APU students won the first-ever Malaysia and Brunei round of the ACI YLS Sustainability Startathon, a remarkable achievement that reflects their dedication to solving sustainability challenges head-on.

In a thrilling display of innovation and dedication, students from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) emerged victorious in the first-ever Malaysia and Brunei round of the ASEAN-China-India Youth Leadership Summit (ACI YLS) Sustainability Startathon.

This inaugural 6-day large-scale event brings together youths across ASEAN, China, and India to address today’s most critical sustainability concerns.

The Summit includes a carefully chosen programme of activities centred on the theme ‘Sustainability - Urban Living’ including the Sustainability Quest, Forum, Startathon, and more.

OSG Youth Alliance (the main organiser) and Asia Discovery are teaming up to identify the three best green tech teams, 15 winners, each with five members, who will travel to Singapore to compete in the prestigious Singapore Youth-Leadership Summit.

Ms. Tham Hoong Ching and Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Vinothini Kasinathan from APU’s School of Technology (SoT) and School of Computing (SoC) contacted Asia Discovery and offered to host the opening ceremony and the first round of the Malaysia and Brunei round at APU’s facilities.

Asia Discovery selected 10 teams to advance to the final stage of the competition during the semi-final round held at Sunway University in late September 2023.

In the final round, the three top teams from APU, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), and Sunway College Johor Bahru were chosen as winners for their remarkable talents and strong dedication to sustainability.

Loricsson Chia Khai Zhen, Lim Tzu Ming, Quah Seng Kit, Lau Joe Ying, and Ang Weoy Yang, a team of Intelligent System, Software Engineering, and Data Analytics students from APU are among the members of the three winning teams with their innovative project, ‘2050 Power Bank’.

This ingenious project integrates the utilisation of food waste as a potential energy source to generate electrical power, which can be stored and used to charge electronic devices.

This sustainable solution has the potential to revolutionise the way we generate and consume energy.

While their Malaysia and Brunei round solution did not explicitly incorporate AI, it provided them with valuable insights that went beyond the scope of their academic coursework.

This experience has equipped them with a broader perspective that will undoubtedly contribute to the development of more sophisticated solutions for their assignments and Final Year Project.

Additionally, their project aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), such as SDG Goal 7, which emphasizes the importance of clean energy.

In the grand final round of the Sustainability Startathon, participants from China, India, and ASEAN countries will be grouped together, throwing them into a competitive arena.

The overarching theme of the final round will be based on the UN SDGs, but the specific problem statement is still under wraps.

“With limited information available at this time, our main goal is to build a solid knowledge base on sustainability,” said Loricson represented his team.

“This will help us to develop innovative solutions that address the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Since one of the winning teams had only three members and they needed 15 winners to go to Singapore for the Youth Leadership Summit, the top two speakers were chosen to join the winning teams.

Chin Hong Wei, an APU student studying Information and Communication Technology, is one of the best speakers. All 15 winners will fly to Singapore from 29 October to 3 November 2023.

During the summit, all members of the group will be divided up and work with ASEAN-China-India members for another round of competition.

This promises to be a thrilling and thought-provoking experience for all involved.