I watched
this video on Channel8 and I figured out to write what I have learned from
Imagine Cup 2008 Gulf region contest which was held in
Jebel Ali resort, Dubai. I might even wind up being glad that I have failed! Failure is the first step to success.
For those who does know what is Imagine Cup, it is an annual competition from Microsoft aimed to solve world’s toughest challenges by using technology. Software Design is one of the categories in this competition. We have to use .NET technologies for this year’s theme, which is the environment.
Lessons learned from Imagine Cup 2008:
1- Don’t wait until the last 2 nights!
That’s my first mistake. We haven’t done the video and we haven't practiced enough before the last two nights. Never ever delay anything until the last two days before the presentation. You will not have time to do anything because you’ll be totally booked for all the trips and events happening the day before the contest. I’m sure if we had practiced more before the contest, we would do much better in the contest’s presentation.
2- Eat well! But not much…
I was shocked when I woke up just 1:30 hour before the presentation. I had to jump off the bed and rush to get ready. There was no time at all to eat breakfast. But I could at least eat a 1 minute snack!
3- Bring business card
We met lots of people there from different countries and different universities. We also met a lot of people from the press and Microsoft. I think if we brought a business card it would make life easier to keep in touch with some of those individuals.
4- Be prepared
Always be prepared and have a backup plan! I had everything prepared before the presentation and I even hibernated my laptop rather than totally shutting it down just to make sure it will directly open with my slides ready on the screen. But after going on the stage my laptop’s touch pad suddenly - and for the first time - stop responding. I was like "Hell no! It never happened to me before… why now?!". It was a funny situation in front the camera and a hall full of audience.
5- More practice
The more practice you do the less mistakes you’ll make.
6- Video!
Every team has used videos in their presentation. We were the only team started the presentation without any video clips. You asking why? It’s because we didn’t have the time to do it and we ended up deciding to do it the day before the contest which again was a big mistake. Video is an essential part of the presentation to deliver your idea in another way and to convince judges. After all, we are marketing our idea and there is no limitation on what you should do when marketing your product.
7- Demo!
Believe it or not, we didn’t have a running program for the contest. Even though it is not required to have a running program in the regional contest, but it would be a big plus for our team. A program demonstration will show judges how far you’ve reached in developing the program and it is really a proof that your idea is implement and your software is working.
8- Sleep well…
Oh this is the thing which I’m not really good at. I rarely sleep well and I occasionally don’t care if I slept well or not. Guess what! I slept only 3 hours before the presentation… and maybe it is one of the factors that affected my mood in the presentation.
9- It’s not how good your project as much as how to deliver it to judges
I think our idea was great and easy to implement. But the problem - in my opinion - was we weren’t able to convince the judges. I think they didn’t totally understand the concept behind our project and how easy it is to implement. After all, they did told us that their main focus was on selecting the idea which is good and easy to implement. Convincing is the keyword in this regional contest.
10- Marketing skills is much more important than a working application
I also learned that the presentation and communication is much important than showing them a working demo of the project. The regional Imagine Cup contest wasn’t aimed to show a demonstration of your project, it is aimed to communicate with judges and to convince them that you have the best idea and the easiest to implement. If you convinced them and won the regional, then you’ll move a step ahead and start implementing your project for the finals.
Although it was the first time for a team from Kuwait University and Kuwait to participate in this contest, I think we, Super Coders team, did pretty well in the competition.
My goal for Imagine Cup 2009 is to win the regional and win the final. Microsoft told us that next year (2009) will have a local competition rather than regional Gulf competition. The winner in Kuwait for Imagine Cup 2009 will go directly to the final contest. I also heard that a new Robotics category will be introduced in 2009's contest which looks interesting category I might consider participating in for the next Imagine Cup.
I’d like to thank Dr. Thalaya Al-Fozan - our team coach, Kuwait University - Dr. Mohammad Ilyas - Gulf University for Science and Technology - for his effort and precious time he gave us on our project. Thanks to Microsoft and Lana Khalaf for their effort on making this great event. I really had fun there in Dubai.