Indian students shine at Microsoft contest in Poland

BANGALORE - Six Indian students from Chennai and New Delhi secured second and third positions in the eighth Microsoft Imagine Cup world finals held in the Polish capital Warsaw, the global software major said Wednesday.

The students — Koushik Vaidhinathan, Lalitha Ashok and Kiran Kumar of Prathyusha Institute of Technology, Chennai, and Monisha Saggi, Ramya Balasubramaniam and Anwesha Bhattacharjee of Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology and University School of Management Studies, New Delhi — participated in the premier student technology competition.

The six-day event July 3-8 was organised by Microsoft Inc to encourage technology innovations by the younger generation.

The Chennai students participated in the contest under ‘Team Kola’ while Delhi students formed ‘Team Target Locked’ in the ‘Envisioning 2020′ category and won achievement awards, which challenge contestants to express their vision on how technology would transform people’s lives by 2020.

“Young people have the ability to make a positive impact on the world more than ever before. Their creativity and innovation speaks volumes about the untapped potential to make a difference in peoples’ lives, in the way we think, work and communicate,” Microsoft India Academia director Pratima Amonkar said in a statement here.

Team Kola developed a solution called ‘Electronic Lavatories’, through which the faecal waste collected after usage by every individual is analysed by sensors fitted.

“The amount of faecal waste detected is compared with two set threshold values. If the value is below the lower threshold, no payment is to the user. If it is between two thresholds, Re.1 is paid and above the thresholds Rs.2 by the system automatically. The design also reduces wasting water during flushes,” Amonkar said.

Team Target Locked developed a solution to solve hunger. It focuses on using ground and satellite surveillance with GPS (global positioning system) monitoring to track food-carrying vehicles.

“The systems will be able to detect not only changes in weather conditions but also formations for ambushes and terrorist acts that could prevent the food from reaching the desired destination,” Amonkar explained.

About 400 students from 70 countries participated in the competition after they were shortlisted from 325,000 entrants worldwide through regional and national level selection process.

“Our Imagine Cup is one way of encouraging the brightest young minds to join together and, using technology, take on the toughest problems facing the world today. This year’s competition saw some promising entries from India and two of them making it to the top three in a category reflects the rich talent pool in India,” Amonkar added.