The Autism Society Philippines (ASP) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of persons on the autism spectrum disorder. We envision a society where Filipinos on the spectrum become the best of their potentials -- self-reliant, independent, productive, socially-accepted citizens of an Autism-OK Philippines.

13 June 2012

Team Divided By Zero Bags First Place in Microsoft Philippines Imagine Cup 2012 Local Finals

Emerging as the winner from the five finalists in the Software Design Category, Team Divided By Zero bagged first place in Microsoft Philippines’ Imagine Cup 2012 local finals held last March 23 with their project, KidCamp. The team will represent the country and compete in the Imagine Cup 2012 World Finals taking place in Sydney, Australia this coming July.


(L-R) Tim Vergel de Dios, Audience Marketing Manager, Microsoft Philippines; John Bessey, Managing Director, Microsoft Philippines; Mark Christian Bautista, Camille Ann Domingo, Jason Josol, Team Divided By Zero; Louis Casamber, Undersecretary, Department of Science and Technology; and Alvin Landingin, Senior Executive, Accenture during the recent announcement of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2012 local finals.

KidCAMP is a web and mobile application that enhances special education to improve autism communication tools, assist teachers to create various learning resources, monitor student performance and support global statistics of progress in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). “We are very happy and challenged to know that we will be representing the country in the Imagine Cup World Finals. Our project KidCAMP will truly help the families of Autism Spectrum Disorder children receive the same kind of learning experience as other kids do. Microsoft has helped us achieve and address this problem through this competition and we will do our best in July,” said Jason Josol, Divided By Zero.

Spearheaded by Microsoft Corporation, the Imagine Cup is the world’s premiere student technology competition that gathers the best developers around the world and harnesses the creative minds of the youth to address problems faced by the world today using the power of information technology. With the theme, “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems,” the projects and entries this year were inspired by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals promoting health, environment, education and accessibility.

“We have a lot of good entries this year and we are happy that students this year have definitely shown great potential. Team Divided By Zero will be representing the country this July in the Imagine Cup 2012 World Finals and we are hopeful that we can do well globally. Their creativity to solve real-world challenges is visible in their KidCAMP project,” said Tim Vergel de Dios, Audience Marketing Manager, Microsoft Philippines.

Divided By Zero’s KidCAMP aims to provide families with an affordable educational platform for ASD students that can help them fulfill equal opportunities for education. Team Divided By Zero is comprised of students from De La Salle – College of St. Benilde and is mentored by Ebenezer Uy.

“Our team was inspired by my cousin who was actually an ASD patient and had been able to improve much through technology. We realized before that the educational software being made available to these students were quite limited and expensive which is why we started to think of a way in order to give equal educational opportunities for all. This is what led us to create KidCAMP. With this program, educators and families will be able to tailor fit their programs according to the needs of these children,” shared Josol.

Teams from around the world that will be chosen to join the Imagine Cup World Finals will compete in seven categories: Software Design, Game Design, IT Challenge, Kinect Fun Labs Challenge, Windows Metro Style App Challenge, Windows Azure Challenge, and Windows Phone Challenge.

Through the Imagine Cup, Microsoft heightens the awareness of the youth on the current issues and problems faced in society today and how they can be part of solving these concerns with the integration and use of technology.

“We want to encourage more students to join and showcase Filipino ingenuity and innovation at the global arena, and grab the opportunity not only to compete against the best student developers and programmers around the world, but also to prove that tomorrow’s leaders are equipped with the passion and talent to solve the world’s problems,” concluded de Dios.

Visit Innovation Universe 2012. Source: Microsoft Philippines' Press Room

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