Mekong - U.S. Partnership
A team of four Thai students mentored by the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development program won first runner-up in the World Citizenship category of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Thailand competition on April 24, 2014, in Bangkok.
The students, from Chalalongkorn University, Sripatum University, Chidlada School and Assumption University won a cash prize for their “Locaze” mobile app that aims to use global positioning systems devices to track and predict arrival times of buses, thus encouraging the use of public transportation and reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Staff from the USAID Low Emissions Asian Development program advised the students over several months to help them develop their idea and participate in this global student technology competition. As one of three main categories, the World Citizenship competition challenges students to design software products for social good, and the focus this year was on major development challenges affecting Thailand and the broader region: clean energy, forests and ecosystems, HIV/AIDS, governance, biodiversity and food security.
USAID partners provided mentoring to all 10 finalist teams, with first place going to a team from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi and Chulalongkorn University for “We Heart,” an app to combat HIV and AIDS stigma, encourage early testing, and remind people living with HIV to take their medication on time. We Heart will now compete with winners from other countries for a chance to reach the World Finals in Seattle in the United States. Thailand has won the global competition three times, more than any other country.
The Locaze student team won first runner up in the World Citizenship category of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Thailand competition
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
