Microsoft Imagine Cup 2017

ABUAD Students in Microsoft Cup Victory Again

The streak of National and International Laurels that has been the lot of Engineering Students and Graduates of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has got a further boost with three Engineering students, “Team Beacon”, emerging the National Winners of the 2017 edition of the Microsoft Imagine Cup, the second time in two years.
The trio of ABUAD Engineering students is: Kevin Ahwin, a 500 Level Mechanical Engineering student, Etinosa Gem Akenuwa, a 300 Level Mechatronics Engineering student and Patrick IK-Esumei, a 300 Level Mechatronics Engineering student.

They were adjudged the Winners of the prestigious competition which took place at the Civic Towers, Victoria Island, Lagos on April 20, 2017 by a Panel of Experts which included Mr. Abisoye Falabi, (CTO, TalentBase Nigeria), Mr. Soromfe Uzomah (Customer & Partner Experience Manager, Microsoft) and Mr. Akinbiyi Omole (Account Manager, Microsoft).

Team Beacon, ABUAD's Winning Team, competed in the National Finals against student teams from University of Port-Harcourt, Bells Institute of Technology, Ota, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.

ABUAD’s victory this time around is coming two years after its “Team LifeWatch”, the inventor of AsthmaVisor, emerged fourth out of the five teams nominated for Imagine Cup Ability Award in the 2015 edition of Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition in Seattle, United States of America, on account of the potential impact their projects could have on the lives of people with disabilities and design principles, usability and potential in the market place.

Team LifeWatch (made up of the quartet of Adeyemo Oluwaseun Kayode, Raymond Obinaju, Sobola Timilehin David, and Ahwin Kevin) with a joint passion for saving lives, has continually been seeking to leverage on technology to make health care more efficient, accessible and reliable particularly as it affects the rural dwellers.
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Imagine Cup is the most prestigious global student technology program and competition that provides opportunities for students across all disciplines to team up and use their creativity, passion and knowledge of technology to create applications, games and integrates solutions that can change the way we live, work and play.
The Winning Solution, Beacon, for this year’s edition of the competition is a cloud-based emergency service tool that helps users to promptly report incidents and get quick assistance in emergency situations including fires, robberies and health emergencies. In addition, the solution also bridges the gap between Advanced Technology and Emergency Reporting Services while implementing a system of partnerships to provide emergency response infrastructure where that is a lacking. ‬
‬According to Akenusa, the spokesman of the Team, “Beacon enables users to request and receive timeous help in emergencies. It (Beacon) holds promise especially in countries with poor and underutilized emergency infrastructure and services. The solution also implements a range of robust accessibility improvements to help people with disabilities and those in shock, request for help during emergencies without hassle or lost time”.
He added: “The solution is easy to use and was built for speed and reliability. It has chances to address clear local and international issues. Beacon holds reasonable chances of success in its appropriate market given the progressive nature of the Team’s existing plan”. ‬
‬Beacon, which has successfully partnered with the ABUAD Students’ Representative Council (SRC) to ensure the smooth introduction and adoption of the emergency service, is set to launch in Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti to address the community’s challenges regarding easy reporting and response in emergency situations.
The Chairman, ABUAD SRC, Miebi Inokoba, according to Akenusa, has confirmed that the Beacon App will improve welfare of students and have profound impact on ABUAD and the immediate community. ‬
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With this National Victory, Team Beacon has qualified for the World Semi-Finals holding on the between May 18-20, 2017 in Lebanon where it will go head-to-head with teams from countries in the Middle East and African Regions to secure a spot in the World Finals holding in Seattle, USA come July.
Akenuwa expressed gratitude to God, ABUAD Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, the Leadership and Staff of ABUAD College of Engineering, Director of ICT and indeed the totality of ABUAD Community for giving Team Beacon the opportunity to compete among giants, with a pledge to make ABUAD, Nigeria and Africa proud once again.
He emphasized that the success of “Team Beacon” has further advertised the international quality of ABUAD students to the world, put the University itself on the global educational grid and raised prospective leaders among the future generation.
Signed
Tunde Olofintila
Head, Corporate Affairs