MREI bring another laurel for India by emerging winners at the Microsoft ‘Youth Spark Challenge for Change’
- Roopam Sharma, a student from MREI has developed ‘Emancipator’, a real-time position tracking system for Dementia patients
- Roopam will now serve as the Microsoft Youth Spark Advocate from India
May 28, 2015: Roopam Sharma, a student of Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI) has made it big at the Microsoft Youth Spark Challenge 2015 by winning the grand finals of this prestigious event!
Microsoft Youth Spark Challenge is a global contest that encourages young people who are passionate about social causes to find ways to spark good in their communities.
The cause which Roopam cares about is Dementia and its related disorders. The project Emancipator – a real time position tracking system developed by Roopam consists of a mobile application which sends alerts to a Dementia patient’s caregiver. The Dementia patient wears a band which starts vibrating as soon as the geo-fence is crossed giving a sense to the patient that he has crossed the geo-fence and once he is back to his senses he presses a button which triggers a voice navigation back to his home. If he doesn’t, the wrist band sends push notifications to all the people in the surrounding area stating his contact details and disease so that he can be assisted back to his place. The app makes the use of integrated cortana personal assistance which replaces the need of a human caregiver and can be used to assist the patient 24*7 in a better realistic manner. The application also has features like medication reminders and suggested exercises for the well-being of the person thus reducing the cost of Dementia Care along with the number of care-giving hours.
Roopam is currently working on finding a way to detect the onset of Dementia. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. It kills more people than prostate cancer and breast cancer combined. Worldwide, 35.6 million people have dementia, with just over half (58%) living in low-and middle-income countries like India.
Roopam’s victory would be rewarded by Microsoft with an amazing leadership-development trip to Nicaragua to learn about creating change, $2,500 cash to help turn his ideas into a reality , a Windows Phone, and the opportunity to serve as a Microsoft YouthSpark Advocate from India.
Congratulating the entire Manav Rachna family, Dr. Prashant Bhalla, President – Manav Rachna Educational Institutions said: “This is a moment of immense honor and pride, not just for Manav Rachna but for the entire nation. Heartiest congratulations to our students and faculty for their consistent achievement at international platforms like these”.
He further added: “Manav Rachna Educational Institutions have always had a strong belief in Research and Innovation. Our Students and Faculty are encouraged to bring their pioneering ideas to the forefront. Quite a large number of innovations are underway for which patents would be filed in due course. Our students are extremely happy to enjoy the facilities at the Manav Rachna Innovation and Incubation Centre and it has been noticed that this trend is quite contagious, inspiring newcomers to take to innovations in a big way”.
Notably, MREI has represented India and brought numerous laurels for the country on prestigious international platforms namely: Microsoft Imagine Cup (where teams from MREI have been winning across categories for three consecutive years); Formula Student Germany Competition, Shell Eco Marathon; Accenture Innovation Jockey, among others.
