Netxpress Mar Edition 2008
Pakistani Team AVRiL’s experience of the Imagine Cup
When Microsoft Corporation announced the 2007 Imagine Cup’s theme for students to “imagine a world where technology enables better education for all” students around the world rose to the challenge, and Pakistan was no exception. University students around the country put their heads together and searched for the solution that would win them a chance to compete in the World Wide Finals in Korea this past August.
According to Kamal Ahmed, Country Manager for Microsoft in Pakistan, “there were hundreds of teams that immediately displayed a keen interest in participating in the competition.” But then, because of the strong link that Microsoft has with Universities around the country through
their technical education programs, the Imagine Cup was just another window of opportunity for students.
The Imagine Cup, advancing into its fifth year, is one example of Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Groups’ commitment to create social and economic opportunity through programs and products that transform education, foster local innovation, and enable jobs and opportunities.
Kamal says, “The Imagine Cup is one way Microsoft Corporation is encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion and their creativity to technology innovations that can make a difference in the world – today. And with Pakistan going through a revolutionary change in its education system with the rapid rise of technological innovation and technically skilled manpower, this theme was perfect for us!”
The company is challenging students to bring their ideas to life in a multifaceted competition composed of nine categories, each catering to a
different technological or artistic affinity. Student works reflect valuable, real-world solutions and allows them the opportunity to compete for cash prizes.
When coupled with the power of technology, the potential of young people is unlimited, and the ideas they develop for Imagine Cup could significantly improve the lives of millions of people around the world.
The competition theme was announced in November 2007 in which several universities participated. Microsoft Pakistan then held a competition at the Bahria University in Karachi, where all the nation-wide finalists were asked to gather.
“The quality and diversity of projects was impressive. It was amazing to see how many possible solutions the students had developed.” comments the Country Manager, Microsoft Pakistan.
Where Quaid-e-Awam University from
Nawabshah came in second position, an impressive team from LUMS made it through to represent Pakistan in the World Wide Finals in Seoul, Korea.
The four students from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ahmad Humayun, Ozair Muazzam, Tayyab Javed and Yahya Cheema, called their project entry, AVRiL, which stands for ‘Automated Video Recording of Lectures’.
Their software was developed to intelligently record teachers delivering lectures and engaging in interactive discussions while allowing the audience to see exactly what is going without the distraction of a moving camera crew.
AVRiL allows you to “be” there without really being there making the dreams of education for most a reality.
“Think of AVRiL as a complete camera and direction crew in your classroom, just there to record whatever you learn” explains Ahmad, the lead on the project.
“All this is made possible by machines programmed to see and understand a classroom environment.”
So how did this fascinating journey begin?
Tayyab Javed says, “We were looking for cool idea for our senior project, and all of us were pretty excited to do something big. We looked at a bunch of ideas that involved computer vision or GIS, but nothing really seemed to fit the bill.”
The first time that the team came up with, they obviously thought it was near impossible to do, but like all other good ideas, this one just wouldn’t go away.
“Looking back,” laughs Ozair, “we find it amusing that at the time we discussed the idea with our mentor, he was already thinking of something similar after having experienced expensive professional recordings for the workshops at our university. We were also excited about the idea because we knew the theme for the Imagine Cup
this year was ‘education’.”
And so they leaped, and never looked back.
The team developed AVRiL using Microsoft Visual Studio .Net, and used the Microsoft Expression product range with Microsoft Silverlight to develop a unique web service.
“We chose to compete in the category of Software Design, the largest, most comprehensive competition for people our age in the field of Computer Sciences; it’s the holy grail competition of the Imagine Cup! It is like the global Olympics of computer systems!” explains Ahmad, project leader of the team.
“But you know, it’s more than just making education available to all – it’s, like the Imagine Cup theme suggest, using technology to provide a better education to everyone. Even with AVRiL in play, that dream will still take while longer to realize. Another objective of our project was to improve the experience that students within an academic system sometimes need help with.”
explains Ahmad.
“There are students who are not always at the same level as others while a classroom experience is taking place. “Some require hearing or seeing the lecture again so that they can fully understand what is going and derive the correct meanings from what the teacher is explaining. Being able to access a recording of the lecture definitely creates a sense of balance amongst students.”
And so, with their project all set to compete in the Imagine Cup World Wide Finals in Seoul, Korea, the team was off to one of the most memorable experiences of their lives!
“It was a perfect combination of tough competition where we drudged through presentations, all nighters, meetings, strategy-making and more all-nighters!” says an animated Yahya.
Of course there was so much learning going on. Ahmad explains that seeing some of the most
ingenious student projects in the world, meeting people from so many different cultures, so much inspiration packed into one ‘milestone’.
“It was the realization of how one individual effort could impact so many people with their work and contribution.”
All Imagine Cup themes cater to a demanding social need – adding the networking dimension to the world’s smartest and most competitive programmers is a challenge in itself!
