Students From Kenya Win Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition, USD 125K
4 computer science final year students of United States International University – Africa (USIU), Kenya, have won this year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship.
The competition inspires students to develop something that matters to them, make a difference in their communities and innovate for impact.
The team won the competition trophy, USD 125000, and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to become the first student team from Africa to lift the prestigious award in its 19-year history.
Named Team REWEBA, they beat three other finalist teams from New Zealand, the United States (US), and Thailand to emerge the winners.
This started by beating ten thousands of students’ entries from 163 nations to qualify for the online semifinals round.
They then advanced as part of 40 teams to qualify for round one of the World Finals stage. Where two other student teams from Kenya; Cafrilearn and INTELLIVOLT qualified to compete.
Cafrilearn created a project named Makini that consists of a mobile application that supports devices and provides for the facilitation of digital learning at an affordable cost to low-income families and marginalized communities.
INTELLIVOLT product monitors over-voltage, under-voltage, and power outages. Alerts from Azure applications in the form of SMS and emails are sent to relevant authorities in real-time.
Team Rewaba
At the world finals stage, Team REWBA, made of four members emerged winners of the healthcare category. Progressing to the World Championship which took place during Microsoft Build 2021.
The students showcased an IoT-based early warning system for babies using technologies such as Machine Learning, IoT, Analytics, etc. Their innovation, Remote Well Baby (REWEBA), remotely monitors infant parameters during regular post-natal screening.
It then sends measurements to doctors remotely, allowing for quick interventions saving infants from fatal diseases, and lessening infant mortality rates.
The Kenya students; Khushi Gupta, Jeet Gohil, Dharmik Karania, and Abdihamid Ali, won USD 75,000 cash, USD 50,000 Microsoft Azure grant, and will get a mentoring session with Satya Nadella.
The students are planning to improve and scale their projects. They will also launch a startup in Kenya that provides better access to healthcare especially those in marginalized regions.
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Students From Kenya Win Microsoft Imagine Cup Competition, USD 125K
