UTech, Jamaica 2015-16 Annual Report

SCIT Students win prizes at CodeSprint/ Hackathon Two mobile developer teams from the School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT) copped the first and second prizes at a Caribbean CodeSprint/ Hackathon held in Kingston, May 24-25, 2015 • The winning app, iTech Hotel, is a hospitality based application developed by Avryl Francis, Che-Andre Gordon and Rasheed Andrews. It provides a way for guests at a hotel to check themselves in and order services using the app on their phone. MobiCrop, the second place app developed by Stephan Smith, Rickardo Hyde, Brian Thompson and Mikhail Grant of Team Squuuaaad allows farmers to predict weather conditions and plant the appropriate crops to make for an enhanced knowledge based better decision yield kind of result. The CodeSprint 2015 program is an initiative of the Caribbean Mobile Innovation Project, supported by infoDev and the Government of Canada. In collaboration with Start-up Jamaica, the CodeSprint aim was to apply technology in finding solutions to real-life problems and to enhance growth in critical sectors particularly energy, tourism and agriculture. The CodeSprint/Hackathon brought together computer programmers and others involved in software and hardware development across the region to collaborate intensively on a range of software projects. The competition attracted over 60 registrants and featured eight presentations - five from Jamaica, one each from Barbados, Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis. The teams outside of Jamaica were virtual participants in the competition. The top place winners in the CodeSprint are automatically eligible to enter the Caribbean Pitch I.T. Competition. CONSULTANCY SERVICES The Waste Management Group and Lab Services (WMGLS) completed and submitted its report on the UWI chiller system. This project included sampling and Page 63 University of Technology, Jamaica ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016 Prof. Nilza Smith (right) Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Computing shares a light moment with colleagues as she leads a tour of the labs located in the newly opened UTech, Ja. Waste Management Centre. Sharing in the happy occasion from left are Ms. Sasheca Soares, Administration and Budget Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank: Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CreW), Miss Dennise Forrest, former coordinator, CreW, Mr. Mark Barnett, President, National Water Commission, Mr. Chris Corbin, Programme Officer for the United Nations Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP) and Prof. Colin Gyles, Acting President.