Two teams from the School of Computing and Information Engineering have been successful in getting through to the Ireland final of the Imagine Cup 2010. The ADDS & SHAUN teams are groups of first years students studying Computing at Coleraine, mentored by PhD students within the School. The two teams go head to head against 10 other teams in a two day final in Dublin on April 28th and 29th.
ADDS is a system that unites the voluntary work of Government bodies and charities worldwide in preparing for and dealing with natural disasters including: earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, famine, droughts and diseases. It enables provision of aid and resources to victims to meet their basic human rights such as food, drinking water, shelter and warmth.
Real time data visualisation of aid relief teams enables organisations such as the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to quickly and efficiently locate the teams closest to the affected areas that have the relevant skills and supplies. ADDS will enable a rapid response, helping the people who are affected by such human suffering to get the basic requirements that they need to live.
The SHAUN software is designed to help autistic children at primary school level develop their inter-communication skills, in order to improve the quality of education that can be provided to them. This will ensure that they will receive a full primary education and thus be more prepared for secondary learning and their everyday lives. The system would aim to provide future opportunities for modification into a home version that would help parents deal with their children’s needs outside school.
Both teams are developing their software using Microsoft technologies and have been greatly assisted by David Gibson, a current final year student, who is the Microsoft Student Partner for the Coleraine campus.
Dr Michaela Black says "This type of competition offer students a great experience as a team of developers creating a valuable solution to a real world problem. This is a great achievement for these first year pupils within the School. The dedication of the teams, their mentors and the School staff has been fantastic – what a great opportunity for the students’ personal development. They must now prepare for the finals where they will have to showcase and market their ideas and software to the judges in Dublin – true Dragons' Den style."
Students from the School have had previous success in this competition with the Phonic Fun team coming second in 2007, followed by Enviro-KUDOS team making to the finals in 2008 with their advergaming within social networking.
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Dr Michaela Black
