Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) serves as a platform to showcase ICT talents with the experienced panel of the judges and criteria adhering to Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) standards.
Lyna Mohamad
Brunei Darussalam’s representatives did the country proud at the recent Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards 2022 as they returned home last Tuesday with two winning and two merit awards.
Held recently in Pakistan, the APICTA Awards is an annual international awards programme which aims to raise ICT awareness in the community and assist in bridging the digital divide.
Every year, through thorough assessments by experienced judges comprising technology experts from various industries, members of the academia as well as government sector representatives, outstanding local ICT innovations were identified in Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA), and given recognition to seek further success in the global arena through participation in APICTA Awards. BICTA, jointly organised by Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC), Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) and Infocom Federation of Brunei (IFB) continues to serve as platform for individuals, students and local enterprises to showcase their ICT talents.
As BICTA judging criteria adheres to APICTA standards, the judges highlighted how this year’s entries have showcased more of the local entrepreneurs’ talents, demonstrating higher standard and quality products. The BICTA 2022 winners and participants with products that have the most potential were subsequently nominated to represent Brunei Darussalam in the APICTA Awards 2022.
Brunei Darussalam was represented by the Ministry of Health (MoH) who won the Winner and Merit Awards for BruHealth app; Rumine Corporation who also won a Winner Award for TechSim; Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha Girls Religious Arabic Secondary School (SUAMPRIPAHS) who won a Merit Award for SignSpeak; and Sekolah Menengah Berakas with a product called MidoriSAWI.
Prior to APICTA Awards 2022, each team was mentored by experienced judges and industry experts, covering various aspects of the judging criteria to ensure they were well-prepared to pitch their product on the Asia Pacific stage.
Representatives from the MoH were Mohammad Eswady bin Brahim and Mohammad Kamarulariffin Zaki bin Harith Fadzilla. Unlike other products that focus on different services separately such as contact tracing and health/well-being, BruHealth has an integrated system and manages the whole population, which impressed the judges.
“Alhamdulillah, MoH and BruHealth received the recognition for all the years of hard work, teamwork and dedication during and after the pandemic. Most importantly, BruHealth’s successes in APICTA 2022 were attributed to the whole of government and whole of nation approach in fighting the pandemic,” said Mohd Eswady.
More features will be added to the app such as the Health Index and Risk Assessment after the pilot study is completed, as well as other Population Health Management campaigns and a digital therapeutic solution for certain diseases.
Fellow Winner award recipient Rumine Corporation, represented by Sarinah binti Ziziumiza and Nursheila binti Ziziumiza, is a technology software company that enables any business or industry to create their own customised augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR) and applied games.
Their product TechSim is a digital enabler tool for education and training simulation platform, which can be used across various fields, said Sarinah. The development of TechSim stemmed from the need to upgrade, retrain and assess their skills to remain relevant in the industry as things rapidly change with the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The immersive training platform is effective for practising critical thinking skills and motor skills, in addition to shortening the training time and delivering consistent results safely, by using XR technology that can track the body and provide an assessment guidance system.
The representative expressed their gratitude for the kind gestures given by the BICTA and APICTA organisers and mentors for the opportunity to compete at APICTA Awards 2022. Rumine Corporation hopes that the immersive training platform can reach a larger audience via partnership and collaboration, especially where the industry is increasingly shifting to remote and hybrid workplace environments.
“We will continue with our efforts to raise the awareness in using innovative ICT solutions for education and training so more can embrace new ways to train, sustain and develop their employees to remain competitive and agile,” added Sarinah.
Meanwhile, SUAMPRIPAHS was represented by Aleeya Farhanah binti Haji Mohd Azim, Nurazineeiq @ Nur Farisah Watsiqah binti Hj Marjuki and Nur Atiyah Aqilah binti Haji Hasnan. During their first BICTA bootcamp, one of the team members came up with an idea on how to help people with disabilities such as blind or deaf people by using a mobile app called SignSpeak.
Throughout the journey, the team learned a lot of new information and skills regarding on technical part from their mentors and supervisors. “Alhamdulillah after winning this APICTA awards, our product gets its recognition from the people in Brunei. With this it gave us a big encouragement to expand our product SignSpeak more and will give a better version of us in the future,” said the school representative.
The team will continue their research and development on what features need to be included. They will also continue collaborating with Persatuan Orang Kurang Pendengaran for further market testing and see how far it is sustainable in the long term.
