Berita Kampus

TARC Techies Bubbling Over with Ingenious Ideas

During the national grand finals, a neck and neck race resulted in a tie between team PointVector and a team from University Sains Malaysia to battle for the championship. Team PointVector eventually landed the second place after the judges went through a round of re-judging. Despite being disappointed with the result, team leader of PointVector Kok Chiann attributed the team’s achievements to the tremendous group effort as well as their faculty mentor Ms Poh Siaw Way.

“We got this far because of the great commitment from all team members and the excellent dynamism in the group. They are an absolutely fantastic bunch of guys to work with!” exclaimed Kok Chiann. Besides winning a cash prize of RM2,500, members of team PointVector also unanimously agreed that taking part in the competition had given them a valuable learning experience.

SAS Head of Computer Science Division Ms Kathleen Tan said the competition had given the students practical experience in working within a creative and competitive environment. “We encourage students to participate in competitions such as this, which position them at the international level by tackling a worldwide issue,” said Tan.

"Besides encouraging students to think out of the box by generating ideas that are not limited to the typical information systems, the competition also helped the students to build up their confidence,” added Tan. Last year, a team of SAS students clinched the Second Runner-up position at the national level of this prestigious competition.

The above scenario is an illustration of the distinctive features of the BubbleBudget system invented by four students of the TAR College School of Arts and Science (SAS) that won them the First Runner-up spot at the national grand finals of the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2007 Software Design challenge in June. The system employs a novel approach of using interactive computer technology, as well as appealing and funky-looking avatars, to educate youngsters to be finance-savvy.

Team PointVector, creator of the BubbleBudget system, comprised four SAS Advanced Diploma Year 2 students – Kok Chiann from the Internet Technology course, and Leong Kah Ho, Lee Teng Foung and Ong Wei Lin from the Information Systems Engineering course. They formed one of the two teams from TAR College that successfully entered the national finals to vie for the chance to represent Malaysia in the international finals of this high-profile competition in Korea.

The Microsoft Imagine Cup is held annually and the theme for this year’s competition is “Imagine a world where technology enables a better education

for all”. Team Point Vector impressed the judges with an innovative solution to address the lack of financial literacy amongst the young using the latest Microsoft technologies. Their BubbleBudget system integrates networking software applications and a debit card system. The system will enable users to strategise their expenditures and perform transactions, while at the same time serving as an informal and interactive mode of learning about financial planning.

MiracleSTON is another TAR College team that made it to the finals. The team consisted of four Business Information Systems students, namely Ng Siew Shyang, Ong Tzer Yeen, Soh Kah Wai and Tung Kai Tian. Their project entitled Time Advisor System is designed to integrate online technologies, computers and mobile communication devices such as PDAs to help students monitor the progress in their studies. The main function of this system is to help students manage their time better by enabling them to formulate study plans and schedule their study time.

BUBBLING OVER WITH JOY: Members of Team PointVector (holding mock cheque, from left to right – Lee Teng Foung, Ong Wei Lin, Leong Kah Ho and Kok Chiann) sharing their moment of glory with faculty mentor Ms Poh Siaw Way (fourth from left), SAS Computer Science Division Head Ms Kathleen Tan (third from right), visiting professor from Campbell University Dr Mark Merry (extreme left), and faculty staff.

The BubbleBudget system features attractive Graphical User Interface which makes the budget planning experience more interesting.

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