Malaysia’s APU keep racking up the wins, this time at AWS Build On, Malaysia

• Double Win for APU’s Computing&IT students at AWS Build On competition
• Beat 40 teams from Malaysia, goes on to represent country at ASEAN level

Team “AWSAPU” comprised students from different disciplines of the School of Computing & Technology at APU

A seamless visitor management system comprising Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies created by a team of students from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) emerged as the National Champion and the Best Innovation Award winner of the Build On, Malaysia 2020.

The multi-disciplinary Team AWSAPU comprised Victor Khoo Shien Yang, Chuan Yew Jian, Keith Lau Shuen Hong, Tan Zhe Wen, and Fhan Jacson, students of the Software Engineering, Mobile Technology, Information Systems Security, and Data Analytics programmes at APU.

The Build On, Malaysia competition, held Sept 30 was hosted by AWS, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and Smart Selangor, with the aim to encourage young entrepreneurs to exhibit their creativity. Prior to the competition, an online bootcamp and a two-day AWS educate workshop was held to expose young entrepreneurs to potential business plans and the value proposition of their cloud-hosted projects. It was also a part of the AWS Build On, ASEAN 2020 Hackathon series, an international hackathon for students of ASEAN countries to demonstrate their talents.

A total of 5 teams from APU were shortlisted for the preliminary round of the competition that comprised 40 teams from public and private universities in Malaysia.

The win by AWSAPU is the latest in a wins racked up bu APU students in various domestic and international student competitions, earning the university a formidable reputation as an elite institution for engineering and computing education.

AWSAPU’s winning project, Visitor Management System (VMS) addressed the problem faced by hospitals in the effective management of visitors in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. The solution proposed the use of wearable technologies and database systems to implement live visitor tracking, self-service registration processes, and visitation bookings, in line with the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in place.

"The road to achieving the Championship and Most Innovative Award in Build On Malaysia 2020 was an exhilarating ride with my teammates from different specialisations. As a team we were willing to collaborate and had each other’s back. These were the fundamental team building qualities that helped us persevere from the brainstorming of ideas till the implementation of our VMS System,” said Khoo, the team leader.

As the Champion and the Best Innovation Award winner, Team AWSAPU walked away with prizes worth up to US$2,750. As a National Finalist, they will now represent Malaysia to compete with teams from Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the ASEAN arena.

The academic mentor for Team “AWSAPU” was Amad Arshad, lecturer of APU’s School of Computing. “The team’s success was built on strong teamwork, positive attitudes, innovative thinking, and passion for technology demonstrated by each and every one of them. They’re highly-skilled and dedicated; I look forward to seeing them shine on the ASEAN arena,” says Amad.