By YEONG XIU HUI
In the opening speech at ImagineHack, Taylor’s University (TU) Agents of Tech (AOT) president Janice Chau Sian Lu said, “Technology is the closest thing we have to a superpower.”
ImagineHack, an event organised by AOT, was held from 27 to 28 September at Lakeside Campus.
In line with ImagineHack’s theme of ‘Smart City’, participants armed with technological knowledge and app development skills put their “superpowers” to good use as they committed to a 24-hour non- stop hackathon.
It is inevitable that society has become increasingly dependent on technological advances and digital devices.
Head of Cloud Ecosystem Development at IBM, one of the main sponsors of the event, Vincent Ler said in his speech that the current smartphone is more powerful than the computers used to send astronauts to the moon in 1969.
Aspiring ideators, designers and developers pooled their ingenuity to make full use of the digital technology within their grasps, in the form of smartphone applications.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University student Ang Wa Shen, 22, shared about the idea and application his team worked on throughout the 24 hour period.
“It is a social community app basically, for people to post their enquiries and seek community help,” said Ang, adding that its design is similar to a digital notice board which allows people to post "sticky notes" if they needed help.
Ideas that were presented ranged from more personal use based, such as the one Ang and his team proposed, to applications that could be implemented on a national scale.
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) student Kelvin Loo Kie Feng, 22, teamed up with two fellow UTeM students to design a carpooling application that included a reward and redemption system for users who frequently offer carpooling to others.
Pitched ideas ranged from life diaries and health monitoring applications to various transport- related applications, such as one which digitalised the current public parking system into a paperless version, providing convenience and ease of use.
Amongst some of the more intriguing ideas was an alarm clock application, specifically to be used in transite, or when travelling with public transport, to make sure you did not miss your stop.
Yet another application was proposed to facilitate the search for parking spots in such a way where users that needed a parking spot is paired with users that were leaving a parking spot.
While some participants came fully prepared and teamed up with ideas to work on, others chose to attend the event alone.
School of Computing and IT student Lakshana Bunghoo, 19, attended the event not only out of curiosity to tap into the minds of her peers, but also because she believed in the necessity of further improvements to current systems.
“According to FBI data, 70% of youths know how to do some form of hacking. This shows how important safety is as a priority when it comes to technology. Networks can be good and bad,” she said.
She elaborated that while technology is beneficial, ample caution must be taken when planning and executing technology-related concepts. Undoubtedly, such advancement has its risks.
The event witnessed university students embracing technological advancements and putting great thought into how to build a better community through the use of technology.
It remains to be seen just how far technology as humanity’s collective superpower can be utilised. However, those who dream of saving the world could fulfill their dreams to some extent by using technology to improve our lives.
ImagineHack, an event organised by AOT, was held from 27 to 28 September at Lakeside Campus.
In line with ImagineHack’s theme of ‘Smart City’, participants armed with technological knowledge and app development skills put their “superpowers” to good use as they committed to a 24-hour non- stop hackathon.
It is inevitable that society has become increasingly dependent on technological advances and digital devices.
Head of Cloud Ecosystem Development at IBM, one of the main sponsors of the event, Vincent Ler said in his speech that the current smartphone is more powerful than the computers used to send astronauts to the moon in 1969.
Aspiring ideators, designers and developers pooled their ingenuity to make full use of the digital technology within their grasps, in the form of smartphone applications.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University student Ang Wa Shen, 22, shared about the idea and application his team worked on throughout the 24 hour period.
“It is a social community app basically, for people to post their enquiries and seek community help,” said Ang, adding that its design is similar to a digital notice board which allows people to post "sticky notes" if they needed help.
Ideas that were presented ranged from more personal use based, such as the one Ang and his team proposed, to applications that could be implemented on a national scale.
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) student Kelvin Loo Kie Feng, 22, teamed up with two fellow UTeM students to design a carpooling application that included a reward and redemption system for users who frequently offer carpooling to others.
Pitched ideas ranged from life diaries and health monitoring applications to various transport- related applications, such as one which digitalised the current public parking system into a paperless version, providing convenience and ease of use.
Amongst some of the more intriguing ideas was an alarm clock application, specifically to be used in transite, or when travelling with public transport, to make sure you did not miss your stop.
Yet another application was proposed to facilitate the search for parking spots in such a way where users that needed a parking spot is paired with users that were leaving a parking spot.
While some participants came fully prepared and teamed up with ideas to work on, others chose to attend the event alone.
School of Computing and IT student Lakshana Bunghoo, 19, attended the event not only out of curiosity to tap into the minds of her peers, but also because she believed in the necessity of further improvements to current systems.
“According to FBI data, 70% of youths know how to do some form of hacking. This shows how important safety is as a priority when it comes to technology. Networks can be good and bad,” she said.
She elaborated that while technology is beneficial, ample caution must be taken when planning and executing technology-related concepts. Undoubtedly, such advancement has its risks.
The event witnessed university students embracing technological advancements and putting great thought into how to build a better community through the use of technology.
It remains to be seen just how far technology as humanity’s collective superpower can be utilised. However, those who dream of saving the world could fulfill their dreams to some extent by using technology to improve our lives.