“Malisa, Ashley (my fellow MangoBunnies), and I decided to enter the Imagine Cup to have an impact on something more than our grades.  Whatever we created would benefit more people than just us.” – Erin “Ed” Donohue

KissMyCountry welcomes Erin “Ed” Donohue as our first guest blogger in a post about Microsoft’s Imagine Cup.  It’s an honor to post Erin’s thoughts as she travels to the US finals in Washington, DC, and as Microsoft  features her in an article encouraging U.S. students to study technology.  “Ed” is the mentor for Team MangoBunnies, who in 2009 became the first all-female finalists for the Imagine Cup.  “Ed” was a team member then, but as a college graduate she is now the team’s mentor.  This year they’ve designed a mobile application for women.  There are many ways to save the planet, and this is definitely one of them.  We’ll let “Ed” tell you about it in her own words.  Enjoy!

I was asked to do a guest post for KissMyCountry.com about the Imagine Cup and using technology to help solve social issues.  I love the Imagine Cup and I love to talk about it, so I jumped at the chance!  The Imagine Cup is a Microsoft-sponsored technology competition for students.  It asks students to solve the world’s toughest problems using technology.  “The world’s toughest problems” can sound pretty intimidating, so checking out the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is a great place to start thinking about which tough problem you want to tackle.

I’ve been involved in the Imagine Cup for two years, last year as a competitor and this year as a mentor.  I’m a part of Team MangoBunnies.  In 2009 we created CAMRA (Computer Assisted Medication Regimen Adherence) which is an alarm and reminder application for a mobile device that helps a user remember to take his/her medication.  CAMRA targets HIV/AIDS patients because of their complex medication regimens and the high adherence rate that accompanies those regimens.  Click here for more information about CAMRA.  This year Team MangoBunnies created Light Alert, a mobile application for women that uses GPS technology to warn the user that she may be entering an unsafe area.  The application aims to empower the user through information and make the user more aware of her surroundings in order to stay safe.  Please vote for Light Alert from Team MangoBunnies for the People’s Choice Award (has no impact on the outcome of the Imagine Cup).

Malisa, Ashley (my fellow MangoBunnies), and I decided to enter the Imagine Cup to have an impact on something more than just our grades.  Whatever we created would benefit more people than just us.  We realized we would be working in a project that would span semesters; it would be a dynamic project that could keep evolving and we could keep adding to it.  These are just our reasons for entering the Imagine Cup, but there are many more!

Recently, technology has played a huge part in contributing to the solutions of tough global and social issues.  Through social media, people can connect and rally around a cause and give it global recognition.  In the past year, on Twitter alone, we’ve seen huge numbers of people give support to the earthquake victims of Haiti, people going green for the Iran Elections, and going red for World AIDS Day.  Garnering this much support raises awareness of the issues, encourages discussion, and gets us that much closer to a solution.  Not only does social media technology help solve tough issues, but hardware and software does too.  With modern technological and medical advances, we are able to do so much more.  Technology can be used to affect so many facets of people’s lives, we can use technology to improve the quality of people’s lives, bring them information, distribute supplies more efficiently, the list is endless!

I am honored to be a part of this positive technology movement through the Imagine Cup.  I’ve seen firsthand the innovative and creative student force that drives the Imagine Cup.  I’m constantly astounded and amazed at the new ways students are using technology to help others and improve the world around them.  The Imagine Cup is encouraging this powerful, positive force and giving it a voice. Get involved!

Great post, “Ed” – you fit right in at KissMyCountry and you are welcome to guest post anytime!  Mr K and I will be at the Imagine Cup finals and we look forward to meeting you, the other MangoBunnies and the other finalists!