Palestine bags the Pan Arab Imagine Cup 2015

Manama

Palestine bags the Imagine Cup Pan Arab 2015 Championship Award, as well as its entry to the Microsoft Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals in the final stage competition held yesterday at Sofitel Hotel. 

Tunisia, UAE and Palestine will represent the Arab world in Microsoft Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals to be held in Seattle From July 27. 

As many 140 participants competed yesterday representing 36 teams from 13 Arab countries namely Qatar (with 3 teams), Jordan (3), Kuwait (3), Lebanon (3), Algeria (3), Bahrain (3), Egypt (3), Oman (3), Palestine (3), Tunisia (3), the United Arab Emirates (3), Saudi Arabia (2) and Morocco with only one team.  

The first prize for each category was US$7,000 while second and third prizes amounted up to US$4,000 and US$2,000 respectively.

EDB Chief Executive, Khalid Al Rumaihi, commended the winners and expressed his gratitude to Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa for his continued support. Al Rumaihi highlighted that hosting regional events in the Kingdom helps to bolster Bahrain’s regional and international standing.

“We are very proud to play a role in this important event. Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship will be a vital part of the future prosperity of Bahrain and the wider region. We are very pleased to support initiatives such as this which offer young people in Bahrain the opportunity to develop their knowledge and exchange their experiences with peers from different Arab countries,” he said.

“Technology has become an integral part of everyday life and today, it is the reason to celebrate Bahrain and the young bright minds from across the Arab World,” said Sherif Tawfik, Regional Country Manager for Microsoft in Bahrain and Oman. 

The Imagine Cup Pan Arab Semi-Finals is the culmination of months-long series of contests that bring together the brightest young minds from various Arab countries to showcase the power of student innovation. As many as 36 student teams, first-prize winners of the national rounds of Imagine Cup 2015 in 13 countries from Middle East and North Africa region competed for the Imagine Cup 2015 Pan Arab Champion title.

The first-place winners: Team T2 (Games), Team BCR (Innovation), and Team Freedom Fragrance (World Citizenship) then competed live on stage before an audience of 300 people where a distinguished judging panel asked them 3 rounds of questions inspired by Imagine Cup Infographic “Dream it! Build it! Live it”; Team BCR received the Imagine Cup Pan Arab trophy and a one-week internship at Tech Wadi, Silicon Valley.

As part of Microsoft YouthSpark initiative, Imagine Cup empowers students to use their creativity to solve the world’s toughest problems through technology as well as provides the opportunity to develop an idea, create a product, and set a clear business plan that will take their product to market.

Teams T2, BCR and Freedom Fragrance will join other bright young minds to compete at the World Finals taking place in Microsoft Headquarters in Seattle from 27 to 31 July 2015.

Commenting on their achievement, Team BCR said “We are delighted to have won the Pan-Arab Semi-