The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) together with partners in the public and private sectors announced and present awards to 10 winning teams that took part in pitching their innovation ideas in solving the national problems in three key industries at the HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon after an intensive competition for as long as 168 hours under the ten finalists were announced to help transform the country.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of depa, said the depa has committed to improving digital skills of Thais over the years in preparation for a new economic ecosystem in the new-normal era as the Thai economy is recovering from the impact of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. People are aligning themselves with the changing environment and embracing digital technologies and innovations as a solution to deal with problems and to enhance convenience. Therefore, it is mandatory for Thailand to equip its people with essential skills and provide them with great access to digital technologies in a safe and creative manner for the maximum benefit of the country as Thailand is moving forward to becoming a digital economy and society with sustainability.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) by the depa together with partners in the public and private sectors teamed up to launch the HACKaTHAILAND project with an aim to raise awareness about digital technology adoption as well as leveling up digital skills among Thais. One of the highlights is the HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon, which was held as an ideation stage where new-generation people gathered to brainstorm and discuss practical solutions to solve national problems in three key industries, comprising agriculture, tourism and logistics industries.
HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon is a 168-hour hackathon competition where all 126 participating teams are challenged by a case study and pitched their ideas and solutions before the judging panel. The competition featured three qualifying rounds. They were narrowed down to the 30 finalists in the “Elimination Pitching” round before finding the best 20 teams in the “Semi-Final Pitching” round, after which the 10 finalists were announced in the “Final Pitching” round. The 10 finalists will be working closely with partners in the public and private sectors in the real-world environment to acknowledge the problems. The progress, performances and works of those 10 winning teams will be followed up and monitored one month after the end of the competition on April 18 to May 17, 2022.
“After an intense competition over a course of 168 hours until reaching the final pitching round of the HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon organized in parallel as part of the HACKaTHAILAND New Normal: Digital Possibilities project, all participating teams demonstrated great efforts, determination and commitment to come up with innovation ideas and solutions with digital technologies leveraged to help solve national problems in three core industries of the country. Even though there were challenges and obstacles facing them during the competition, including the spread of the COVID-19, all teams were committed to showing determination to join activities in order to identify problems and improve their skills so that they can create innovative works and solutions using their highest potentials with experts. On behalf of the depa, I would like to thank all new generations participating in the project and the hackathon competition I would like to congratulate the 10 finalists and extend my appreciation and moral support to all unqualified teams and enthusiasts. I hope that they will not stop creating works, developing new ideas so as to play a part in solving national problems,” said the president/CEO of depa.
The winning teams in the HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon are as follows; The “Wang: Data Market” team that came up with a solution to help jobless people generate income through data marketing management. The team received 1 million baht in cash prize. The first runner-up is the “NBP” team that developed an application capable of creating the sea in the palm of your hand. They received a cash prize of 500,000 baht. The second runner-up is the “Unknow” team that presented an innovative food-sharing platform for tourists. They received a cash prize of 300,000 baht. Meanwhile, the 4th to 10th finalists received a cash prize of 50,000 baht each.
In addition, the top five teams are eligible for the Fast Track privilege to pitch their ideas in the “Investor Pitch” round with funding support from the depa Digital Startup Fund. The “Investor Pitch” round presents opportunities for all teams to introduce their works to investors and representatives from state agencies, companies and organizations in the private sector as well as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to create sustainable business connections with those investors and entrepreneurs in order to further optimize their business development and create value added to the economy in the future.
The HACKaTHAILAND project runs until April 17 and is open free of charge to the public on 10.00 – 20.00 at HACKaTHAILAND Venue @TRUE DIGITAL PARK. For more information and latest updates on the project and activities, contact LINE Official Account: @depaThailand or Facebook Page: HACKaTHAILAND and depa Thailand.
Source: Triple Eight Ideas
