Eradicating Poverty Through Data

APU STUDENTS MAKE STRIDES IN NATIONAL COMPETITION

Addressing complex issues in a developing nation, such as eradicating poverty, requires a thorough analysis of the interconnected challenges that push people into this situation. Data analysis stands out as one of the most powerful tools that can provide decision-makers with a comprehensive overview before initiating decisive and coherent actions.

"The Guys" – (L-R) Nabil Nazme Nazim, Kwan Jun Er, Chok Qi Yang (Team Lead), and Cheng Wei Quan, celebrate the victory with their mentor, Mr. Mafas Raheem (far right), Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing (SoC) at APU.

Four undergraduates majoring in software engineering at the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) applied their data analysis expertise to tackle a complex economic issue specific to Malaysia. They harnessed the power of big data and promoted critical thinking in problem-solving.

"The Guys" -  (from left) Nabil Nazme Nazim, Kwan Jun Er, Chok Qi Yang (Team Lead), and Cheng Wei Quan, created a dashboard to analyze the relationship between economic inequality and poverty rates. In this picture, the Team Lead was pitching the panel of judges with their ideas. 

Known as "The Guys," this team of four BSc (Hons) in Software Engineering students created a dashboard to analyze the relationship between economic inequality and poverty rates. They also explored the factors contributing to economic inequality in the country, aiming to inform more effective policy development.

Their remarkable discovery earned them the title of runner-up and the Most Creative Award at the Malaysia Data Innovation Talent X DOSM Datathon 2023 (MDIT X DD 2023). This prestigious national biennial competition for both public and private higher learning institutions concluded on September 26, 2023.

Highlighting their analytical talents, Chok Qi Yang led his teammates Nabil Nazme Nazim, Cheng Wei Quan, and Kwan Jun Er to tailor their analysis to the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1: No Poverty. They achieved this by implementing additional drill-down features that allowed them to zoom into different districts of each state in Malaysia.

These drill-down features set them apart and earned them the "Most Creative" accolade among the Top 10 finalists who competed vigorously during the live pitching event at Sasana Kijang Hall at the Central Bank Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) on September 25.

This competition was organised by the College of Computing, Informatics & Mathematics Studies at Mara University of Technology, in collaboration with the Department of Statistics Malaysia under the Ministry of Economy. It was sponsored by the In Stats Statistic Club, SAS. The judging panel included industry professionals and senior leadership from DataMicron Systems, the Central Bank of Malaysia, the Department of Statistics Malaysia, SAS ASEAN, and Statworks India.

The additional drill-down features zoom into different districts of each state in Malaysia set “The Guys” apart and earned them the "Most Creative" accolade among the Top 10 finalists at MDIT X DD 2023. 

Contestants selected from five competition themes aligned with different SDGs, namely No Poverty (SDG-1), Zero Hunger (SDG-2), Good Health and Well-being (SDG-3), Quality Education (SDG-4), and Climate Action (SDG-13).

Reflecting on the challenges they faced and their most valuable takeaway from the process, Chok Qi Yang, the Team Lead, shared, "We encountered several challenges, including difficulties in cleaning extensive datasets, identifying relationships for analysis, and sourcing appropriate datasets from multiple internet sources since significant data was scarce. However, the team overcame these challenges through frequent meetings and open discussions to eliminate miscommunications and misunderstandings. For us, the best takeaway is that investing time in cleaning data ensures a smoother process for any data analysis project that follows."

Mr. Mafas Raheem, Senior Lecturer of the School of Computing (SoC) at APU and APU's Team Mentor commented, "By skillfully applying their analytics skills and leveraging the socio-economic knowledge gained through extensive research, our students have demonstrated their exceptional pitching skills and their ability to tackle SDG-related problems, despite their background in software engineering. Their practical solutions received high praise from the judges."

APU’s Team “The Guys” was awarded runner-up and the Most Creative Award on stage at the closing ceremony of Malaysia Data Innovation Talent X DOSM Datathon 2023 (MDIT X DD 2023). Award presenters from the left were Prof. Ts. Dr. Haryani Haron, Mr. Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, and Dato' Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin. From the right were Chok Qi Yang, Kwan Jun Er, Nabil Nazme Nazim, and Cheng Wei Quan. 

"This also proves that our students can drive positive change in the nation with their expertise, contributing to making Malaysia one of the least poverty-stricken countries in the region. I am immensely proud of our students and delighted to see APU's achievements," Mr. Mafas added.

Runner-up and the Most Creative Award of Malaysia Data Innovation Talent X DOSM Datathon 2023 (MDIT X DD 2023) for APU. 

Upon being announced as the runner-up winners, "The Guys" were awarded a cash prize of RM2,500 by Dato' Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician of Malaysia, Department of Statistics, Malaysia, along with Prof. Ts. Dr. Haryani Haron, Assistant Vice Chancellor, College of Computing, Informatics and Mathematics Studies, UiTM Malaysia; and Mr Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. The First and Third Prize winners were from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the University of Nottingham Malaysia, respectively.