A bundle of bright ideas

ATRIO of tech whiz kids have ‘bundled’ their ideas to develop a winning application that they hope will put Bahrain on the map at the Imagine Cup 2013 Worldwide Finals taking place this summer.

After hearing about Microsoft’s Imagine Cup – a worldwide student technology competition – when company representatives visited the University of Bahrain campus, student Amina Hafz spent her time researching into the world of applications.

When she asked her brother, Talha, to join he refused before listening to the wise words of the late Apple supremo Steve Jobs which encouraged him to become a business mogul.

The siblings came up with a new idea for an application before longtime friend and former classmate Fatima Al Mannaie joined the duo to form Team Buzzlers.

The team won the national competition for their project Bundle; an application that allows users to make accounts to create and share ‘Bundles’.

A ‘Bundle’ is a collection of links to any websites, blogs and social media websites. It can also include uploaded documents or images.

These Bundles can be made for the purpose of advertisements, awareness, recommendations, sharing personal preferences, helping others or simply for fun.

The team are now preparing for their journey to the fnals in the historic Russian city of St Petersburg on July 8-13.

Pakistani-born Amina, 23, from Muharraq, said: “At frst I had an idea in my mind and I researched to see if there are any other similar things online.

“I was looking for applications in particular and I found one that was very similar to mine. I got a little depressed that I wouldn’t be able to continue. After a few weeks Talha came to me really excited wanting to do something.

“We sat together for an hour and brainstormed to come up with something innovative. Bundle is totally different from anything you can fnd right now.

“One of the reasons I thought about making this application is because social media is taking over our lives. However, blogging, which is also a very useful form of communication, appears to be fading. I’m a really big fan of blogs and this is a perfect platform to revive them.

“With Bundle you can fnd people with the same interests as you and you can see what they are sharing … it may be of use to you or could simply just be something you want to read or see.

“We are targeting everyone from franchises to schools and universities. It works especially well with teachers. A teacher can make a bundle for their class where the students can fnd everything they need for that specifc lesson. It is an organised way to get information across.

“Together we researched, got statistics and focused on separate areas. Talha and I focused on the main idea and studies, Fatima on the technical side and then all of us worked on the design together.”

The team carried out a survey with the professors at UOB and Alliance Francais to fnd out if people actually needed it, wanted it or would use it. Ninety per cent said they would use it and many said they have a lot of content they want to put into a bundle and that it would help their teaching tremendously.

Talha, 20, the youngest in the group, and Amina are currently undertaking their bachelor degrees in computer science and Fatima, 23, graduated last semester from the same course. She is currently looking for a job and hopes to secure a position in the feld of security.

Her experience of helping groups in last year’s competition has led her to become a vital member of the team and with her technical skills making applications, Talha explained, she pushed the group to success and she is on her way to becoming an application expert.

Fatima, from Muharraq, said: “I really fne-tuned my skills helping friends in the competition last year. It was a lot of fun so this time around I wanted to actually be part of it. I’m so happy we won.

“I used to hate technology until I made a website. My interest was activated and I became alive and decided to study more and loved it!

“I taught myself how to use the software Microsoft Blend for the application. I like working and learning to do things on my own so I thought it would be diffcult being in a group with a sister and brother. But, we worked very well together and it felt comfortable.”

Nowadays Fatima’s brothers,

Mohammed, 34, Hassan, 29, and Abdulrahman, 21, come to her for help over computer issues.

She believes she’s learned hard work and determination from her parents – mum Anisa Al Absi, a school principal, and dad Abdul Wahab, who, now retired, helps her to advance in the IT feld.

The same can be said about Talha and Amina’s family. Coming from a large family of 10, they said it can get a little ‘annoying’ when asked to fx the printer!

Talha hopes to become a scholar, like his father Hafedh Meya Mohammed, however, instead of focusing on Sharia Law he hopes to concentrate on research, particularly into the feld of artifcial intelligence.

Amina describes herself as a person who is flled with ideas which she inherited from mum, Zahida, and hopes to create more applications as an outlet. She says her next application has to be with Team Buzzlers as she couldn’t have asked to work with better people.

The team members are particularly thankful to Ahmed Majdi, a technical evangelist and their coach throughout their journey to the fnals. He will continue to help them until July with regular coaching sessions.

He said: “Team Buzzlers have a great idea and can really succeed with this application but they have a long way to go and need to really develop and focus on it if they are going to win the global competition.

“It is time Bahrain won and I think they can do it! I was sitting in their seat two years ago so I understand the pressure they are in … they just need to be prepared.”

Microsoft’s Imagine Cup is the world’s most prestigious student technology competition, bringing together innovators from all over the world.

This year, Microsoft has redesigned Imagine Cup around three new core competitions built on the core elements that have been most popular with students in the past 10 years — social impact and gaming — while expanding the competition’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.