IMAGINE CUP. Team Pi/4 of the Ateneo de Manila
University won this year's Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008 for the software
design category. They developed a software application that hopes to
encourage people to choose products that are friendlier to the
environment. The team is composed of Salvador Reyes, 19; Wilhamsen
Joseph Li, 19; and Rodrick Tan, 20. Reyes and Li are both computer
science students, while Tan is a management engineer. Li, however, is
also pursuing a major in math. Video taken by INQUIRER.net technology
reporter Erwin Oliva in Makati City, Philippines.
By Erwin Oliva INQUIRER.net First Posted 15:53:00 04/15/2008
MAKATI CITY, Philippines – A team from the Ateneo de Manila University that developed a software application that helps people choose environmentally friendly products has won this year's Microsoft Imagine Cup.
Joining for the second time, the Ateneo team developed an ad hoc software application that uses a database to help people compare products they buy to find out if they are making an environmentally friendly decision.
The winning team, Team Pi/4, comprises Salvador Reyes, 19; Wilhamsen Joseph Li, 19; and Rodrick Tan, 20. Reyes and Li are both computer science students, while Tan is taking up management engineering. Li, however, is also pursuing a major in math.
On its sixth year, Imagine Cup is a competition run by Microsoft that challenges students to "imagine a better world empowered by technology." This year's winner will compete with students from around the world in global finals in Paris, France in July.
This year, Microsoft required student teams to develop software application that "enables a sustainable environment."
"What we developed was a product recommender," said Tan, as he explained a prototype that the team presented to a panel of judges. "There will be a ranking system based on the product specifications," Tan explained.
"Our goal is to inform consumers. With our software application, you can look for products and make an informed decision that is also friendly to the environment," he said.
Initially, the prototype runs on a computer desktop, Li said. However, the software application has been designed to also function on an embedded system, a mobile phone or any device that is connected to the Internet, he added.
The planning of the software took three months, while the actual development of the application took a week, Li said.
"We're relieved that we're not the second place anymore," quipped Tan, when asked how they felt about winning this year's Microsoft Imagine Cup.
Five teams qualified for the software design category for Philippine finals of the Imagine Cup 2008. These teams include Team Pi/4, Team Tibecom – both from Ateneo; Team Prairie Watch from De La Salle-College of St. Benilde; Team IMI 2.0 from Colegio de San Juan de Letran; and Team Tala, which was a team composed of students from the University of the Philippines, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Philippine Christian University.
More than 1,500 teams from universities and high schools in the country registered to qualify for the early stages of the competition, Microsoft Philippines said.
Judges of this year's competition represented environmental groups, industry, Microsoft, and a software company.
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