Five student teams from Taylor’s University swiped 5 of 12 awards at the recent i-MSC competition
Five student teams from the School of Computing & IT at Taylor’s University bagged top prizes, out of 12 awards presented, at the 11th Institute of Higher Learning-Multimedia Super Corridor (IHL-MSC) Malaysia Start-up Challenge, recently. Four teams from Taylor’s won the grand prize, first runner-up, second runner-up and merit awards in the non-degree category, which opened to higher diploma, diploma and foundation students. The other team won a merit award in the degree category; opened to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Collectively, the teams won RM28, 000 in cash prize.
“This is an immense achievement for the students and they have done the School proud with their astounding efforts,” said Professor Dr. Hiew Pang Leang, Dean, School of Computing & IT, Taylor’s University . “Their success in this competition is a true testament of the School’s effort to bridge the gap between academic knowledge in computing and real-world business in computer science. Instilling an entrepreneurship mind-set among undergraduate students prepares them to be future leaders in the industry.”
A group photo of the champions and 1st runner-up from Taylor’s University with Professor Dr. Hiew Pang Leang (second from right), Dean, School of Computing &IT and Associate Professor Dr. Raja Kumar Murugesan (first from right), Deputy Dean, School of Computing & IT, at the Institute of Higher Learning-Multimedia Super Corridor (IHL-MSC) Malaysia Start-up Challenge (i-MSC) competition recently
The competition is an annual event organised by Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) in collaboration with Ministry of Higher Education (MOE). The Institute of Higher Learning-Multimedia Super Corridor (IHL-MSC) Malaysia Start-up Challenge (i-MSC) aims to develop entrepreneurial skills, as well as innovative ICT ideas of participating students. i-MSC provides a platform that gives students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills required to successfully start up an ICT business by letting them solve real world problems for real customers.
Team The Edge, comprising of Duncan Tsen, 22, in the Foundation of Computing together with his co-founders, Chan Yi Qin, 20 and Chin Khang Wei, 19, from the School of Architecture, Building & Design at Taylor’s University reigned champion in the non-degree category for their mobile application, “FeedOn!” – winning RM10, 000 in cash prize. “We were ecstatic when the results were announced. We are honoured and grateful for the support we received and recognition for our work so far,” said Duncan.
Duncan Tsen (left), from the Taylor’s School of Computing & IT, presenting his mobile application “FeedOn!” at the the Institute of Higher Learning-Multimedia Super Corridor (IHL-MSC) Malaysia Start-up Challenge (i-MSC) competition recently
“FeedOn!” is an app aiming to solve world hunger as well as addressing food wastage and revolutionise charity food distribution in Malaysia. The app looks to give charity homes an easy access to excess food from manufacturers and a platform to match manufacturing companies which have excess food production with charitable institutions. Once there is a match, volunteers will be prompted and mobilized to pick up the food and donate it to those in need, creating another avenue for volunteers to help out more. “The prize is a lot of money and help, wherever we can find it, makes our journey memorable and easier, which can be powerful. We are fortunate to have incredible support from the School on recognising opportunities and helping us improve our communication, leadership and interpersonal skills,” he continued. On top of their win, the team was awarded an additional RM5, 000 from Infinite Ventures to develop their app.
The first runner-up position was awarded to team Ensurer, for their website “Ensurer”, an online-based insurance product that insures damaged, lost or stolen smartphones and other portable digital gadgets – without the need for agents. Team lead, Teoh Joo Fong, a first year student in the Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) (Computer Security & Forensics) at Taylor’s University realised early on that, “With the increase use of smart phones and gadgets, there was a lack of extensive protection. Usually damages like cracked screens or water mishaps incur heavy costs amongst users, which can result to have them consider replacing their gadgets rather than getting it fixed. This is unnecessary and can contribute in increasing electronic waste, which is why we wanted to ease consumers’ minds when they incur any damages to their device.”
He continued to say that with a small subscription fee per month, users receive a wide range of benefits and are assured that their gadgets are protected, which can take away worry and inconvenience. The remaining winners in the non-degree category were Team LEA for their mobile application Pocket Mall, as second runner-up with RM4, 000 cash prize and team WakkerApp earned a merit award and RM1, 000 for their mobile application, WakkerApp. In the degree category, student team Little Hunter won a merit award for their mobile application Traquer. Taylor’s University was one of 35 participating higher education institutions in Malaysia to take part in this competition.
A group snapshot of the five student team winners with their prizes together with Professor Dr. Hiew Pang Leang (second from right), Dean, School of Computing & IT and Associate Professor Dr. Raja Kumar Murugesan (first from right), Deputy Dean, School of Computing & IT, at the Institute of Higher Learning-Multimedia Super Corridor (IHL-MSC) Malaysia Start-up Challenge (i-MSC) competition recently
