S'pore students face off in Java challenge

SINGAPORE--Sun Microsystems has challenged Singapore tertiary students to pit their skills and knowledge in Sun technologies against one another. The initiative is an attempt to nurture technical entrepreneurship in the island-state, said company executives.

The JavaJive Technopreneur Challenge requires teams of infocomm students from local polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education colleges, to each submit an IT application and business plan showcasing Java Enterprise Studio (JSE), NetBeans and Solaris.

The challenge is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

According to Sun officials, the entries will be judged on their innovativeness and effective use of NetBeans, JSE and Solaris tools.

Tan Chang Huong, strategic initiative director at Sun Microsystems, said he expects up to 100 teams to participate in the challenge. Each team will have a maximum of four students.

Sun has staged similar challenges in previous years, such as JavaJam, which focuses on wireless technologies. JavaJive, however, encompasses a broader range of technologies such as radio frequency identification and gaming, Tan added.

The final judging will take place on Apr. 28, in which the top 15 teams will be asked to give a 10-minute presentation and demonstrate their IT applications to a panel of judges comprising representatives from IDA, the tertiary institutions, and local Sun partners.

The participating teams stand to win up to S$1,000 (US$614) in cash and a trip to the JavaOne developer event to be held in San Francisco from May 16 to 19.