UoM wins back the Imagine Cup, Sri Lankan Leg

The students of University of Moratuwa made their alma mater proud again by winning the much coveted Imagine Cup Sri Lanka – 2012 challenge trophy after three long years. The last time where University of Moratuwa made this important feat by winning this imagine cup was in 2008. 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 runners-up title. The team “Sharks”, also from the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa emerged as the second runners-up for their project “V Learn” adding further glory to the achievement of University of Moratuwa.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 ground-breaking solutions that could transform the world we live.  The theme of the this year’s 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 led  by Thurupathan Vijayakumar and much supported by members Malin De Silva and Rukshan Lakshitha Dangalla displayed exceptional efforts and ingenuity throughout the grand event. The winning project ‘Back2Earth’ is a software solution that focuses on addressing the issue of current 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 and intense 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 showcase and project their talents on the international field and with the fervent hope of bringing the Imagine Cup to the motherland.