sent back to the operator informing them of any matches.
Team Bolty - from Victoria University wrote software which utilises social engineering to encourage power savings in the office and reduce carbon footprints. The prototype consists of a web application that measures the power consumed by a individuals computer. This is stored on a central database with the information being updated regularly; this information is then compared to other departments within a given organisation competing for the least amount of power consumed. Creating an environment of social competition which in turn leads to power savings.
Team Pigeongrape - from the University of Auckland developed a simulated game environment which teaches educational concepts like physics for kids in a fun and engaging way. The prototype has been created in an effort to encourage better education using technology. Many software education tools have been found to be uninteresting and cumbersome to use. Pigeongrape have created an interactive game to help both teachers and high school students get excited about learning.
Team Think - from Lincoln University aimed to improve education by building a tablet and simple PC interface. Team Think have identified that learning reading and writing requires that you practice through verbal communication and hand gestures. To this end, they have devised a program that can be used on tablets, that provides both hand written recognition and audio output, teaching users how to read and write. They hope to take this prototype to developing countries that have computers but aren’t being used due to literacy issues.
Team The Wild Bunch - from the University of Canterbury addressed food production by using aerial photography to help farmers more efficiently plant and harvest their crops. Combining low-cost model helicopters and mobile phones, their solution aims to build a buffer in the world’s food supply. Team Wild Bunch see this having an impact on developing countries using their prototype to identify areas of land ideal for farming.

2009 NZ IC Finals

nzacad — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:14:00 GMT

Snap Shot of 2009 NZ Imagine Cup Finals

2009 NZ Imagine Cup Winners

nzacad — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:09:00 GMT

2009 NZ Imagine Cup Winners

A team of students from Lincoln University has won the national finals of the 2009 Microsoft Imagine Cup, and will represent New Zealand at the worldwide Imagine Cup finals in Cairo, Egypt this July. This year’s theme was to use technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Team Think addressed this challenge in their winning entry by aiming to improve education through a simple tablet and PC interface. They identified that learning reading and writing requires practice through verbal communication and hand gestures. To this end, they devised a program for tablets that provides both handwriting recognition and audio output, eliminating the need for basic literacy to understand lessons or instructions. They hope to take this prototype to developing countries that have underutilised computers due to literacy issues.

A field of 88 teams from around New Zealand entered the Imagine Cup, narrowed through regional competitions judged in conjunction with strategic partner organisations Intergen, Provoke, NextSpace, New Zealand Computing Society TechNZ and Fronde. The national winner was chosen from six presenting teams by a panel of judges at the national finals last night at the University of Auckland Business School. Team Think will now have the chance to win the USD$25,000 cash grand prize awarded at the worldwide competition.

Imagine Cup NZ 2009 Finals Countdown

nzacad — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:01:00 GMT

Imagine Cup NZ Finals 2009 Countdown - Your Opportunity To View The Top NZ Teams!!

Till The NZ Finals. Be There!!!

Imagine NZ Finals - 29th April 2009

nzacad — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:23:00 GMT

IMAGINE CUP NZ FINALS 2009

The 2009 Imagine Cup Finals will be held on Wednesday the 29th of April at the Business School, University of Auckland.

For the first time in NZ, this is been made open to the general public.

This is your chance to view the top 6 NZ teams competing for the grand prize of an all expenses paid trip to Egypt to take part in the World Wide Finals.

The event kicks off at 6.30pm with doors opening after 6pm. Please be seated by 6.20pm.

To add to the excitement, we will be giving away 3 XBOX360's throughout the event for 3 lucky attendees.

Food and drink will be provided.

Please register either here to confirm your attendance and entry into the prize draw: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032407086&Culture=en-NZ

Or on our Facebook Page:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=718263641&k=32LUZ5RX3WZMXJGFWGXTV

The Top Six Teams Listed Below:

Team PigeonGrape - University of Auckland
Team Think - Lincoln University
Team Ahurei - AUT
Team Biometritec - University of Auckland
Team Bolty - Victoria University
Team The Wild Bunch - University of Canterbury

Come and support your local team - see you there!!!

- Don't forget to vote for your favorite videos to go in the draw to win one of two XBOX360's or 1 of 10 copies of Office Pro - http://www.microsoft.com/nz/imaginecup09/TeamVideos.aspx - competition closes midnight 27th April.

Team Soak - 2008 Imagine Cup Software Design Winners

nzacad — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:11:00 GMT

Team Soak - 2008 Imagine Cup Software Design Winners

For the NZ teams getting ready to present their project for the Round 1 2009 competition. Watch the video below and get some tips from the Australian winning team from the 2008 Imagine Cup Competition.

Imagine Cup NZ Finals

nzacad — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:21:00 GMT

Imagine Cup Workshop

nzacad — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:20:00 GMT

Imagine Cup Workshop- Friday 5th of December

The Imagine Cup NZ Organisers are having a workshop on Friday the 5th of December at the University of Auckland. This workshop is open to all students and competitors. The workshop will be held in the Engineering Building, Room 1.401, from 2-6pm. Engineering Building is located on the corner of Symonds Street and Grafton Rd, opposite the recreation center in the city.

