NORTHERN Caribbean University’s (NCU’s) Information and Technology team have once again won Microsoft’s regional Image Cup competition.

The team – comprising Conroy Smith, Ayson Baxter, Damian Mitchell and Imran Allie – copped this year’s competition with their entry, which entails a software programme called CADI (Computer Aided Distance Instruction) which, as the name suggests, will facilitate the remote interaction of students, teachers and resources.

The team developed the software under the mentorship and guidance of Kenrie Hylton, who is the chair of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at NCU.

Speaking at the recently held reception to recognise the participants, Joseph McKinson, country manager for Microsoft Jamaica, noted that winning the competition was no small feat and was in fact quite impressive as this year’s competition had over 40,000 registrants from the region, which comprises Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

The competition is Microsoft’s premier student development programme and is a global initiative that is geared towards developing technological development and awareness of technology among students.

The NCU team, meanwhile, attributes their success to the university’s ethos which embraces hard work and prayer. They look forward to representing Jamaica at the worldwide finals, which will be held in Korea in August.

Success of this nature is not new to the university as they won the regional title in 2005, advancing to represent the region in Japan. In 2006, they placed second. The inaugural competition was held in 2003 and has been held annually ever since.