📝 Summary
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) successfully hosted UTMxHackathon 2026, a student-led tech initiative that brought together 399 participants from 24 universities to solve real-world challenges. The event fostered cross-disciplinary synergy and resulted in 96 high-quality prototype submissions, with the top 10 teams advancing to a physical grand finale. The winners were awarded for their innovative solutions, with Team Protect Liver emerging as Grand Champion.
JOHOR BAHRU, May 23 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) successfully hosted UTMxHackathon 2026 at Dewan Kejora, Faculty of Computing, marking a historic milestone in student-led tech initiatives. Organised by the Persatuan Mahasiswa Sains Komputer (PERSAKA), the event scaled unprecedented heights, bringing together 399 participants across 123 teams from 24 universities. As PERSAKA’s largest innovation event to date, the programme achieved profound impact by fostering cross-disciplinary synergy uniting talents from Software Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Mechatronics to engineer tangible solutions for the future.
Going beyond traditional theoretical learning, participants were challenged to architect technology-driven solutions for two pressing real-world case studies: Precision Urban Agriculture for Vertical Farming and The Youth Resilience Challenge.
The transformative journey began with intensive online workshops as a pre-event, where expert speakers Mohd Haidar Hamzah and Adnan Shafi equipped participants with the industry-relevant skills necessary to tackle complex socioeconomic and agricultural problems. This crucial preparation culminated in the official Opening Ceremony on 11 May 2026, setting the stage for the main event.
During the preliminary phase, the focus was on translating raw ambition into viable tech. Dedicated mentors Khairol ‘Izzul Firdaus, Muhammad Muadz Jamain, and Muhammad Nasrul Hakimi Zamzam guided the teams, helping them elevate their conceptual ideas into functional prototypes.
The sheer scale of innovation was evident when the committee received an impressive 96 high-quality prototype submissions. Preliminary judges Dr. Seah Choon Sen, Mohammad Alwi Yahaya, Yew Mun Thian, and Ridzwan Azhar faced the formidable task of evaluating the entries, maintaining a strict standard for innovation, market feasibility, and technical depth.
Only the top 10 elite teams advanced to the physical Grand Finale on 23 May 2026 at Dewan Kejora. This final stage tested not just their coding abilities, but their resilience. Under intense time pressure, finalists presented high-fidelity prototypes and robustly defended their system architectures.
The grand finale judging panel, comprising Mohammad Alwi Yahaya, Syukry Radzi, and Dr. Seah Choon Sen, pushed the teams to prove the real-world impact of their work. They rigorously challenged the finalists on user experience, behavioural economics, and practical implementation, particularly concerning GXBank’s demanding Youth Resilience Challenge.
The closing ceremony was officiated by Prof. Ts. Dr. Azlan Mohd Zain, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Computing, who commended the exceptional quality of the projects and highlighted the crucial role such platforms play in accelerating the growth of future tech leaders.
The programme culminated in a prize-giving ceremony that recognised solutions with strong market potential. Team Protect Liver emerged as Grand Champion with “MoneyKawKaw”, followed by Team MEOW3WANG as 1st runner-up with “AuraFarm” and Team Blablabla as 2nd runner-up with “vBlaFarm”.
Meanwhile, the Best Innovation & Idea award was presented to Team Kamihack for “Think Twice”, while Team John Hyrax received the Best Pitch & Presentation award for their compelling delivery of “Vertisync”.
Following the awards, the organising committee presented special tokens of appreciation to the distinguished guests and system creators, acknowledging the collaborative ecosystem required to host an event of this magnitude.
The overwhelming success and wide-reaching impact of UTMxHackathon’26 were made possible by the generous support of main sponsor GXBank and supporting sponsor RunCloud. Their involvement directly empowered participants to push the boundaries of their potential. Special recognition was also extended to Tan Zhi Ming and Sabrina Heng Wen Qi for developing the proprietary KOOQ System, which provided a flawless digital infrastructure for the competition.
Ultimately, UTMxHackathon’26 did more than host a competition. It actively nurtured a nationwide community of problem-solvers and set a new standard for high-tier student innovation. Deepest gratitude goes to the PERSAKA committee, volunteers, and faculty staff for their tireless dedication. UTMxHackathon’26 has definitively proven that when passion, multidisciplinary teamwork, and technology unite, the capacity to create impactful solutions is limitless!
