Northern Caribbean University (NCU) president, Dr. Herbert Thompson, and the Microsoft Imagine Cup Software Team Left Clik paid a courtesy call on Their Excellencies the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen and the Most Honourable Lady Allen on Wednesday June 17. Northern Caribbean University's Team Left Clik will represent Jamaica, the Caribbean, Central and South America (excluding Brazil) at the Microsoft Imagine Cup Software design World finals in Cairo, Egypt, on July 3 -7, 2009.
Team left Clik - L-R Halzen Smith, Trevoir Williams, Derron Brown, (Their Excellencies Sir Patrick and Lady Allen),
NCU President - Dr. Herbert Thompson, Shawn McLean, Dwayne Samuels, and Henry Osbourne
Team members, Trevoir Williams, Shawn McLean, Dwayne Samuels and Derron Brown along with the coaches Henry Osbourne and Halzen Smith, were invited to share with Their Excellencies, the mission of the team and the software that was developed. His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Patrick, former NCU Board Chairman, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to achieve the highest at the Microsoft Software design level and the university’s mission in producing quality software designers.
The mission of the software, aptly called R.A.I.N, is primarily the development of a solution to tackle the problem of poverty and hunger. It is a platform that targets the agricultural sector in a bid to increase the productivity of farmers (with an emphasis on small farmers), open up markets for produce, create job opportunities, and allow corporate entities to easily manage large and multiple plots of land. R.A.I.N. currently uses Jamaica as the foundation of its design but the solution can be easily customized to achieve global impact.
Team Left Clik on the lawns of Kings House
The team received a moral boost from Their Excellencies, when they were prompted to do better than their 2007 third place finishers, Team ICAD, and take back with them to Jamaica the first place title in Microsoft Imagine Cup Software design. University president, Dr. Thompson shared the sentiments of Their Excellencies, in encouraging the team and their coaches to give of their best, not just for self, and their university but to represent their country with pride, especially on this world stage. The world ought to see more than just the negatives shared about Jamaica but instead the intellectual capabilities with which we are able achieve great things, especially in software design.
Northern Caribbean University (NCU) has been the representative for Jamaica since 2005 in the Microsoft Software design competition, and world finalist for the third time, with their highest finish in 2007 being when they placed third in the world and first in the Western Hemiphere.