Two teams from Sri Lanka, team Sipsara and The Green Tycoon, qualified for the World Finals (Asia) stage at Microsoft Imagine Cup 2023. The two teams were among the 48 from across three regions, who competed to advance to the World Championship.
Team Sipsara, competing under the category of Education from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), presented an e-learning education system for children with Down syndrome where technologies such as Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Learning are used to establish the first web-based application that measures and develops the skills of children with down syndrome in order to develop a reliable and efficient approach to predicting their development.
Under the category of Earth, The Green Tycoon Project (also from SLIIT)), presented CarboMeter, a project that can simplify Carbon Accounting by offering an innovative, real-time mobile-based emission management system for organizations to monitor, achieve emission goals, reduce carbon taxes, and encourage going greener.
Building on the opportunity
“It’s truly exciting to see such amazing, talented students in the Southeast Asia New Markets region use the Imagine Cup as an opportunity to unlock their potential and creativity and build something that matters to them. In speaking with the students, it was clear that there was a deeper personal connection to each of the innovations the students had come up with. It is truly inspiring to see these students be driven by something bigger and more powerful and create solutions to help change the world”, commented Sook Hoon Cheah, General Manager, Microsoft SEA NM.
In speaking about the inspiration for their innovation, both teams had drawn from a personal story and experience to decide on what their technological solution would be. For Team Sipsara, it was an emotional investment in devising a platform for students with Down syndrome, who were unable to continue their education during the pandemic. The Green Tycoon project, similarly, was inspired during the national crisis with the understanding that alternative and sustainable options could solve existing issues such as the emission of carbon in the country.
Harsha Randeny, Country Manager of Microsoft for Sri Lanka and Maldives said, “I am extremely proud that two Sri Lankan teams qualified for the World Finals of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2023. We receive an overwhelming response every time we launch the competition, and it is always great to see students passionate about technology taking the initiative to compete on a global platform.”
Hoping for more
While congratulating both teams Randeny further stated “We also hope that this will encourage more students to participate in Microsoft Imagine Cup in the future where they get to experience innovation and technology with some of the best in the industry.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that students from Sri Lanka have reached the final stages of Microsoft Imagine Cup. In the 2022 edition, Nana Shilpa, a team from SLIIT clinched the title of Winner in the Health category in Asia. The team went on to win Runners-Up at the World Championships.
Tune into the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championships, which will be live-streamed during Microsoft Build 2023 on May 23 at 08.30 a.m. PDT to see who will win this year’s competition.
Note: Article has been edited for clarity
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