By Peter Alagos
Business Reporter
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Global student technology competitions like the Imagine Cup play a vital role in providing students with the opportunity to become successful entrepreneurs in the future.
This was the message of HE the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Dr Hessa al-Jaber when she addressed organisers and participants at the recently held Microsoft Imagine Cup Pan-Arab semi-finals in Doha.
HE the Minister described the Imagine Cup as “an invaluable foundation for students and entrepreneurs to build their technology skills and… grow a lasting legacy in the region”.
“Over the past decade, Qatar has made great strides in building an advanced ICT sector and supporting the young people whose ideas move that sector forward. The skills that each student will take home from the Imagine Cup are absolutely essential not only for building a business but also for building successful careers in the generations to come,” HE Dr al-Jaber said.
Microsoft (Mena) Developer and Startups director Amintas Lopes Neto added that the software giant is investing in education to foster jobs and opportunities, regardless of which direction the student takes after graduating from college.
“For sure, this kind of opportunity will help advance graduates in their careers. And if they want to start their own businesses, it will definitely provide some kind of experience,” Neto said.
Microsoft Corporation Online Evangelism senior director Naseem Tuffaha told Gulf Times that the company believes in the power of students and helps them develop skills that will enable them to establish their own companies in the future.
“We know that students have started some of the most successful companies in this industry and there’s really no limit to their potential. Ultimately, we are trying to help students develop skills that will help them start their own companies through a series of programmes,” Tuffaha said.
He added that winning teams of the Imagine Cup will be given the opportunity, through the Microsoft’s accelerator programmes, to experience the various phases small and medium-sized enterprise owners go through when establishing and running their respective businesses. “Through a very exclusive experience and month-long mentorship training, the students will get access to the best resources available and will be treated in the same way the best startups are treated around the world,” Tuffaha said.
A team composed of two senior students from Qatar University and another team from Bahrain will represent the Arab region in the finals of the Worldwide Imagine Cup to be held on July 29 in Seattle.
The Imagine Cup 2014 worldwide finals is Microsoft’s established global student technology competition where students will present projects that tackle pressing problems using the company’s technology platforms.
