KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) have lent their keen support to the first ever all-virtual NASA Space Apps Challenge Kuala Lumpur (KL) 2020 hackathon, which was hosted by Unlock Design International in partnership with ORIX Leasing Malaysia Berhad.
Due to the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, the three-day event was held virtually serving as a significant message that all positive efforts to contribute to global change can be done remotely. Themed "Take Action", participants were given choices to tackle given challenges under the categories of Observe, Inform, Sustain, Create, Confront, Connect, or Invent Your Own Challenge.
According to Unlock Design International's chief executive officer, Shozo Yamaguchi, the event presented excellent opportunities for participants to practice their solution-making skills using NASA's open data and gain knowledge through our conferences.
"We offered an avenue, where creativity and innovation are nurtured and grand ideas can be generated through critical thinking and collaboration. The NASA Space Apps Challenge event was facilitated to raise the awareness of NASA data here in KL where participants were not only exposed to new technologies and experts, but given the creative freedom to utilise the NASA data available to address and tackle global issues," said Yamaguchi.
Meanwhile, ORIX Leasing Malaysia Berhad's president, Fumihiko Sato, said the company is proud to be the collaborating partner of the NASA Space Apps Challenge KL 2020.
"The ORIX Local Challenge is an excellent opportunity for participants to experience solving real challenges in the financial services industry, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market where we aim to make a difference. This is part of our effort to pursue innovations in digital financing," he said.
"The ideas that have been submitted will not only help provide new advanced channels to support the SME market, but also simplify their journey to secure financing support," he added.A total of 300 teams comprising 2,000 individuals participated in the event.
Webinars and live Q&A sessions by various speakers were included as part of the event in addition to the Hackathon and Ideathon challenges. Just recently, the Grand Champion of the ORIX Local Challenge Hackathon – Lim Yangli bagged a cash prize worth RM5,000, whereas the Champion – Team Vickers Vampire, First Runner-up – Team Universe Academy as well as the Second Runner-up – Team AgriCarer of the NASA Hackathon won cash prizes worth RM3,000, RM2,000, and RM1,000 respectively. Additionally, the Champion – Team Aqua of the NASA Ideathon won a cash prize of RM1,000.