University of Moratuwa wins back the Imagine Cup

The students of the University of Moratuwa made their alma mater proud again by winning the much coveted Imagine Cup Sri Lanka – 2012 challenge trophy after four long years. The team “V360” from the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa emerged victorious at the grand competition held at Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, Malabe on 27th April 2012. The team CR Coderzs from the Informatics Institute of Technology won the first runner-up. The team “Sharks”, also from the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa won the second runners-up for their project “V Learn”. Microsoft Imagine Cup is the premier global student technology competition where student innovators around the globe use their creativity and the power of technology to build groundbreaking solutions that transform the world we live. The theme of the competition has been “IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE TECHNOLOGY HELPS SOLVE THE TOUGHEST PROBLEMS”; as declared by the United Nations as the millennium development goal. The victorious team lead by Thurupathan Vijayakumar and much supported by members Malin De Silva and Rukshan Lakshitha Dangalla displayed exceptional effort and ingenuity throughout the grand event. The winning project ‘Back2Earth’ is a software solution that focuses on addressing the issue of environmental destruction and lack of human motivation to counteract it. The project comprises a mobile application to tag, monitor, run, and evaluate a given pollution point through crowd sourcing, information sharing, and transmitting the validated data to authorities of environmental protection. It also incorporates a gaming element to gather and retain the interest of social media users through Facebook to keep them alert and interested in contributing to a social cause. In brief, the project is an all in one solution that combines education with entertainment to commit to a global cause. This concept is in line with the 7th Millennium Development Goal as proposed by the United Nations. Having walked away with the ‘finalist’ Award after a tough competition the team V360 eagerly awaits the busy two months before heading to Sydney, Australia to participate in the International Imagine Cup 2012. The team looks forward to showcasing their talent on the international field and bringing the Imagine Cup to the motherland. We, at the Faculty of Information Technology wish the champions “V360” and runners up “Sharks” all the best and support their endeavor to bring World Imagine Cup 2012 home.