Sheridan Team takes first place in Microsoft Imagine Cup UX Challenge (Innovation Path)

A team of first-year students from Sheridan’s Bachelor of Mobile Computing program has won first place in Microsoft’s UX (User Experience) Challenge in the Innovation Path of the Imagine Cup.  Samantha Akulick, Peter Morrison and Jaimin Patel came out on top with their project, QFIT.

QFIT is a combination of wearable and mobile apps that work with the Microsoft Band and uses quests for the gamification of the fitness experience to encourage users to get fit and stay active.  The team was awarded $3,000 for their efforts.  “The imagination, creativity, drive and enthusiasm of this team was nothing short of amazing,” says their professor, Magdin Stoica.

The UX Challenge is a worldwide contest that takes place prior to the start of the national Imagine Cup, which precedes the world final.  This year, 163 teams from around the world competed in the UX Challenge.  One other Canadian team, from Queen’s University, also achieved a first place finish - in the World Citizenship category.  Sheridan’s team will enter the national competition next year, when they will have the technology and devices required to complete their project.  If successful, they will compete in the Imagine World Cup.

The Imagine Cup features three main competitions -- Games, Innovation, and World Citizenship.  Teams are called up to make an original technology project from start to finish. Now in its thirteenth year, the Microsoft Imagine Cup bills itself as the world’s premier student technology competition. 

About Sheridan:

Sheridan’s Bachelor of Applied Computer Science in Mobile Computing gives students the opportunity to develop software, design next-generation mobile applications, implement pervasive information systems and analyze and plan wireless networks. The program fosters the students' entrepreneurial spirit and cultivates the creativity and innovation required to harness the limitless possibilities of cloud-connected, mobile and ubiquitous computing.  Students acquire a strong computer science core body of knowledge, balancing theoretical and practical elements, along with a solid foundation in wireless technologies and wireless networks.  They also apply their learning beyond the classroom in Co-op terms and undergraduate research projects.

Sheridan College is one of Ontario’s leading postsecondary institutions, serving 20,000 full time students at four campuses in the West GTA.   We offer over 120 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs in the fields of arts, business, community service, health, technology and the skilled trades.