(From left) Sim, Wang, Chia and multimedia design lecturer John Hii showing Tou: The Sacrifice on their mobile phones.
KUCHING: Three students from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak (Swinburne Sarawak) will leave for the United States today to represent Malaysia in the Microsoft Imagine Cup world finals in Seattle, Washington.
The competition, to be held from July 27 to 31, and the Imagine Cup is a global technology programme and provides opportunities for students across all disciplines to create applications, games and integrated solutions.
Multimedia design undergraduates Landon Chia Fei Ran, Stella Wang Tze Fang and Sim Jia Ying will represent Malaysia and they are among the finalists from 33 countries vying for the title. They have to complete an original technology project in the three main categories, namely Games, Innovation and World Citizenship.
The three students qualified for the world finals after emerging champion in the games category at the Malaysian and regional legs of the Imagine Cup in April with their creation ‘Tou: The Sacrifice’.
“It feels great that something we have worked hard on has been recognised internationally. I’ve always wanted to create games that are interesting to play in an innovative way, and this is my chance to show the world the possibilities,” Chia said in a
press statement released yesterday.
For Wang, the competition was a chance to showcase Sarawakian culture.
“I’m glad to be able to present the Melanau culture on the international stage. I hope we can make Malaysia proud. Our team is strong and has a clear goal to do well,” Wang stated.
Meanwhile, Sim found creating the game to be one of her best experiences albeit a bit frustrating at times.
“However, with hard work, persistence and strong belief, our game is shaping up bit by bit. The growth of the game also reflects the growth in each of us in the team,” Sim added.
The team, named SwinDesign, stand to win the grand prize of more than RM180,000 plus other prizes in the world finals.