Union News

USC team to represent Southern Caribbean at international competition

 Three students from the University of the Southern Caribbean will join more than 400 of the most ingenious and innovative minds from across the globe from July 8-13, 2011. They will represent the Southern Caribbean Region at the Microsoft Imagine Cup Finals in New York, USA. This year, students will showcase their imaginative ideas in using technology to help solve the world’s toughest problems.

Team Codec, as the group is called, competed against students from the tertiary institutions in Trinidad and Tobago in the local leg of the competition at the Hyatt Regency on May 16, 2011. The team consists of three final year students of USC, namely, Raees Rahim, Jasmine Farley, and Donald Modeste Jr., who presented their Software Design to the panel of judges. The project, EduVatec (Elevating Education through Technology), is an educational tool geared towards meeting the United Nations goal of achieving universal primary education. According to Mr. Rodney Rajkumar, Acting Chair, Department of Computer Science, School of Sciences and Technology, USC, this software project will help to strengthen the tripartite agreement in education between parents, teachers and students. Donald Modeste, member of Team Codec, explained that the software allows for better communication between parents, teachers and students, by utilizing game oriented teaching tools, and other features, designed to motivate the student.

The team, which won by a substantial margin, was promised internships in top IT companies in the country, with stipends from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. Also, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education, and Ministry of Public Administration have all agreed to jointly recognize the achievement of these students.

Technology has a tremendous impact on our world today, with a greater potential to lessen most of the problems that we face in our world today. The Imagine Cup therefore, gives students a chance to share their ideas for making the world a better place.

Now in its ninth year, 2011 marks the first year that the Imagine Cup Finals will take place in the United States. The Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony, the last phase of the event, will take place on July 13, 2011 in New York City, USA.

For more information on the Microsoft Imagine Cup, visit the website, www.imaginecup.com and join Team Codec on Facebook: Team Codec. 

Written by Charlie Ann St. Cyr

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