NUI Maynooth students Cosmin Siclovan, Marie Farrell and Dónal O'Sullivan, before leaving for Sydney to compete in the global finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup
Three students from NUI Maynooth have left Irish shores today to head to Sydney to compete in the global finals of the global technology competition, the Microsoft Imagine Cup, with their cloud-based app called docTek.
In April, students Cosmin Siclovan, Donal O’Sullivan and Marie Farrell from NUI Maynooth won the Irish finals of the 2012 Microsoft Imagine Cup, edging past 600 students in the process.
The trio from NUI Maynooth won for their cloud-based doctor-patient system that’s aiming to make it easier for doctors to monitor patient conditions in real-time.
The students have come up with cloud-based app to provide a doctor-patient synchronisation system via a personalised symptomatic journal. Its aim is to give reminders for people with multiple sclerosis. Meanwhile on the doctor side, the app will offer client management features.
Marie Farrell is studying computer science and maths at the university, while Cosmin Siclovan is a computer science and software engineering student and Dónal O’Sullivan is studying astrophysics.
According to O’Sullivan, the idea for the cloud-based system was first spawned last year.
“The original idea came about when Marie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) last summer,” he said.
When diagnosed Farrell was told she had to fill out a daily journal to track her condition. The computer science student she spoke to her classmates and they started to think about building a better solution.
So, this week in Sydney the Irish students will be competing in the competition against over 106 teams from around the world.
The finals begin this Friday in Sydney, while the awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 10 July.
And, people here in Ireland can vote for docTek to help them win the Microsoft Imagine Cup People’s Choice Award.
Microsoft Ireland’s managing director Paul Rellis spoke about how the NUI Maynooth have a really innovative idea.
“This year we were delighted to see so many cloud-based applications developed at the Irish finals. Team docTek stood out from the crowd. Their idea is practical and their story as a team is inspiring. Last year the Irish team brought home the first prize. I’m sure this year’s team have a great chance to repeat that success,” he said. The Imagine Cup is now in its tenth year.
Speaking before the docTek team left for Sydney O’Sullivan said the team was very excited to be going to Sydney.
“We’ve worked hard on this solution and believe it is something that will make patients lives a lot easier. I hope we can retain the Irish title and return with the Imagine Cup to Ireland once again,” he said.
