Four students from USIU-Africa have qualified for the 2023 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship set to take place in May. The team emerged winners in the education category of the 2023 Imagine Cup world finals qualifying round, where they beat 15 other teams to become the top-scoring team and 2023 Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) champions and received a cash prize of USD 5,000.

The team, consisting of Muna Said Nomy, Zakariya Hussein, John Onsongo Mabeya and Syntiche Musawu are currently pursing undergraduate degrees in Applied Computer Technology and Data Science and Analytics students at USIU-Africa. Their innovation, TAWI, seeks to make a difference in the lives of those struggling with auditory processing.

The home-based software leverages real-time speech recognition technology to help children with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) communicate more effectively. Instead of traditional hearing aids, TAWI uses earphones to amplify speech and cancel out background noise, making it easier for children with APD to engage in conversations and interact with others. It includes noise cancellation, sound amplification, speech-to-text conversion, and auditory training exercises.

Team TAWI is the second team from USIU-Africa to make it to the finals of the competition in three successive years. Team REWEBA, made up of Khushi Gupta, Jeet Gohil, Dharmik Karania and Abdihamid Ali, also from USIU-Africa was the first student team from Africa to win the competition in its history in 2021.

Should they be successful, they will have the opportunity to win the Imagine Cup trophy, the grand prize of USD 100,000 to develop their project, and a mentoring session with Microsoft Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella.

The entire USIU-Africa community wishes them all the best as they represent Kenya and USIU-Africa.

Reporting done courtesy of the Microsoft Corporation.