Minister of Cabinet Affairs honors UOB students for Microsoft Imagine Cup 2009 win

Students Mahmood Thamer Al Rifi, Ahmed Mohammed Majdi, A.Rahman Ebrahim Al Jowder, Ghassan Ali Juma, Ahmed Al Tayeb Al Ameen, and Mohammed Anwar Shaikh Al Deen were honoured at a press conference held by e-Government Authority yesterday launching the latest distribution channels: Mobile Portal, and Common Service Centers.

"This achievement is proof that the information technology communication strength in the Kingdom of Bahrain is increasing, especially as we have been honored with first place in the competition among strong competitors through the Gulf region"

said H.E. Sheikh Ahmed.

"We are so proud of the students and their devoted efforts" H.E. Sh. Ahmed added, pointing out that whoever promoted and raised the profile of the Kingdom of Bahrain with achievements or accomplishments will be appreciated for their great efforts, in order to encourage others to do the same.

"In order to achieve the aspirations of the enlightened leadership of Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030, we are working on mechanisms to support the various technical sectors, to encourage innovation and the development of industry information and communication technology, through coordination between the e-Government Authority and all of the official and private organizations. We are working to improve the culture of technology which will contribute to the facilitation of all aspects of life" H.E. stated.

"Having the team participate in the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2009 was a way to present a new product to the world which is different, while at the same time raising our country's name regionally and internationally. This was the motivation that made us reach the top" said Mahmood Thamer Al Rifi, one of the University of Bahrain's winning team members.

On behalf of the winning team, Mr. Al Rifi thanked H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the e-Government Authority for their continued support to the team from last year when they were hosted at the headquarters of the Board to advise and guide the students on how best to develop the project.

The project developed by the University of Bahrain winning team is called "Trash Cash" which allows users to obtain points for the recycling of materials such as disposable aluminum cans and glass bottles, by the use of available technology such as "Bluetooth" and sensing techniques. The system they developed will count the amount of energy that can be provided through the points earned, to encourage users to recycle.

13 universities from different GCC countries participated in the regional finals: (7 from the UAE, 3 from Kuwait, 2 from the Sultanate of Oman, and one team from the Kingdom of Bahrain). The Bahrain team won the final and will be participating, along with 2nd and 3rd placed universities, in the World Championship, to be held in Cairo, later this year.