IT Jobs for Graduates www.itjobsforgraduates.com, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, has announced the winner of its The Student IT Innovation Awards 2009.
The winner of the competition is Hui Chi Yan from the University of Sheffield, who is currently in her final year, studying Electronic, Control, and Systems Engineering. Winning the award means that she will be given a year’s worth of tuition fees.
The competition was designed to find the student entrepreneur who could come up with the next ‘techie’ idea to change the business world. Hui Chi Yan’s innovation is an information assistant/delivery system, designed for travellers, the elderly and those who are visually impaired.
The proposition is linked to existing 2D matrix code technology. Users simply use their mobile phone to capture a photo of the matrix code. The mobile phone then translates the code into audio, with users being able to specify the language. Matrix code can be integrated with pretty much anything in the modern world.
Commenting on her success, Hui Chi Yan said: “I appreciated that many foreigners living in the UK face language issues in everyday life, such as going to the shops. And, lots of important information can also be found on packaging, which perhaps the visually impaired may not see clearly.
“My friend saw The Student IT Innovation Awards advertised at my university, and I thought it would be worthwhile entering. I am very proud of myself for winning, and hope that perhaps one day my product will be deployed into the real world, and my mission to help break down language barriers will be realised.”
Judging the awards were Elizabeth Sparrow, president of the British Computer Society (BCS), Adam Stokes, head of operations at The IT Job Board, Mark Kimber, chief technology officer at JPMorgan and David Timoney, information services director for SThree. Elizabeth Sparrow commented: “It was a pleasure to be involved in the judging of these awards and I was very impressed by the standard of the entrants. It is very important that we encourage more young people to consider a career in IT and it was great to see so many students applying their technical skills to innovation within a business environment. IT today, is at the very heart of almost every business so it is vital that IT students understand the business environment and how IT can enable business.”
Jamie Bowler, head of marketing at IT Jobs for Graduates, added: “These awards were designed to identify a technology that could improve an organisation’s internal process. Students submitted their proposals along with a short covering letter, and from there they were invited to present their ideas to the panel of judges who looked for creativity, business reality, critical thinking, feasibility and technical application.
“Winning this award means that Hui Chi Yan will be awarded a year’s worth of tuition fees, and she will also be able to add the accolade to her CV, as a discussion point with any future employers.”
