• Inaugural edition of “Mapletree x NP Hack 2021” as an innovative, collaborative event to develop both technical and soft skills of students through design thinking, skills-up workshops and a solutions clinic
• More than 70 Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) students in 18 participating teams were equipped with skills to find solutions for challenges under the broad themes of Community, Business and Sustainability

SINGAPORE – Mapletree Investments (“Mapletree” or “the Group”) is happy to announce the successful completion of the inaugural edition of the “Mapletree x NP Hack 2021”, which received an enthusiastic participation from more than 70 students in 18 teams. Supported by Mapletree, the hackathon allows NP students to gain new, marketable, future-ready career skills.

The top three teams (Experience+, Networkout, Frootifi) impressed the judging panel in their three-minute pitch under the themes of Community, Business and Sustainability that addressed challenge statements relating to the Covid-19 pandemic which has created widespread disruptions, reduced interactions and significant impact to daily lives and businesses. Winning teams were awarded cash prizes of $3,000 (First Prize), $2,000 (Second Prize) and $1,000 (Third Prize) respectively. More information on the Challenge Statements and winning teams can be found in Additional Notes.

Mr Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree shared that, “We are encouraged by Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s design-thinking approach at the Mapletree x NP Hack 2021. Beyond Mapletree’s support for education which include bursaries and book prizes, we have also been supporting similar student hackathons, such as the Mapletree-SCCCI River Hongbao Hackathon and The Mapletree Challenge since 2019. It is evident that through Design Thinking Workshops and brainstorming sessions with academic mentors, students were able to come up with out-of-the-box and timely solutions to tackle challenges of the emerging new norm.”

“With the generous support of Mapletree, Mapletree x NP Hack 2021 has provided an exciting platform for our students to pick up key future-ready skills that will prepare them for the digital economy. The design-thinking hackathon and skills-up sprint workshops on Pitching and App Development allowed students to unleash their creativity and build on their problem-solving capabilities to address current business challenges. Resonating with NP’s efforts to future-proof our students, we hope that this experience culminates as a highlight for students in their digital portfolios, offering them a career and employability boost,” said Ms Tang-Lim Guek Im, Senior Director, Student Life at NP.

Targeted at NP students across different disciplines, the three-day hackathon took place from 29 to 31 March 2021 in a hybrid model of face-to-face and online workshops. In teams of three to five, students built solutions to one of the three challenge statements and pitched to the panel of judges. The proposed solutions were evaluated based on the relevance to the target audience’s needs, business case as well as creativity and persuasiveness demonstrated by the teams’ presentation skills.

Additional Notes

Photos
Photo credit: Ngee Ann Polytechnic
More photos available for download here

(Top Row, Left to right): Ms Heng Sue Yuan, Director, Group Corporate Communications, Mapletree; Ms Joanna Lee, Director, Retail Management Systems, Mapletree Commercial Property Management; Mr Tan Wah Yeow, Board Member, CSR Board Committee and Independent Non-Executive Director and Member of the Audit and Risk Committee, Mapletree Logistics Trust Management Ltd; Mrs Tang-Lim Guek Im, Senior Director, Student Life, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Mr Wan Kwong Weng, Group Chief Corporate Officer

(Front Row, Left to right): Mrs Pang-Eng Peck Hong, Director, School of Design & Environment; Ms Tan Ching Ching, Director, The Sandbox, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Office, Ngee Ann Polytechnic; Mr Lawrence Lai, Director, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and Ms Sylvia Ler, Senior Advisor, Student Life, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Themes and Challenge Statements

1. Community – Safe Connections & Interactions
Phase 3 has seen resumption of certain aspects of life. However, human interactions remain limited with strict social distancing measures.
How might we design spaces that allow safe social interactions and enhance authentic human connections?

2. Business – Thriving in the New Normal
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to evolve, there is a pressing need for organisations to rethink and reconfigure their business models. More and more businesses have been shifting away from traditional ways of operations and finding innovative as well as sustainable ways to increase efficiency.
How might we enable industries such as retail and hospitality to pivot their businesses to continue operations and grow amidst this challenging times when resources are limited?

3. Sustainability – Zeroing in on Waste
Singaporeans generated high volumes of food/ plastic waste from takeout packaging, food delivery during the pandemic. Our environment is under stress.
How might we reduce food/ plastic waste generated by households and businesses in Singapore?

​Winning Teams

First Prize:

Experience+
(Top Row, left to right): Kang Weixiang Roysten, Lew Jun Shao, Mr Tan, Miguel Bay Hongz (Front Row, left to right): Wong An Wen, Billy Dragova 

Theme: Business – Thriving in the New Normal
How might we enable industries such as retail and hospitality to pivot their businesses to continue operations and grow amidst challenging times when resources are limited?

To support the tourism industry amidst the pandemic, the team of final-year students from NP’s School of Business & Accountancy explored a solution using Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Shifting away from the traditional concept of tourism, the innovative approach promotes e-tourism through an immersive and interactive VR space. Breaking down physical barriers, the exchange of cultural experiences can then take place from the comfort of their own homes.

Second Prize:

Networkout
(Left to right): Kaung Myat Zaw, Charles Tew Jun Xiang, Mr Tan, Ryan Kurniawan, Anna Wee Si-En 

Theme: Community – Safe Connections & Interactions
How might we design spaces that allow safe social interactions and enhance authentic human connections?

Working around strict social distancing measures, the final-year students from NP’s School of Design & Environment proposed the idea of Networkout Mobile. Constructed within a shipping container, the mobile fitness centres not only encourage working adults to incorporate fitness routines during lunch or after work hours, but also promote authentic social connections. After training sessions, participants can also enjoy meals in a group using the facilities. A synchronous mobile application supports the booking of classes and keeps participants accountable with a reward points system.

Third Prize:

Frootifi
(Left to right): Maxwell Timothy Ebora Guico, Jedd Laurence Buena Palattao, Mr Tan, Ng Yoke Teng, Chua Wen-Lyn

Theme: Sustainability – Zeroing in on Waste
How might we reduce food/ plastic waste generated by households and businesses in Singapore?

To tackle the problem of plastic waste generated by households, the team consisting first-year Accountancy, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science students, proposed a recycling bin chute. The installation can be adapted into existing HDB rubbish chutes via an added pedal that allows residents to activate a flap to direct recyclables at the bottom of the chute into a recycling bin within the bin centre. The system’s fuss-free approach and use aims to encourage more residents to participate in recycling on a daily basis.

Judges

Ms Tan Ching Ching, Director, The Sandbox, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Office, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Ms Joanna Lee, Director, Retail Management Systems, Mapletree Commercial Property Management

Mr Lawrence Lai, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic