Written by: Nadeen Campbell/NCU
The Microsoft Software Imagine Cup national championship since 2005 has resided in the cool hills of Mandeville with the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Computer and Information Sciences department under the tutelage of department chair Kenrie Hylton. The year is 2009, and the format of the competition has another dimension, where the national champions, NCU- Team Left Clik, after getting the better of University of Technology Jamaica (UTECH), also proved too good for University of the West Indies –Team AgroNeTT, from Trinidad and Tobago and UNAPEC –Team NF4Live, from the Dominican Republic. The NCU team will next be facing off with teams from South America, excluding Brazil, in the clash of the Americas, which is the newest stage to the competition.
Team Left Clik (from left to right: Shawn McLean, Trevoir Williams, Henry Osbourne (coach), Dwayne Samuels, Derron Brown)
The essence of the team’s software, as stated by one member of the team in what he described as ‘sharing as much as possible without giving away too much’ was the warning before talking about the software. This software has within its’ realm high benefits to Jamaica, the region and the world, ‘where the use of land throughout the world, for farmers or agricultural experts, will yield greater use for their crops.’
This year, Microsoft has assigned the Imagine Cup teams to solve one of the eight ‘United Nations (UN) Millennium Goals.’ The NCU team is focusing on developing software which will help solve UN Millennium Goal number 1 which is, to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty. This year’s theme is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today.”
When pressed to compare Team Left Clik and the third place finisher for 2007, Team ICAD, team member, Dwayne Samuels was quick to point out that the resources they now have is a combination of team ICAD, and their very own, as they have sought advice from their senior counterparts and are basking in the knowledge and experiences shared. Preparations for their next encounter on May 26 this year, have the team examining their previously identified weaknesses and putting in place trouble shooting techniques to prevent any recurrence.
The NCU team of Shawn Mclean, Trevoir Williams, Derron Brown, Dwayne Samuels, all third year students, operate under the guidance of Coach Henry Osbourne, and department chair, Kenrie Hylton.
The members of NCU’s 2009 Team Left Clik are brewing with confidence, in anticipation of this next challenge, and then it’s onto Cairo, Egypt. The NCU 2007 Team ICAD, comprising Damion Mitchell, Imran Allie, Ayson Baxter and Conroy Smith, have brought recognizable acclaim to NCU and the region when they were placed third in the world in the 2007 finals in South Korea.
Article and Photo by Orville Morgan