Canberra student catches express bus to success with Android app

21/11/2011   12:25

NICTA and Optus are pleased to announce the winner of the inaugural ‘Unleash Your App’ Android app development competition - Zakaria Bouguettaya, a final-year Software Engineering student from the Australian National University. His winning mobile app, MyBus2.0, displays and searches Canberra public bus timetables, and then uses the GPS capabilities in the user’s mobile phone to map a path to the nearest bus stop.

The ‘Unleash Your App’ competition was launched in September 2011 to unearth innovative Android applications from undergraduate students in Australian universities. Students were challenged to create applications to ‘make our lives easier’, focusing on health and education, productivity, social networking, lifestyle, and news and entertainment.

Senator The Hon. Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, presented Zakaria with his first prize of $5,000 and a Samsung Galaxy S II Android smartphone at Parliament House today.

"It gives me great pleasure to present this award to a young student who we know is on the path to a bright future in Australia’s information technology industry,” Senator Conroy said.

“To help ensure Australia’s future prosperity, we need agile, smart technologies that make the most of emerging platforms. The talent and imagination of young people like Zakaria will no doubt help us grasp and shape this future.”

As part of the prize, Optus will also provide Zakaria with technical and commercial guidance to help him realise the potential of his winning app.

Austin R. Bryan, Director of Optus Digital Media said, “The high calibre of entries demonstrates the talent and innovation among our tertiary students, and how mobile apps can remove friction from our daily lives by making information easier to find when and where we need it. Zakaria’s app builds on existing ideas but offers improved functionality tailored to the user’s needs so you can get from A to B much easier.

“We’re also delighted to dedicate our time and expertise to help Zakaria fine-tune his app to get it commercially ready for the Optus App Store.”

Zakaria will be looking to use the cash prize to further his business, Imagine Team, which focuses on the development of innovative and useful apps for the public good. “It has been an amazing journey developing the MyBus2.0 app, and I am grateful for the opportunity to see it given a chance to be more widely known, and by extension, used,” said Zakaria.

The ‘Unleash Your App’ competition saw entries flow in from universities around the country such as the University of New South Wales, Monash University, University of Melbourne and others as students sought to exhibit their talents on a commercial stage.

The first runner-up was Zac Altman, a first year Science student from the University of Technology, Sydney, who produced a taxi booking app. The second runner-up was Matthew Browne, a second year Computer Science student from Monash University who created an app that tags geographic locations with ‘notes’. Both students received a Samsung Galaxy S II Android smartphone and first and second runner up cash prizes of $1000 and $500 respectively.

Rob Fitzpatrick, Director of NICTA’s Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics Business Team said, “NICTA and Optus launched this competition not just to unearth Android apps, but also to help talented university students bring their ideas into reality.

“We believe that our investment in today’s students will reap rewards for Australian research and innovation in the future. We wish Zakaria and his fellow contestants all the best in their studies and careers.”

About the winning apps

Document: Canberra student catches express bus to success with Android app
Contact: Dorothy Kennedy
Communications Specialist (Media), NICTA
9376 2098 or 0488229687
dorothy.kennedy<at>nicta.com.au