Team MPA (From Right to Left): Neoh Yuen Sun, Seow Wing Onn, Lee See Wai, holding the placards showing the prize won together with the juniors, Bong Yeow Liang, Chew Yu Szen and Teoh Tze Chian who presented for the finals

Team MPA from TAR University College secured a Second Runner-Up placing in the Malaysia National Microsoft Imagine Cup 2014 finals in the games category, held at TM Convention Center from 10-12 April 2014. Team MPA, comprising four TAR University College students from the Interactive Software Technology programme, namely Lee See Wai, Neoh Yuen Sun, Seow Wing Onn and Chek Kin Leong submitted an educational game which trained pre-school and lower primary students in the area of Mathematics.

This year’s Imagine Cup format was surprisingly different from previous years, requiring teams to submit a video presentation of their application as a qualifying step.

The teams that passed the qualifying stage were then assembled in Kuala Lumpur for the finals held over 3 days to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. They were then given feedback by the judges on how to improve and prepare for the following day.

The 3 days spent with the judges were a great learning experience for the team, as each team had to improve and better their ideas daily and were also given feedback to improvise their games or applications. Team MPA seized the opportunity to rebuild the game’s environment to make it more suitable for young children. They also implemented new mechanics suggested by the judges to further enhance the educational aspect of the game.

Kudos to Team MPA for their excellent achievement and their win reflects the uncompromising quality of education offered at TAR University College.