The original idea of a European programming contest arose when Ricoh and Sun teamed up last year in an initiative to encourage synergetic innovations in office applications. Leveraging the large number of developers that use Sun’s Java™ language, the possibilities for new and customised functionalities of Ricoh’s multifunctional products (MFPs) and laser printers are virtually unlimited. The proof is in last year’s numerous entries. Finger print recognition, chatting software, forms recognition, Internet printing and peer-to-peer networking are but a few examples.

When asked about the benefits of the contest for the students, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Habil. S. Albayrak from the Technical University of Berlin, the university that won the contest in 2005, commented: “The ‘Ricoh & the Sun Java™ Platform Powered by U’ contest is a great opportunity for students across Europe to compete with each other and to prove their Java™ skills. It is a chance to put their theoretical knowledge to use, by writing a "real-life" application. By doing so, students learn new programming techniques and win immense practical experience.”

Compared to last year’s contest, several improvements have been made to take the contest to the next level. Additional countries have been included and universities from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom will participate. The number of universities and students from the participating countries that may enter the competition will be unlimited. Furthermore, the new edition of the contest will consist of three stages. 

In the first stage, the students will be asked to develop an application on a ‘virtual MFP’ (emulator). In March 2006, a jury will select four teams in each country to progress to the second stage. These four teams will then be asked to migrate their application from the emulator to the MFP for further enhancements. During the National Finals in April 2006, the winning application will be selected in each country. 

During the European final event in Amsterdam, the national winners from the six participating countries will compete for the European title. The event will take place in May 2006 and will include a ‘Technology Round Table Conference’ for the students, their professors and industry leading experts. The conference will focus on topics like peer-to-peer networking, grid computing and security.

The European winners will be awarded with the trip to the 2006 JavaOne™ Conference in San Francisco, USA. In addition, Ricoh will present great prizes at different stages of the competition for both the participating universities and the students, including: Ricoh MFPs, Sun Workstations, Sun training vouchers, Apple iPod®s and of course trips to the European final in Amsterdam.

"The Java™ ecosystem continues to grow and the use of Java™ technology continues to expand," said Ingrid van den Hoogen, Senior Vice President, Brand, Communications, and Integrated Marketing at Sun Microsystems, Inc. "We are excited to see Ricoh reach out to the 4.5 million Java™ developers and encourage them to program in new and innovative ways to Ricoh's platform using Java™ technology."

S. Mori, Senior General Manager of Ricoh’s European Marketing Group, added: “The ‘Ricoh & the Sun Java™ Platform - Powered by U’ contest clearly demonstrates how two market leading ICT companies, in cooperation with various European top universities, can stimulate innovation and offer students a unique opportunity to gain practical experience in an international business environment. A great chance for young developers to expand their contact network!”

Further information can be found on the official contest web site: edu.ricoh-developer.com. Via this site universities and students will also be able to register for the contest.

Ricoh’s "Embedded Software Architecture™" and the “Ricoh Developer Program™” (RiDP™) are trademarks of Ricoh Company, Ltd. Sun, Sun Microsystems, Java, and JavaOne are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other company names and product names used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.