In pursuit of a better world

BEING able to improve the lives of fellow humans or even to make the world a better place to live in is truly noble. Not many of us can boast of having done even a little bit to help improve the quality of life for the human race, let alone conceptualise and build a technological invention that could benefit millions across the globe.

Thousands of talented youths from around the world have been trying to do all these for the past 15 years through Microsoft’s Imagine Cup.

Dubbed the Olympics of Student Technology Competitions, the Imagine Cup is an annual global student technology contest which aims to help unleash the potential of young talents in turning great ideas into reality. Through its mastery of technology, the young generation of today has realised many innovations.

This year, in its inaugural Southeast Asian Regional Finals in Manila, the Philippines on April 24, 10 teams from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia battled for the top three spots and the chance to represent the region at the global 2017 Imagine Cup Finals to be held in Seattle in the United States in July. The World Finals will gather more than 50 student teams from all over the world, vying for the top prize of US$100,000 (RM432,900), mentorship opportunities with Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella, as well as Azure grants and credits to commercialise their winning solution.

Out of the 10 Southeast Asia teams, six teams presented new technologies to improve the lives of people across the globe. Team CIMOL from Indonesia, for example, won the top prize in the Southeast Asian regional leg with its Hoax Analyser, a web-based app to combat fake news.