Ahead of 2012 Imagine Cup software students competition slated for
Sydney, Australia this July, Microsoft Nigeria has disclosed that it has
started discussions with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers ,
(OEMs) including Nokia, Dell among others on how best to equip Nigerian
software incubators that will fly the country’s flag at the world stage.
This year, for the first time, two rounds of regional finals will be
held in Nigeria instead of just one ahead of the national finals in Port
Harcourt this Friday to accommodate the anticipated number of entries.
It would be recalled that the Rivers State Government has fully
thrown its weight behind 2012 Imagine series as the official kick off of
the competition had already been held at the Rivers State House of
Assembly Auditorium in Port Harcourt.
The Developer and Platform Lead, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa.
Shina Oyetosho, told Vanguard Hitech last week during an interaction
that this is the first time Microsoft Nigeria was getting such support
from the industry, adding that ISPON will be engaged in future Imagine
Cup competition.
However, every attempt to speak with the OEMs failed at at press time
but Oyetosho assured that Microsoft was getting positive responses to
really support the Nigerian Team that will fly the flag of Nigeria this
summer in Sydney.
According to him, apart from partnering with the OEMs, Microsoft was
already discussing with the Institute of Software Practitioners of
Nigeria, (ISPON) for future Imagine Cup.
“In the future Imagine Cup, ISPON will act as a preparatory ground
for the students that will go to the global stage. Iam in discussion
with a close official of ISPON. They will help us drive the competition.
I AM very optimistic that ISPON has the capacity to do that because of
the fact they are already engaging students in similar effort
“We are looking at how foreign OEMs can really empower the students
with software and hardware to effectively fly Nigerian flag at the world
stage. They are not going there to fly Microsoft flag but the flag of
Nigeria” he said.
Recalling the performance of Nigerian team last year in New York, he
commended Team Nerds Inc from the Federal University of Technology
Akure( FUTA) that represented Nigeria saying that their product has
made Nigeria proud having been rated 5th position globally during the
time in question.
Although Team Nerds Inc did not win Microsoft grant having reached
final stage, he was optimistic that the product has the capacity to
support the needs of rural health care.
He said that the Team was already discussing with the Ondo State government to deploy their solution in the state.
The Nigerian team leader, David Olaniyan with optimism had told Vanguard
Hi_Tech that they will still work on the project after which it will
be deployed for effective use in the Nigerian health sector.
According to him, their team will not be intimidated for losing out
in the competition given the fact that some organizations were already
expressing interest for the product.
Techno Nigeria
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