Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU)

Kuala Lumpur, 23 April 2020: The challenging situation under the Movement Control Order (MCO) did not deter students from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) from bringing pride to the university and the nation, as they bagged emerged as the Top 2 winners of the Hilti Global IT Competition 2020, that saw participation from competing universities worldwide.

In the 2020 installment, 4 teams from Malaysia, all from APU, 1 team from Singapore, 1 team from University of Liechtenstein and 1 team from Switzerland were the finalists hand-picked by the panel of judges that comprised technical professionals, and academicians globally.

The Global IT Competition is an annual effort by Hilti Corporation, as a platform for young talents to tackle daunting challenges faced by the construction industry using technology. Undergraduate & postgraduate students from all over the world were part of Hilti’s annual Global IT Competition.

Hilti Corporation is a Liechtenstein multinational company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for the construction, building maintenance, energy and manufacturing industries, mainly to professional end-users.

Due to the needs for social distancing & movement restrictions imposed due to COVID-19, the competition took place virtually over a few days, at the beginning of the month. Students competed on developing the best IT solutions & concepts based on the competition theme, “Trusted and Low-Powered Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions for the Construction Industry”.

Team Acefaction from APU proposed the Hilti Auth (A Mobile Application to Authenticate Tools via BLE & Tracking the Tool Using Sound, Vibration & Visualization Radar), in which it emerged as the winning piece of the competition.

The 1st Runner Up was also bagged by a team from APU, Malaysia, Team Ants, the creator of WS Helmet (A smart helmet that helps in maximising the survival rate of construction workers at construction site).

Both teams were representations from the University’s School of Computing & Technology. Team listings are as follows:

The Champions won themselves an opportunity to visit Hilti’s strategic IT locations and to build their network with Hilti IT personnel, while our 1st Runner Up team walked away with a piece of Hilti’s power tool that comes with a lifetime warranty.

“Those struggling phases and challenges encountered, were the most blissful moments of my life as I had the opportunity to breakthrough my confort zone and achieve higher. This success is a mere salutation for those memories. I would like to offer my gratitude to my supervisors, Hilti coach and my fellow teammates for making this possible,” expressed Haridasan Balakrishnan, team leader of Acefaction, APU.

Dr Tan Chye Cheah, a Computing lecturer who mentored the Champion team, expressed his pride. “Without commitment from the students, this achievement wouldn’t have taken place. The team has dedicated their time, their minds, their energy into the Hilti IT competition since November last year. I'm proud that the challenges faced during Movement Control Order (MCO) did not stop them from committing further, and eventually they shone brightly in the competition.”

The Champions of Hilti Global IT Competition – Team Acefaction, APU with their mentoring lecturers during a photoshoot session before the Global Finals took place during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period. (1st from left: Chong Mien May, 1st from right: Dr. Tan Chye Cheah)

The 1st Runner Up team of Hilti Global IT Competition – Team Ants, APU with their mentoring lecturer, Vinothini Kasinathan (middle) during a photoshoot session before the Global Finals took place during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.