Support for Eclipse, Selenium & Jenkins empowers development teams to improve application quality upfront and deliver better apps continuously.

The world’s gaze has increasingly been turning toward a simmering conflict…

Here’s 7 things you may want to know about CAR:

1. What’s the CAR? The Central African Republic is a landlocked country roughly the size of Texas. They gained their independence from France in 1960. Since then, there have been eight coups.

 2. Why is CAR in the news? In March, the rebel group Seleka ousted the president of CAR, Francois Bozize and replaced him with rebel leader Michel Djotodia. (Note: Bozize’s presidency was the result of another coup in 2003).

 3. What’s going on now? The Central African Republic “is descending into complete chaos before our eyes” as described the U.N. deputy secretary general. The Seleka tribe has been accused of looting, killing, burning crops and homes. Currently, 10% of the population have fled their homes. 70% of children are no longer going to school and around 3,500 have been recruited as child soldiers. 

 4. Why did the violence start? For a country that has been only led by Christian presidents, the Muslim Seleka fought for power and control of territory which is rich in natural resources.

 5. How is religion involved? In a predominantly Christian nation, Djotodia is the first Muslim president. A group of Christian civilian groups, identified as “anit-balakas”, are providing protection in midst of violence. Bossangoa, the birthplace of Bozize and 185 miles from the capital Bangui, is becoming a center for Christian refugees. There are currently more than 35,000 Christians staying in this ghost town. In a nation plagued with political instability, this is the first time religion is play a key role.

 6. What is being done now to solve the crisis? France recently announced they will send 1,000 more troops. The United States has promised $40 million to help the African Union. There are 2,500 African troops currently in the CAR and the UN Security Council is considering taking action.

 7. So what about Kony? Remember Kony 2012? The huge international movement that spread like wildfire over the internet? Well he and his Lord’s Resistance Army are currently in the Central African Republic. Last week, the CAR government said it was in contact with Ugandan Joseph Kony who is talking about surrendering. 

Downloading free software is hugely time consuming and expensive in the developing world. Now one computer scientist has worked out how to spread it faster and more cheaply without using the internet.

The Sports Zone was yet again packed for UMBC's fall Idea Competition held on November 11th. Over 40 ideas were submitted and the Top Ten were selected for the final competition. Due to a last minute withdrawal, only 9 ideas were pitched to a standing room only crowd and a panel of three judges. Contestants were given a strict 3 minutes to present their ideas; those who went over heard the piercing sound of an air horn.

The big winners of the night were Kyran Richardson and Percy Addo. Their idea, Insource, creates a web based space that will provide students with an efficient way of recruiting individuals with desirable skill sets at UMBC. Through the utilization of collaborative tools like video conferencing and document sharing, Insource will provide users with the resources they need to connect, collaborate, and make projects and ideas come to life. “Insource makes collaboration between students a click and a step away,” said Richardson. Addo said that he and Richardson were “ecstatic and honored to have been chosen as the top idea.” Their award earned them $750.

The ideas this year varied drastically. Many implemented the skills of the universities engineering students, while others worked to make UMBC an even better experience.

Markus Proctor kicked off the night with his idea, BrainCAD: Computer Aided Design Software that is powered mainly by your thoughts and brain waves. Sounds crazy, I know, but there is hard science behind it and a working demo http://www.globatum.com/braincad. Other engineering ideas included The SJ Helmet, an idea presented by Abdulhadi Al Ruwaithi. The motorcycle style helmet has airbags inside that, in the course of an accident, will inflate and help protect the wearer. Cody Kenlak had a solution for finding the right music for every occasion, he calls it Dynamic Beatz.

Ideas to make UMBC a better and safer place are always crowd favorites, Emily Schultheis pitched her idea to bring 3D printing to every student at UMBC and a method for the  university to generate funds to pay for it. Mohammed Akbar suggested that we “bring carpooling to UMBC” with his idea, Instaride. Jennifer Lasbury spoke to the crowd about SPEAKedu, which focused on the benefits and need for student education about sexual harassment. It was good enough to win her $250 and a third place title.

Also working to make UMBC more progressive and innovative is Perry Ogwuche. He realizes that UMBC is a place of untapped potential so he decided to bring *hack to UMBC*. He got LOTS of questions from the judges and attendees! In the end, Ogwuche won most creative pitch and a cash award of $250. Best of all, HackUMBC http://www.hackumbc.org/ launches this coming weekend, December 6-7, 2013. “It is a great feeling to get awarded for best presentation. I was not expecting it and it came as quite the surprise,” said Ogwuche after the competition was complete.

The second place winner, Titus Jones, won $500 for his idea called ChatSeats  http://www.chatseats.org. The goal of Chatseats is to connect people - it's a way to have a great conversation with a total stranger. Jones said, “It's a way to casually meet awesome new people right in the midst of our busy lives.” ChatSeats is currently being piloted at TrueGrits. Check it out - sit down, start a conversation, and make new friends!

With the upcoming launch of the new entrepreneurial active learning workspace on campus, Entrespace, we expect to see many of this year's contestants working to make their ideas become a reality.

A special thanks to alums Chris Brandenburg (former CTO of Millennial Media), Corey Fleischer (winner of The Big Brain Theory), and Zuly Gonzalez (Co-founder & COO of Light Point Security), who were our judges for this year's Idea Competition. And to all the students who came out to listen and help select the winners!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX-TY7a22Us&w=560&h=315]

Time is running out for your chance to win the Maryland Charity Campaign grand prize: two round-trip tickets to anywhere that Southwest Airlines flies!

The deadline for the grand prize drawing has been extended. Be sure to make your gift or pledge before the end of the day, Tuesday, December 3, to be eligible for the grand prize drawing. Everyone who has contributed to the fall campaign is automatically entered into the drawing.

There’s still time to give. The campaign is accepting all donations through the end of the week. If you have not yet had a chance to do so, we encourage you to help support the many nonprofit organizations that serve our surrounding community, and consider a gift of any amount.

Please make your donation by completing your pledge form or visiting mdcharity.org. If you have not received a form, please download and fill out a pledge card and turn it into your coordinator.

Luxoft a provider of software development services and IT solutions, has closed the full cycle commercial software development of the navigation and information platform for ERA-GLONASS.