Organized for the eighth year, hackUST was successfully held from March to April 2021, with record-breaking 860 hackers from 19 countries/ cities competing or 15 awards valued over HKD 300,000 as they developed innovative digital solutions that address business and social challenges. Jointly organized by the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center, Deloitte Digital and Developer Student Clubs HKUST, the competition this year offered a series of pre-hack events and workshops to equip hackers with the knowledge and skills necessary for understanding the themes (Environmental/ Energy Technology, Smart Travel Technology, Food and Beverage / Catering Technology, Social Innovation- Female Specific Solution and Health Technology).
Ten finalist teams were shortlisted to present in the hackUST Final Presentation and Award Ceremony, which was held as a hybrid event on 24 April 2021. The judging panel, including Mr. Allen Wong (Deloitte Asia Pacific Digital Customer Leader), Mr. Sunny Ip (Deloitte Asia Pacific Digital Partner) and Mr. Matthew Chan (Group Chief Digital Officer, Jardine Restaurant Group), was impressed by the finalists' creativity, presentation and thorough understanding of the problems identified. The competition successfully came to an end as we presented 15 awards to the winning teams below:
| Award | Team Name & Affiliated University* | |
| 1. | 1. Champion 2. Deloitte Women Hacker Recognition Award |
Team NAAAA (HKUST, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India) |
| 2. | 1. First Runner-up 2. Jardine Restuarant Group Young Innovator Award |
Team B# (HKUST) |
| 3. | 1. Second Runner-up 2. Xiaomi Vela- Smart City IoT Award |
Team QS Top 5 (HKUST, CUHK, PolyU) |
| 4. | 1. Finalist Excellence Award 2. Xiaomi Vela- Smart City IoT Award |
Team Blaze (HKUST, Imperial College London) |
| 5. | 1. Finalist Excellence Award 2. Deloitte Female Specific Solution Award |
Team Geek Overflow (HKUST, HKU) |
| 6. | Finalist Excellence Award | Team FAKEusT (HKUST, CityU) |
| 7. | Finalist Excellence Award | Team Meraki (HKU) |
| 8. | Judge Special Mention Award | Team Elixir (HKUST) |
| 9. | Judge Special Mention Award | Team M&M (HKUST) |
| 10. | Judge Special Mention Award | Team Pixel (HKUST) |
| 11. | The Most Adorable Idea Award | Team Vegeken (HKUST) |
| 12. | The Most Adoptable Idea Award | Team Lima (HKUST) |
| 13. | The Most FAiL- First Attempt in Learning- Award | Team 361 Hunters (HKUST) |
*University Full Name:
- CUHK- The Chinese University of Hong Kong
- CityU- City University of Hong Kong
- PolyU- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- HKUST- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- HKU- The University of Hong Kong
From left to right: Mr. Allen Wong, Mr. Matthew Chan, Second Runner-up Team QS Top 5, Champion Team NAAAA, First Runner-up Team B#, Mr. Sunny Ip
After the competition, the Champion team and the winning team of the Deloitte Female Specific Solution Award shared with the media their experience in the competition, while Donny Siu, Acting Director cum Head (Entrepreneurship Programs) from the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center, Allen Wong, Deloitte Asia Pacific Digital Customer Leader, and Cecilia So, Deloitte China Human Resources Director, also spoke to the media about how this year's hackUST promotes STEM talent development and women's empowerment.
Media interview with the award winners and representatives from HKUST, Deloitte China and Deloitte Digital
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