MDeC and Tentspark announce 2nd edition of BDA app challenge

  • Two different tracks, over RM400K worth of prizes
  • Grand prize winner gets UK trip to attend summit and meet Sir Tim Berners-Lee

MALAYSIA’S national ICT custodian Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) and IT consultancy and solutions provider Tentspark have jointly launched the National Big App Challenge (BAC) 2.0.
 
The app development competition is open to individuals, developers, ISVs (independent software vendors), startups and students who will have to develop apps that showcase the importance of big data analytics (BDA) in solving societal issues.
 
They will be using open data sets made available by industry partners and the Malaysian Government, MDeC said in a statement, adding that there would be over RM400,000 (US$102,000 at current rates) worth of prizes for the winners.
 
Following the inaugural BAC 1.0 in 2014, BAC 2.0 has expanded to two coding competitions or what the organisers are calling Hack2WKs: Cyberjaya City Hacks and OpenGov Hacks.
 
Cyberjaya City Hacks will be looking for smart city solutions using open data sets made available by supporting partners Cyberview Sdn Bhd; the Sepang city council, and MapIT MSC Sdn Bhd.
 
OpenGov Hacks require participants to solve challenges affecting citizens, government and businesses using government data sets which are readily available. The apps created may provide creative solutions regarding environment, food, culture, transportation and more, MDeC said.
 
Open data is a key component in the National BDA initiative, spearheaded by MDeC, to drive the adoption of BDA, cultivate innovation and build a BDA ecosystem that will impact all sectors of the economy, the agency said.
 
Open data is non-personal, non-sensitive data that can be accessed, used or shared by anyone, it added.
 
MDeC and Tentspark announce 2nd edition of BDA app challenge“This year, we welcome the private sector as well as government agencies which are interested in opening up their data for the challenge,” said MDeC chief operating officer Ng Wan Peng (pic).
 
“This increases dataset variety, which provides greater opportunity for participants to engage and design innovative apps,” she added.
 
Each Hack2WK will be preceded by an ideation workshop followed by a hackathon where 10 finalists will be chosen each. The finalists will be given five more days to fine-tune their app before submitting their videos to face the judges in the grand finals.
 
The first prize for each Hack2WK is RM10,000 cash and the top three winners of each Hack2WK get to join a BDA Accelerator programme worth RM50,000. [RM1 = US$0.25]
 
The Cyberjaya City Hacks also offers a special sponsor prize worth RM10,000 to develop the ‘Cyberjaya Smart City Pilot App.’
 
The grand prize winner will win a trip for two to the United Kingdom worth RM50,000.00 including a chance to visit London’s vibrant startup scene, attend the Open Data Institute (ODI) Summit in London and meet Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of World Wide Web.
 
Interested participants may register online at www.bigapp.my.

Related Stories:
 
MDeC drives government Open Data via partnership, national champions
 
Malaysia's big data framework rolls out
 
MDeC, Tentspark kick off big data analytics/ open data app challenge
 
 
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