Well it seems like an age ago now but this year’s finals were held earlier in the month in Yokohama, Japan, which is a fabulous blend of both the traditional and modern situated about one hour south of Tokyo. Famous for its port, a devastating earthquake, its ferris wheel, Ramen noodle museum and some very dodgy American GI bars (just ask Deeps), it is also home to Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower, in which you can take the world’s fastest lift to the 60th floor of the Royal Park Hotel bar and take in the stunning views of Mount Fuji and Tokyo.
Mark, Kevin and I were “babysitting” Adrian, Andy and Joe aka Team Bit Shifters in the Software Design competition and it was an absolutely incredible experience with 40+ teams going head to head with the most amazing applications. Congratulations should go to all the finalists but especially to Team OmniMusic from Russia who were crowned this year’s world champions for showing how technology can solve latency problems and unite musicians across geographical and cultural boundaries.
Away from the competition we managed to find some time to explore and some of the highlights included a trip to Sankeien Garden, a traditional Japanese-style garden and the spectacular setting for a number of reconstructed buildings from Kyoto; a mad dash with Nick, Milo and Mark in 30 degree heat and 90% humidity to Kamakura which is situated in a valley boasting a rich heritage of ancient temples and shrines including the famous Great Buddha (Daibutsu), Kencho-Ji Temple and Tsurugaoka-Hachiman-Gu Shrine. We also managed a trip into Tokyo and boy could we have done with Bit Shifters One Reach application. With non existent Japanese, navigating the train and underground networks is no mean feat! Once in Tokyo we headed straight to the Imperial Palace gardens for a cultural fix and then on to Akhihabara for some retail therapy in the electronic shopping district (below).
The Imagine Cup really is a competition like no other and for those that fancy pitting their wits against students from around the world, this year’s theme has just been announced, to” imagine a world where technology enables us to lead healthier lives” The competition also jumps to yet another continent and if you make it through the national, regional or online qualifying rounds you could end up winning an all expenses paid trip to Delhi, India next August. Good luck and it would be great to see even more European success in next year’s competition..!!