The workshop will cover of the key aspects of the competition and what to think about to be a competitive team. Those that are still not sure if they want to take part, this is your opportunity to find out more. We will also help those competitors still looking for team mates to form a team.

Check out our Facebook Imagine Cup NZ page and register for the event. Like any other Microsoft event, there will be prizes...so see you there.

NZ Imagine Cup Facebook Group

nzacad — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:50:00 GMT

Join the NZ Imagine Cup Facebook Group and Stay Up To Date!!!

Imagine Cup - Time to Build Teams

nzacad — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:46:00 GMT

Imagine Cup - Time to Build Teams

NZ Imagine Cup Team have started engaging with registrants in helping them build teams and set them up with an industry mentor. There is still lots of time, you can take part at anytime between now and the end of the competition, 31st March 2009. The best thing to do is set up a team now, other members can join later and the NZ Team will connect you with an Industry Mentor. Go to http://www.imaginecup.co.nz/ to find out more or just email icnz@microsoft.com and ask one of the organisers any questions you have.

Imagine Cup NZ Organisers Coming to a Campus Near You

nzacad — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:10:00 GMT

Ready to take on the Imagine Cup Competition?

The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier IT competition. The 2009 Imagine Cup Competition has launched. The Imagine Cup Team will be coming to a campus near you. This is your chance to come and hear more about the competition, the process, the benefits, the prizes.

The Imagine Cup Team will also be bringing with them a heap of spot prizes to give away during this informal session. So what do you have to lose, look at the table below, find out when we're coming to your campus and block your calendar.

Don’t forget to register (www.imaginecup.co.nz) for this competition to also be into win 1 of 10 software/hardware prize packs!

Institute	Date	Room
*University of Waikato*	9th September	Room: IG02 Start Time: 2.10pm
*Wintec*	9th September	Room: C.16 Start Time:11am
Victoria University of Wellington Session 1	15th September	Room: EALT 006 Start Time: 3pm
Victoria University of Wellington Session 2	15th September	Room: EALT 006 Start Time: 4pm
*WELTEC*	15th September	Room: TBA Start Time: TBA
*UCOL*	16th September	Room: TBA Start Time: TBA
Massey University Palmerston North	16th September	Room: TBA Start Time:TBA
*CPIT*	17th September	Room: N104 Start Time: 12pm
University of Canterbury Session 1	17th September	Computer Science Building :: Ground Floor :: Room: 031 Start Time: 2pm
University of Canterbury Session 2	17th September	Computer Science Building :: Ground Floor :: Room: 031 Start Time: 3pm
Otago University Session 1	19th September	Room: 2.07 Start Time: 12pm
Otago University Session 2	13th March	Room: 2.07 Start Time: 1pm
*MIT*	22nd September	Room: NR216 Start Time: 3pm
*Otago Polytechnic*	19th September	Room: TBA Start Time: TBA

Microsoft NZ Student and Academic Blog : Imagine Cup 2009

Imagine Cup WWF Update

Win an XBOX360 + 2 games or 1 of 4 copies of Halo2 for PC

Win an XBOX360 + 2 games or 1 of 4 copies of Halo2 for PC

How:

When:

Who:

Advice –

Dates on Competition

Good Luck!!!

Juice TV At the Imagine Cup Finals

Juice TV At The NZ Imagine Cup Finals

Peoples Choice Award

Winners of the Imagine Cup Peoples Choice Award

Team Think

Synopsis on Top 6 Imagine Cup Teams

Synopsis on Top 6 Imagine Cup Teams

2009 NZ IC Finals

Snap Shot of 2009 NZ Imagine Cup Finals

2009 NZ Imagine Cup Winners

2009 NZ Imagine Cup Winners

Imagine Cup NZ 2009 Finals Countdown

Imagine Cup NZ Finals 2009 Countdown - Your Opportunity To View The Top NZ Teams!!

Imagine NZ Finals - 29th April 2009

IMAGINE CUP NZ FINALS 2009

The Top Six Teams Listed Below: Team PigeonGrape - University of AucklandTeam Think - Lincoln UniversityTeam Ahurei - AUTTeam Biometritec - University of AucklandTeam Bolty - Victoria UniversityTeam The Wild Bunch - University of Canterbury

Team Soak - 2008 Imagine Cup Software Design Winners

Team Soak - 2008 Imagine Cup Software Design Winners

Imagine Cup NZ Finals

Imagine Cup Workshop

Imagine Cup Workshop- Friday 5th of December

NZ Imagine Cup Facebook Group

Join the NZ Imagine Cup Facebook Group and Stay Up To Date!!!

Imagine Cup - Time to Build Teams

Imagine Cup - Time to Build Teams

Imagine Cup NZ Organisers Coming to a Campus Near You

Ready to take on the Imagine Cup Competition?

The Top Six Teams Listed Below:

Team PigeonGrape - University of Auckland
Team Think - Lincoln University
Team Ahurei - AUT
Team Biometritec - University of Auckland
Team Bolty - Victoria University
Team The Wild Bunch - University of Canterbury