Global Competition PolyHack 2023 Concludes

PolyHack 2023, a global student-led hackathon and ideathon competition jointly organised by PolyHack, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office (KTEO) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), successfully concluded on 24 June. The 2-week competition brought together more than 700 talented individuals from over 80 regions, fostering innovation, collaboration, and technological advancements on an international scale. The competition served as a platform for talented individuals to harness their creativity and technical prowess, focusing on the domains of artificial intelligence (AI), financial technology (FinTech), smart city, and Internet of things (IoT).

PolyHack is a competition initiated and organised by a group of PolyU students in 2022. Organised as a hybrid event, participants can choose to join online or physically in Hong Kong. PolyHack invites all students, regardless of major and discipline, to join the event individually or form a team with complementary skills to create a well-rounded project. The event features an inspiring series of talks by industry leaders, where esteemed professionals shared their insights on emerging tech trends and opportunities. Workshops and mentorship sessions further enriched the participants’ knowledge and skillsets, equipping them with the necessary tools to tackle complex challenges and refine their project concepts.

Mr JaeYoun KIM, Lead, PolyHack 2023, said, “PolyHack is made for the students by the students. With the experience of joining different competitions, we wanted to create a rewarding and playful journey for our global student community, fostering true collaboration, networking, and inclusivity. This will not be possible without the support of PolyU KTEO and HKSTP. Not to mention the generous sponsorship from our diamond sponsors Chinachem Group and Huawei, platinum sponsors Deloitte Digital and ServiceNow, and silver sponsor RS Grassroots. We are excited for all the innovation seen in this competition, and we look forward to being back with a bigger and better PolyHack 2024 with the support from our sponsors and partners next year.”

Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation), PolyU, said, “PolyU takes great pride in fostering an ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship, innovation, and research from students to graduates, alumni, teachers, researchers, and our staff members. PolyHack is a very good example. It has brought together bright minds from high schools and universities worldwide, focusing on three vital domains this year – artificial intelligence, financial technology, and smart city. These themes embody the important elements of our rapidly evolving world, where innovation is the key to addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. As we witness the remarkable ideas and projects that have emerged from PolyHack 2023, I am filled with hope and excitement to the future. Our young innovators embraced the spirit of enquiry, collaboration, and critical thinking. They have harnessed their diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives to propose solutions that have potential to shape the world we live in, to make an impact on our world and society.”

Mr Raymond CHU, Associate Director of University Collaborations, HKSTP, said, “HKSTP endeavours to catalyse the growth of local technology start-ups and support universities at the upper stream of the innovation and technology ecosystem value chain to transfer technology and translate academic research into commercialised products. We congratulate all the winners and participants of PolyHack 2023, which aims to foster a new generation of talents with cross-disciplinary expertise, and from over 80 regions. These young and aspiring innovators hold the future in their hands and we’re excited to see how they will chart society’s progress and power new growth for Hong Kong and other cities worldwide.”

The competition follows a three-phase competition structure, namely Qualifiers, Ideation & Implementation, and Final Pitching. To qualify, participants must complete at least one of the Capture The Flags-like puzzles and challenges. In the main competition, individuals or teams are asked to submit their project proposals that tackle the problem statement of the chosen domain. Through a rigorous evaluation process, a select group of participants are then advanced to the Implementation Phase, where a technical prototype is submitted. For finalists, they are required to pitch and showcase the solutions developed during the competition.

The judging panel, comprised of experts from industry and academia, evaluated the projects according to the triple-line judging system, encompassing technical excellence, business viability, and innovation. The winners of PolyHack 2023 were selected based on their exceptional performance and groundbreaking solutions. The distinguished winners of PolyHack 2023 are as follows:

First Place: ALGA

Second Place: Birru

Third Place: GoPark

Special recognition was also given to outstanding teams and individuals in specific categories:

Best AI Award: ALGA

Best Fintech Award: FlexiChange

Best IoT Award: Birru

Entrepreneurship Award: Aquila

Best Deloitte Digital Award: ALGA

Best ServiceNow Award: Tech Dragon

Best Chinachem Group Award: Visionerse

Best Huawei Award: The Great Wave in Kanagawa

Best GIS Award: GoPark, Eastern Spice, JoePickTeam, hellowhat

Top Qualifiers Phase Award: Yijun Gu

The Merit Awards were presented to the following teams for their commendable contributions, in alphabetical order:

Banh Giò

BreathEZ

Crusaders

Curltai

CyberHealthy

DeezNuclearLamas

Demiurges

Dev Beans

FUN

Lone warrior

MKPA

nameless

RiseUpSquad

SEntralians

Sleepless

Unhackable

Utshob