COMPETITION: Virtual Victors

TEAM Cosmic’s winning solution – Virtual Paper – has bagged it an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris.

The team from Universiti Sains Malaysia – comprising Jasy Liew Suet Yan, Matthew Phiong Yoon Kheong, Ooi Keng Siang and Loo Wan Koe – won the championship at the national finals of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup held recently at the Microsoft Malaysia headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The elated students walked away with RM10,000 worth of prizes, including the trip to Paris, after beating five other teams for the honour.

Team Cosmic members beaming with joy after their win.

Team Cosmic impressed the judges with its solution aimed at creating a paperless environment via an electronic device which can substitute core functions such as writing memos, sketching notes and drafting reports.

This will ultimately cut down on paper production and impact upon environmental conservation.

Themed “Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment”, the competition drew over 1,000 entries in nine categories.

“The face of the world is changing rapidly,” said Microsoft's Malaysian Software Economy Division senior director, Tyson Dowd. “Rampant deforestation is causing the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and this is changing the ecosystem.

“While we cannot undo what has been done, we can use technology to develop solutions that can help resolve environmental issues.”

The Imagine Cup competition, now in its sixth year, will see students from all over the world compete for US$180,000 (RM584,209) worth of prizes and the chance to call themselves “world champions”.