APU Teams Make Clean Sweep At Hackathon

Champions: Team AWSAPU comprising (from left) Choo, Dayanch, Shanazar and Mohamed Arusham developed an app that enables easy and safe sharing of knowledge and resources in a city.

AN application (app) that connects donation centres with the community and that enables the participation of donors and volunteers won over the judges at a national coding competition recently.

Named “CareClub”, the app was presented by Team AWSAPU from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Hackathon Build On Malaysia 2021.

Held on Aug 4, the grand finale saw the team comprising information technology (IT) and software engineering undergraduates Mohamed Arusham Hussain, Dayanch Nyyazmuhammedov, Jason Choo Kwan Hao and Shanazar Valiyev being crowned champions.

To add even more cheer to the occasion for the university, the first and second runner-up positions went to its two other representative teams – Team Talos and Team Hello World.

These three teams were among six teams that qualified for the grand finale, which challenged participants to present their proposals and prototypes based on a challenge statement.

Team AWSAPU’s app was in response to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of reducing inequalities, making cities inclusive and resilient, and ensuring responsible and sustainable consumption in its challenge statement.

Mentored by APU School of Computing Creative Interactive Technology senior lecturer Amad Arshad, they completed their project by utilising cloud services powered by the AWS, along with Google Maps application processing interfaces, creating a city-level community sharing and caring model which enables easy and safe sharing of knowledge and resources.

In a press release from APU, team lead Mohamed Arusham, who was also the app’s full-stack developer, said 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,” he added.

On the success of the three teams from the university, Amad said one of the fundamental reasons was the participation of multidisciplinary computing and technology students who are passionate about 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 the university,” he said.

The varsity added that the exhaustive process of selecting the right participants for the event was another factor that contributed to the success.

“Ultimately, team bonding and teamwork were instrumental in the creation of these projects that have an impact on society, well-being and social responsibility,” it said.

APU founder and chief executive officer Datuk Parmjit Singh applauded the students’ achievement. “You had demonstrated such fantastic passion and commitment to

learning the next-generation technologies while preparing for the competition in such challenging times.

“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!” he said.

Team Talos comprised four software engineering students – Samir Musaev, Tan Yi Xin, Hassan Hassanzadeh Aliabadi and Yareesha Yusoff Roberts – and an IT student Christian Randolf Victor.

They worked on a challenge statement that sought 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.

APU School of Technology (SoT) Networks, Security and Forensics lecturer Dr Qusay Sabah Ishaq was their mentor.

Team Hello World was made up of computer science (intelligent systems) students Chin Xin Yee, Lau Yi Xian, Brennan Chiang Bang Chen, Chong Zhi Xin and Chai Hui Tong.

They took on a challenge to mimic the coordination of supplying oxygen, personal protective equipment, medical equipment and hospital rooms during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They were mentored by SoT lecturers Dr Kuruvikulam Chandrasekaran Arun and Shounak Ghosh.

To find out this report in the Star Educate on 22 August 2021, please click: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2021/08/22/apu-teams-make-clean-sweep-at-hackathon