Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and co-organiser, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, has achieved monumental progress in applied science following the successful conclusion of it biennial tech event MYhackathon that breeds innovative and actionable solutions.
Since its inception in 2020, the marathon race for the minds has delivered several innovative and high-impact solutions from Malaysians for adaptation and application at various government agencies.
Among the successful solutions developed under this program are “Gajah Safe” by Satok Bridge Digital Sdn Bhd which integrates artificial intelligence (AI) technology and detection cameras to reduce human-wildlife conflict, and the Anti-drone Detection System (DDS) by FlyBots Technology which provides solutions for controlling drone intrusion for trespassing or unauthorised surveillance in restricted access areas.
For the 2024 edition, MOSTI, through Cradle, launched two groups under the theme ‘Hackathon Nasional Untuk Malaysia MADANI’ (National Hackathon For Malaysia MADANI) on 23 September and 25 November, respectively. Twelve (12) critical problem statements were sourced from various ministries, agencies, and local governments where Seven (7) problem statements were highlighted in Group 1, while five (5) were highlighted in Group 2.
The MYhackathon 2024 Group 2 programme officially closed during a ceremony held at the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB) in Kuala Lumpur where five Malaysian winners were announced.
Each winner of the programme’s Group 2 will develop their pilot projects, as well as one-to-one project implementation mentorship for the next 12 months utilising conditional grants of up to RM250,000. All the winners will also collaborate closely with the respective “author” of their problem statement to refine the implementation of their solutions.
In addressing MYhackathon 2024, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang noted that, “I am truly impressed by the quality of ideas and solutions presented… The usage of open innovation to address the nation’s critical issues represents a significant opportunity to accelerate Malaysia’s startup ecosystem and improve the country’s standing in the Global Innovation Index (GII). With the current progress, I am confident we can achieve our goal of ranking among the top 30 countries in the GII by 2025,” added the Minister.
This initiative received overwhelming responses from the general public, with a total of 419 enquiries and applications for the first group and 391 for the second, making up a combined total of 810. Additionally, MYHackathon 2024 received 3.8% (103) applications from Sabah and Sarawak for Group 1 and 3.9% (101) applications for Group 2.
