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Capping six months of intense competition that spanned universities in the Eastern Mediterranean region and fused technological expertise with innovative spirit, Microsoft Malta Limited, granted due recognition to the team from the University of Malta, which placed second in the regional competition of the annual Imagine Cup student technology competition. The Maltese team, composed of Richard Vella and Mark Chircop, were awarded a prize in recognition of their efforts and quality of the project submitted.
The Imagine Cup, an annual student technology competition that provides an outlet for university students to explore technological and artistic interests outside the classroom, represents one of many ways in which Microsoft is enabling the world’s community of students to realise their full potential.
Worldwide Imagine Cup teams were invited to compete with the theme: “Imagine a world where technology dissolves the boundaries between us.”
“This contest is designed to energise the creativity and technical savvy inherent within student technologists throughout the world. It empowers students to apply their creativity, knowledge and technical abilities towards making the world not only a more-connected place but also a better place through technology,” said Nick Tonna, the Microsoft Technology Specialist, who coordinated the Maltese involvement in the competition. He added: “The pioneering spirit of young people in Malta is vitally important to the computer science, engineering and business disciplines as well as the high-tech industry overall.”
Over the past 3 years, the Imagine Cup has experienced tremendous growth in the number of students participating and the number of countries and universities represented. Participation by Maltese educational institutions was made possible following the signing of a vertical strategic alliance between the government and Microsoft Malta Limited in June 2004.
A new service on the online developers’ community site, “Connect”, was announced. This service entitles the students of the ‘.NET clubs’ in universities to upload their projects and make them available for local partners in each country and match them with job opportunities. “Connect” is a Microsoft Developer Community, serving all developers living in the East Mediterranean region covering Lebanon, Jordan, Malta, Cyprus, and Syria. It is devoted to improve developers’ skills and development practices and aims at being a community for the local developers in order to provide them with valuable opportunities to boost their skills.
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