“Of course with all the hard work, there was the fun part of it – the five star hotel stay, gourmet meals, city tours, unlimited x-box access and the opportunity to meet with people who really speak the same language of programming as you do! The Imagine Cup competition is every programmers dream!” says Tayyeb.
As with all world class events, the exposure that students get through meetings with the top executives from Microsoft, British Telecom (BT) and other patrons, judges and experts, is
phenomenal.
“They take such an interest in your team and your project. Getting their support and suggestions really makes a difference.” explains Ozair. So, now that our young professionals have created a world class project, a potential component into the possible solution for education dissemination to the masses, what have been their most valuable lessons learned?
After some thought, in true AVRiL team style, Ahmad begins, “I think universities should encourage students to take part in such competitions as the Imagine Cup. That’s the first level of support that is needed.
“I’ve seen students not bothered about competitions because assignments, quizzes and GPA matter more to them. Of course, those aspects of our studies are very important, experiences like these will open up their minds to the possibilities they never previously knew existed.”
Lots of universities participate in Microsoft programs throughout the year.
“Now it’s no longer a matter of selling the Microsoft brand to an institution- they know what we bring to their students’ futures – the more students are encouraged to participate in such programs, the greater the representation and exposure of Pakistan will be in the international competitions such as the Imagine Cup.” comments Kamal.
When asked about local industry support, the team thinks that the government has done lot to help the IT sector but so much more still needs to be done.
“We are the future of the industry after all. I think that there is a critical need to attract the youth earlier on – before the talented ones leave to find opportunities abroad.
“I’m talking about fostering talent at the high school level, and then at the undergraduate level. Build incubation centers that provide
infrastructure that makes it equally favorable to start your own company in Pakistan.” says Yahya.
“Companies should also take a more active role in local competitions – we grabbed the opportunity that the Imagine Cup brought to us and the exposure has honestly been beyond our imagination.” says Ozair.
In addition to Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, there are other national level competitions like ProCom (organized by FAST-NU) and it is important for students to take part in these and equally important for the corporate sector to support these efforts.
“When companies take notice of these stepping stones,” says Tayyab, “it just helps students work harder on their projects and increase the level of the competition.”
Believe it or not, the team does have plans to make a business out of their project.
Ahmad explains “We plan to take our system
further; to implement new ideas, and to make it work for other similar environments, like board-room conferences or talk-shows.
“We plan to build a business on top of it where we envision providing the system to the top universities in the world.”
The team wants to see a direct impact of AVRiL on the developing countries, as education in those areas remains one of the biggest challenges.
Kamal continues to add that “at Microsoft, we strongly believe that the most important asset for any country or institution is its people and in order to develop this asset, the most important use for technology is to create an educational experience that connects, removes limitations and creates opportunities today and for the future.”
He continues to say that Pakistan has such great talent and team AVRiL is a great example of this fact.
“With the right exposure and the right support, we should be able to reap the benefits from the thousands of talented youngsters, right here in
“Investment into their talents is the best way to create an environment to allow the business to grow and prosper in our own country.”
A fully automated classroom that can be accessed within seconds after a lecture has been delivered, is just an example of how much we have progressed in the creative application of technology in problem solving. Pakistan has always been a country overshadowed by India and China, but groups like the AVRiL boys are part of the solution we are all looking for.
And while we have many reasons to be indebted to these four from LUMS for rekindling hope in a younger population, team AVRiL is humble enough to thank everyone for the support that was offered to them. “If it weren’t for the Developers and Platforms Group at Microsoft Pakistan, we wouldn’t have ever known about
this!! The team took a keen interest in our project and gave us valuable advice, and even enabled meetings with top executives at Microsoft.”
The team’s mentor, Dr. Sohaib Khan provided technical and academic guidance and Dr. Umar Saif provided the directional support in everything from competition strategy, presentation skills and even helping them get in touch with MIT for technical consultation. The association that LUMS and other universities have with Microsoft is a relationship that will always benefit their students.
Events such as the Imagine Cup are opportunities that must be embraced, windows that must be opened with passion and gateways that students must run through. As the Team AVRiL proudly says, “We learned so much and we see only possibilities with our project.”
It’s not just about an event or about one project. It’s about embracing an opportunity and creating a future around it. The AVRiL team’s
achievement serves as a testament to Pakistan’s potential for innovation and technological advancement.
Their story inspires others to pursue their passions and create meaningful impact. As we look to the future, it’s clear that the next generation of leaders and change-makers is already making waves. And with initiatives like the Imagine Cup, we can expect even more groundbreaking ideas to emerge.
The future is bright, and it’s being shaped by visionary teams like AVRiL.
Congratulations to Team AVRiL on their impressive achievement!
We look forward to seeing the impact of their project and the future endeavors of these talented individuals.
