THE NATION'S PRIDE - Best Team in Asia & Malaysia from APU Achieves 1st Runner Up at Global IT Challenge

Kuala Lumpur, 25 July 2016: A team of students from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU)’s School of Computing and Technology brought pride to Asia and Malaysia, as they were the only Asian and Malaysian team to reach the ATOS IT Challenge 2016 Finals, which was held in Paris, France recently.

The ATOS IT Challenge is an annual effort by ATOS, global leader in digital services and Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games, to nurture next generation of IT professionals. This year, the competition theme was the “Right to be Forgotten: manage your online persona”. Students were required to develop a smartphone application to help track and manage personal data from the perspective of an individual, a citizen, an employee or a consumer.

APU’s team, “Go n Gone”, comprising Level 2 students, Muhammad Alkaustar Sanusi, Abdulhamid Ahmed Ali, Gamma Rizkinata Striana and Syahmi bin Suleiman, was the first Malaysian team to enter the global finals since the first installation of the competition in 2012. This year, they were also the only Asian team to be qualified as one of the Top 3 finalists alongside the teams from UK and France, and had the opportunity to meet ATOS’s senior management to present their idea in Paris, France.

The team spent 9 months working on their mobile application, which enabled users to better manage their Twitter account, delete tweets and prevent cyber-bullying through text analysis and deep learning. They were jointly mentored by Hemalata Vasudavan, lecturer, APU and Tan Chee Wooi, Member of the ATOS Scientific Community.

Team “Go n Gone” was also awarded as the best team on Social Media for their active engagement with their followers on the internet.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Vinesh Thiruchelvam, Dean, Faculty of Computing, Engineering & Technology (FCET), APU, expressed, “From the faculty’s point of view, the team has reached the pinnacle. Although they did not win the competition, being on stage for the global level, being the only team from Asia and Malaysia to be in the finals, was already and extraordinary achievement. The faculty and APU are really proud of them.”

Apart from global exposure and cash prizes, the students also won themselves an internship opportunity at ATOS Malaysia.

“We encountered a lot of difficulties throughout the 9 months of application development. Our hard work paid off as we really enjoyed the exposure and experience at Paris. We will not stop developing the application and hopefully, it can be available in the market very soon,” said team “Go n Gone” upon their return to the Malaysian grounds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU)

The Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) is amongst Malaysia’s Premier Private Universities. APU offers a wide range of degree programmes in collaboration with Staffordshire University, UK with Technology as a common core, including Information Technology, Engineering, Business & Management, Accounting, Quantitative Studies and Media. These programmes nurture students into professionals and prepare them for challenging careers and roles in business and society globally. Professionalism, problem-solving skills, and creativity & innovation are some of the key attributes of APU graduates. The multi-cultural student community comprises both Malaysian students as well as International students.  APU has earned an enviable reputation as an award-winning University through its achievements in winning a host of prestigious awards at national and international levels. It was announced as among the Highest Rated Universities in Malaysia, being rated at TIER 5 (EXCELLENT) under the SETARA 2013 Ratings by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) on 1st November 2012. For more information, please visit: http://www.apu.edu.my/.