The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) announced the success of the “HACKaTHAILAND” – New Normal: Digital Possibilities project and pledged to move forward with developing digital manpower, enhancing digital readiness, leveling up digital skills for the public as well as joining forces with new-generation people to create a major catalytic mechanism for “changing” Thailand. depa is also committed to accelerating economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis subsides. The “HACKaTHAILAND” project could conspicuously usher in a new level of interactive, immersive experiences with more than 900,000 participants throughout the project and generated an economic impact of around 780 million baht.
Asst. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of depa, said the HACKaTHAILAND New Normal: Digital Possibilities project was initiated in November 2021. The project has received good support and collaboration from partners and organizations in the public and private sectors. The digital-inspired project aims to enhance digital literacy and raise awareness about digital-based creativity as well as improving digital skills for the people to be ready for coping with the rapid change and transition to an economic landscape in the new-normal era. The project also inspired the business sector and society to acknowledge the fact that digitalization can offer great possibilities through three digital-driven activities, comprising the HACKaTHAILAND Online Learning Platform, HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon, and HACKaTHAILAND Hybrid Exhibition.
The HACKaTHAILAND Online Learning Platform has a goal to push the boundaries of possibilities in education to enable Thais to learn and improve their digital skills anywhere and anytime. Currently, there are more than 10,000 learners with over 12,000 certificates presented. There are more than 20,000 people who are capable of taking advantage of their digital skills and knowledge obtained from the online learning platform to further drive their careers and professions. The Digital Entrepreneurship, Startup Crash Course, and Web Application Development are the most popular learning programs among learners participating in the online learning platform. It is a reflection that Thais, especially new-generation people, are adjusting to empower themselves with digital skills improvement along with growing business knowledge in order to create a new career path and enhance employment opportunities. At present, the HACKaTHAILAND Online Learning Platform is still open free of charge for interested people to explore opportunities and level up their digital skills.
The HACKaTHAILAND Hybrid Exhibition showcased a host of advanced digital technologies and innovations from across the world for Thais and foreigners to experience the advancement of digital technologies as the admission is free. The technology-enhanced exhibition served as a digital gateway to inspire and encourage digital technology development. It also highlighted a digital ideation seminar to unlock digital potential by experts from multiple segments. There were more than 150,000 on-site participants with over 800,000 people joining the exhibition online from March 28 to April 17, 2022.
The HACKaTHAILAND Competition & Beyond Hackathon could usher in a new phenomenon with around 500 new generations with a bag of creative ideas in 100 teams pitching their digital-inspired ideas to solve national problems in order to push development of three core industrial sectors, comprising Agriculture, Tourism, and Industrial & Logistics in a 168-hour hackathon competition on April 4-10. The aim is to move the country forward to the digital economy and society as those digital ideas and solutions are expected to play a role in helping the economy recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten finalists were announced and they worked with partners in the private sector to deal with the national problems over a month. All 10 finalists were capable of turning their digital ideas into practical solutions to solve the national problems. All digital ideas and solutions are regarded as a catalyst for change to promote substantial growth of the country’s digital industry. They will be a major driving force to lead Thailand to the digital economy and society era in the future.
“HACKaTHAILAND New Normal: Digital Possibilities recorded more than 900,000 participants throughout the launch of the project, generating an economic value of over 780 million baht. Thanks to an overwhelming response and accomplishments in digital-driven activities launched under the project, depa is set to further optimize growth and opportunities in the digital economy by launching the second season of the HACKaTHAILAND project under the concept “Digital Possibilities to SEED Thailand soon. For more information on depa’s HACKaTHAILAND activities, contact LINE Official Account: @depaThailand, Facebook Page: HACKaTHAILAND, and depa Thailand,” said the President/CEO of depa.
Source: Triple Eight Ideas
