Screenshot of the Chumbaka organising team on the first row with the judging panel on the second row consisting of Hazwan, Alexandra, and Shariman, together with the students from the champion team Zamohez.
KUCHING (July 27): SMK Sacred Heart Sibu students have won the recent Mobile Apps Hackathon 2021 (MAC 2021) with their Medicare App, which allows patients to communicate with their medical providers without having to visit hospitals or clinics.
The team, named Zamohez, composed of Ezra Yek Nai En, Moh Nian Chun and Zavier Lau Zhimuk. They walked away with a prize money of RM2,500 for their efforts.
Their software also includes a BMI calculator, a medical appointment reminder, and the capability to save personal medical information.
MAC 2021 was organised by a social enterprise, Chumbaka, in collaboration with the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research (MESTR) of Sarawak.
The competition attracted 100 teams and 246 secondary school students from across Sarawak, and saw live pitching from the top 11 teams to a panel of judges.
Students were given five minutes to pitch their mobile apps they created during MAC 2021 in the final judging round on Sunday. The purpose of the mobile apps is to assist communities navigate through the unfamiliar territory during or after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Judges were SDEC head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hazwan Razak, MESTR Sarawak Science Centre chief executive officer Shariman Jamil, and Borneo Digital marketing executive and Lean In Sarawak co-founder Alexandra Nastassia.
Team Change Maker, composed of SMK Bintulu students Isaac Yong Wei Onn and Edwin Ting Heng Wei, was announced as the first runner up. Shine, their app, is a platform for students to participate in numerous online competitions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Additionally, the app also allows teachers-in-charge to manage the student teams such as tracking project progress. The team received a RM1,500 prize for their app.
The second and third runner ups were teams Twinlight consisting of Lily Hwang Ying Yee and Grace Lu Tao Eng from SMK Telang Usan and Riam Road Secondary School and Oreo Hijackers consisting of Law Siang Hui, Lewis Wong Rui Jian, Hiew Zhien Yeung from SMK Sungai Maong.
They were awarded with RM1,000 and RM500, respectively.
Hazwan said it was a difficult decision to select the winners of the programme.
“The judges were impressed by the lengths and efforts that each of the 11 teams went to create their apps.
“As part of SDEC’s effort to build and raise digital talents in Sarawak, there will be many more possibilities like these,” he said.