APU students the big winners in AWS’ Hackathon Build On Malaysia 2021
A formidable combination of innovation & technology skills by the finest talents from a rich pool of multi-disciplinary IT students at Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) reigned at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Hackathon Build On Malaysia 2021 championship.
During this coding competition, contestants from local public and private universities alike began with a challenge statement before the ideation stage of developing a business proposal. Along the way, they were guided on cloud computing by AWS experts. Ultimately, six teams were shortlisted and presented their proposal and prototype to a panel of judges during the grand finale which was held on 4th August.
In the grand finale of this nationwide hackathon, out of the 6 teams that qualified in total, 3 teams from APU won top awards by becoming Champions, 1st Runners-Up to 2nd Runners-Up!
Guided by a challenge statement responding to the call of UN Sustainable Development Goals for reducing inequalities, inclusive resilient cities, responsible and sustainable consumption, Team AWSAPU created an application “CareClub” that connects donation centres with community people and enables participation of donors and volunteers, which resulted in them being crowned Champions.
The winning team comprised APU’s Information Technology and Software Engineering undergraduates Mohamed Arusham Hussain, Dayanch Nyyazmuhammedov, Choo Kwan Hao Jason and Shanazar Valiyev, who took home the biggest cash prize.
Team AWSAPU comprising multi-disciplinary IT students at APU, emerged as champion at the AWS Hackathon Build On Malaysia 2021, by developing an application that enables easy and safe sharing of knowledge and resources in a city.
Mentored by Mr Amad Arshad, Senior Lecturer of Creative Interactive Technology at APU’s School of Computing, the team completed their project by utilizing cloud services powered by Amazon Web Services along with Google Maps API, creating a city-level community sharing and caring model, which enables easy and safe sharing of knowledge and resources.
Team AWSAPU pitch their business proposal to the panel of judges during the coding competition of Build On Malaysia 2021.
“The most exciting part of the app is its unique business idea, which consists of a rewards system. For more active donors, the system also provides certificates of appreciation and recognition to encourage more donations,” explained Mohamed Arusham Hussain, Team AWSAPU Lead who also took the role of full-stack developer of the app.
The 1st Runner-Up of AWS Hackathon Build On Malaysia 2021, Team Talos, made up of software engineering and IT undergraduates of APU, was challenged to find a solution that enables easy, safe, low-to-no-cost sharing of time, resources, services and skills to build thriving and sustainable communities.
The 1st Runner-Up award was won by Team Talos whose members consisted of four APU B.Sc. in Software Engineering students – Samir Musaev, Tan Yi Xin, Hassan Hassanzadeh Aliabadi, Yareesha binti Yusoff Roberts; and a B.Sc. in IT student Christian Randolf Victor. Working on a similar challenge statement to find a solution that enables easy, safe, low-to-no-cost sharing of time, resources, services and skills to build thriving and sustainable communities, the team secured the title. Dr Qusay Sabah Ishaq, Lecturer of Networks, Security & Forensics at APU’s School of Technology (SoT) was their mentor throughout the process.
Team Hello World took up a challenge to mimic coordination of supplying oxygen, PPE, medical equipment and hospital room during the pandemic of COVID-19 in the country, won 2nd Runner-Up in the competition.
2nd Runners-Up Team Hello World had five members made up of coursemates from the same programme, APU’s Bachelor of Computer Science (Intelligent Systems) – Chin Xin Yee, Lau Yi Xian, Brennan Chiang Bang Chen, Chong Zhi Xin and Chai Hui Tong, They were awarded gift cards and shopping vouchers. Mentored by lecturers from APU’s Schoool of Technology Dr Kuruvikulam Chandrasekaran Arun & Mr Shounak Ghosh, the team took up a challenge to mimic the coordination of supplying oxygen, PPE, medical equipment and hospital rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What was it that made the APU teams stand out among the rest? Mr Amad Arshad opined, “One of the fundamental reasons for the success of APU teams is the participation of multi-disciplinary Computing and Technology students who were passionate to excel in the domain of cloud computing. On top of that, APU’s collaboration with the AWS Academy also resulted in enhanced awareness about AWS cloud technologies within the student community at APU.”
The exhaustive process of selecting the right students with the potential to be successful in this event was another factor that contributed to the success of these teams. Ultimately, team bonding and teamwork were instrumental in the creation of these projects that have an impact on society, well-being and social responsibility.
Applauding the students’ dazzling achievement, Datuk Parmjit Singh the founder and CEO of APU said, “You had demonstrated such fantastic passion and commitment in learning the next-generation technologies while preparing for the competition in such challenging times. This has all paid off with your win today. Congratulations on your impeccable teamwork as learners and as professionals, under the guidance of your amazing lecturers. Don’t stop here – keep challenging yourselves and keep winning throughout your careers!”
Besides the AWS Partner Network, APU has established similar industry-academia collaborations with key local and global industry-leading organisations. Through strategic collaborations, students have gained much exposure to real-world digital technologies and from there have developed essential skillsets for their professional growth and career advancement in a rapidly changing future of work.