Three teams from Qatar in Imagine Cup finals

By Joseph Varghese/Staff ReporterThree teams from Qatar have qualified for the Imagine Cup Pan-Arab Finals taking place in June. The teams are “QU-Mechatronics” from Qatar University in the Innovation category; “The Tartans” from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar in the World Citizenship category; and “Team Al Zubara” as the winner from the Gaming category. The winners as well as the details of the competition were announced by the officials of the competition yesterday. Reem al-Mansoori, assistant undersecretary of digital society development sector, ictQATAR; Naim Yazbeck, general manager, Microsoft Qatar; and Abdul Salam Knio, managing partner, ICT, took part in the event.The national competitions last week, saw participation from teams representing Qatar University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Texas A&M University in Qatar, and Manchester University.Held under the patronage of HE Dr Hessa Sultan al-Jaber, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, the Imagine Cup national finals featured three categories - Innovation, World Citizenship, and, for the first time in Qatar, Gaming. Al-Mansoori said Qatar aims at creating a catalyst incubating atmosphere that would drive youth towards creativity and innovation in technology through a number of specialised initiatives and programmes. “We continuously seek new ideas and projects to incubate, develop, and sponsor,” he said.Yazbeck noted that students in Qatar have again proven that they are defining the next chapter of local and regional tech innovation. “We are proud that Microsoft devices and services can be such a powerful enabler of that future.”Knio, from ICT, the sole sponsor of this year’s Imagine Cup Qatar Finals, said his company’s partnership with Microsoft in bringing innovation events to life underscores the commitment to partnering with the leading supportersof technology in Qatar.Team “QU-Mechatronics” from Qatar University developed ‘Robo-Barista’, a machine that can draw on the top of the creamy layer of a coffee cup using chocolate syrup. It is attached to a device with a touch screen. The user can draw anything on the screen that they would like to see in their cup. “The Tartans” from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar presented ‘WeServe’, a crowdsourcing web application that provides a platform for inspired service groups to write proposals and request funding, in addition to being able to explore areas in the world where there are ongoing or completed projects. “Team Al Zubara” from Manchester University entered the Gaming category and developed 10 ‘minute zombie’; a Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 game that allows players to move around, walk or run as they play and for their character to mimic their moves.