AUK Women, Champions of the Gulf Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition For Software Design

"THEY WANT THEY DO" was the final statement of the AUK team as they concluded their presentation before they were announced as the Gulf Microsoft Imagine Cup Champions in Dubai on May 3.

Imagine Cup is the world's premier competition for technology students. It is different in nature from other technology competitions as it focuses on creative solutions that tackle current world issues like poverty, healthcare, education and environment.

The Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations that can help make a difference in the world.

In an intense competition atmosphere between 10 teams from Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE, the AUK - all-women team - brought victory to Kuwait and made it through to the world finals to take place in Warsaw, Poland from July 3-8.

AUK's Mariam Al-Najdi, Aisha Al-Rouwaished and Abrar Amin are the first Kuwaiti team to win the Imagine Cup regional competition of software design. Under the mentorship of Dr. Amir Zeid, Program Lead of Computer Science at AUK, they created a software solution (They Want They Do - TWTD) that allows physically handicapped students to use computers for educational purposes. Their project was a winning idea for the value it adds to supporting the disabled and eliminating barriers to their education.

One of the other key factors that made TWTD stand out was its relatively low cost and ease of use in comparison to expensive software and hardware that currently exists for the physically challenged.

AUK has also won the "Mobile Application Development" category of the Gulf Imagine Cup competition last year, with a different team participating under the mentorship of Dr. Zeid.

"We are very proud of our students and excited to represent the university and the Gulf at the world finals in July," said the team's mentor, advisor and coach Dr. Amir Zeid. "We believe Imagine Cup is an excellent platform to provide an outlet for students to explore technological and artistic interests outside the classroom. We commend Microsoft for giving them an opportunity to demonstrate their talents and help them to realize their potential."
 

The AUK winning team with Dr. Amir Zeid