Asia Pacific University (APU) strikes again with another achievemint, this time in the Varsity Hackathon 2022 organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). APU’s Team Alpacaverse and Team KekalFresh emerged as Top 15 among 300 local and international teams and took home a RM250 cash prize and Certificate of Participation.

Team Alpacaverse who scored 4th Place comprised three Year-2 students pursuing BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with a Specialism in Data Analytics — Leo Wai Yei, Chua Rou Lin and Khor Zhen Win.

On the other hand, the five-member Team KekalFresh that secured 8th Place consists of Ooi Zhen Wei, Teow Jing Wern Cassandrea, Chong Yi Shien, Ros Amisya Fatiha Binti Mohd Rizal and Aurelio Darren Savero, all of whom are Year-2 students pursuing BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with a Specialism in Data Analytics and Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) (Intelligent Systems).

The 10-day competition which was held entirely online provided a platform for undergraduates to gain new hackathon experiences by exploring the right way to solve challenges using critical thinking, learning how to validate and market their ideas, and developing a prototype.

Team Alpacaverse’s winning application, AlpacaHelp, streamlines donation within a single system and was built in Figma. Their working prototype links all involved parties together in a seamless ecosystem that can garner a larger user base. Interesting features in this prototype include a form that the needy can use to request help; a map that shows the nearby resource banks and people who are in need within the area; a request form that allows anyone to set up their resource banks; and an e-commerce thrift shop marketplace.

Leader of Team Alpacaverse, Leo Wai Yei explains that the application is all about helping create an easier and smoother process for both donors and needy.

“This is a mobile application that connects donors, the needy, and resource centres to offer more donation channels and at the same time streamline the donation process. Besides, our team implemented an e-commerce thrift shop to ensure our platform is self-sustainable in the long run, thus able to help the needy for a longer period than other implementations could,” he added.

On the other hand, Team KekalFresh, which translates to “maintaining fresh”, built a platform that aimed to get customers connected with fresh food suppliers.

“Due to the lack of food accessibility and availability, transparency and hidden cost, Malaysians have been facing food insecurity and food price instability for the past few years, especially during the implementation of various Movement Control Order during the pandemic,” explains team leader, Teow Jing Wern Cassandrea. This is what led to the creation of KekalFresh — to build  an engaging ecommerce platform integrated with data analytics features and intensive approaches to reduce food costs among Malaysia's low and middle-income groups.

The team came out with a comprehensive business model along with a complete Figma prototype of the solution, which features community pick-up points, supply and demands analysis, platform insights, discounts on near-expired foods and many more to tackle the points stated above.

Congrats to both teams as they had put all the theories they learned in the classroom into practice and proved their mettle among strong competitors from across Malaysia and overseas.

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