Victorious: (From second left) Cheng, Chen, Tze Xin, Tee and Ying Xin receiving the mock cheque from AWS Malaysia country manager Hussein Mohd Ali (far left).
THE rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made it possible to perform many tasks more efficiently.
Building on this potential, five students from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) - who call themselves Team "Ctrl + Chill" - channelled their creativity into designing an AI-driven disaster response system that enhances the speed and accuracy of flood rescue operations.
By integrating real-time, crowdsourced social media data with AI-powered rescue route planning using the Google Maps application programming interface, the system demonstrated its ability to transform how communities respond to natural disasters.
The team's efforts culminated in success recently, with their "MySelamat" project clinching first place at the Great Malaysia AI Hackathon 2025, recognised by the Asean Records as the largest on-site AI hackathon jointly organised by academia and industry in the region.
Going beyond predictive alerts, the project combines AI-powered SOS requests, risk-aware navigation and crowdsourced verification to help victims, rescuers and authorities coordinate effectively during emergencies.
The champion team - comprising data analytics and AI students Cheng Kar Meng, Samantha Tee Ker Xin, Charlotte Chen Zi Shan, Ong Ying Xin and Richard Ong Tze Xin - set out to prove that technology can "serve empathy", turning data into life-saving decisions, said Cheng, the team lead.
"Every AI feature in MySelamat was designed not for complexity's sake, but to strengthen human decision-making during floods," he explained.
Reflecting on the competition, he said their teamwork and belief in their vision carried them through.
"Reaching the top 20 finalists out of more than 300 teams was surreal. We spent countless nights refining our idea, perfecting our pitch and learning from mentors.
"The final round was intense. Winning was more than a trophy; it was proof that passion and collaboration can create meaningful impact," he said in an Oct 27 press release.
APU School of Computing (Application Cluster) senior lecturer and team mentor Chong Mien May praised the students' idea of integrating social media data with AI-driven route planning as "incredibly forward-thinking".
"They weren't just building an app; they were solving a human problem.
"What impressed me most was their agility. They took feedback quickly, refined their presentation, and turned a good idea into a truly exceptional one. Their passion and clarity made them stand out from the rest," she enthused.
Organised by the APU School of Computing in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the event, hosted on the varsity's campus, attracted 1,547 university students and 194 industry professionals who competed for an RM110,000 prize pool.
Participants were challenged to tackle real-world problems using AI.
Winners were honoured at an award ceremony held at the AWS Malaysia office on Oct 12.
Placing after the APU team in the student track were Team Solo Panda from Universiti Malaya and Team Kiwi Birds from Heriot-Watt University Malaysia.