University students win 2014 Microsoft Rwanda Imagine Cup

20, April 2014 —  The winning team of the 2014 Microsoft Rwanda Imagine Cup, a student competition which centers on the use of imagination, creativity and technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest problems, was announced this Saturday (yesterday).

This is the first time the competition had been held in Rwanda and it attracted participants from institutions such as the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, Adventist University of Central Africa, Kicukiro College of Technology and Tumba College of Technology.

As part of Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, Imagine Cup is a way for young entrepreneurs, innovators and developers to have the opportunity to develop an idea, create a product, and set a clear business plan that will take their product to market.

In total, seven teams from the universities competed during a challenging day of presentations, which brought together students from across the country.

Team Agristars, made up of four fourth year students from University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, doing their bachelors in Computer Engineering were announced overall winners after scooping awards in the world citizenship and gaming categories.

While Team Dafy took home prizes in the innovation category.Team Agristars will go on to present their Agriculture based solution, a software application they developed which analyses the fertility of the soil by one simply taking a photo of the soil with his or her phone and the software starts the analysis process.

“After analyzing, one is able to tell what nutrients are in the soil and what crops are suitable to be grown on that piece of land,” explained Dieudonne Ukurikiyeyesu, part of the winning team.

They will compete in the Imagine Cup World Semifinals, which will start next month (May) after which 10 winning teams from Africa shall be chosen to participate in the finals in Seattle, United States of America in July this year.

“We are so excited to have won today’s competition – and to have the opportunity to represent Rwanda at the semi finals,” said Ukurikiyeyesu.

Akaliza Keza Gara who was nominated as a youth member at the Microsoft 4Afrika Advisory Council said the winning team’s application had the potential to solve challenges in the agricultural sector.

“If they certainly continue working on it, it would have an impact in the future of our agriculture,” she said.

The other teams were Muhabura in the World Citizenship Category, and Attendance, Confidence, Special and Techforte teams which presented in the Innovation Category.

“Each team that competed in yesterday’s competition is deserving of the highest recognition for the creativity and imagination applied to some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re proud to honour these young students who we believe truly exemplify the spirit of the Imagine Cup competition, and we’ll be cheering team Agristars on as they compete on the world stage,” said Eric Odipo, General Manager for Microsoft East and Southern Africa.

“Imagine Cup is also directly aligned with the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative that was launched earlier this year as it drives access to technology, innovation and world-class skills. We believe deeply that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and Africa can also accelerate technology for the world,” he added.

Theogene Kayumba, director of ICT at the ministry of education thanked Microsoft for honouring their agreement with the ministry to become partners in learning and hoped that the students go on to represent Rwanda in the finals in Seattle after succeeding in the semi finals.

“These students have shown that they are doing hard work something that would encourage other students to work harder in order to competitively participate in the next years,” he said.

This round allows all of these first-place teams to be celebrated on the Imagine Cup website  so everyone can hear their stories, see their projects, and be inspired by their imagination and passion. World Semi finalists will compete against each other in a global judging round to select the few teams invited to the World Finals – but every single World Semi finalist team will be eligible for prizes including Imagine Cup’s Visual Studio Online Boost, in which nine teams will receive $1,000 each for using the cloud-based power of Visual Studio Online to collaborate, plan, and implement their projects.

More than 1.65 million students across the globe have participated in Imagine Cup during the past decade, creating applications and games that address the world’s toughest social problems.

Last year, Team Code 8 from Uganda won the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Award for their app, Matibabu, which helps detect Malaria without pricking a body part.

By attaching a Kinect sensor to a user’s finger, their malaria status is fed into their smartphone within seconds, and for free. “From the heart of Africa, here is an innovation that has the potential to save lives all over the world,” says Odipo. The team won USD 12 000 in addition to training and mentorship to develop their application.

Microsoft has been motivated by the Rwandan government’s focus on youth development through the use of technology. Imagine Cup gives an opportunity to Rwandan Students to use their imagination and their passion to create technological solutions which respond local and global challenges.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About Microsoft YouthSpark

Microsoft YouthSpark is a global initiative that aims to create opportunities for 300 million youth in more than 100 countries during the next three years. This companywide initiative includes Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and other company programs — both new and enhanced — empowering youth to imagine and realise their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship.