Monday, November 18, 2024 The seventh annual Cathay Hackathon, Cathay’s flagship tech event for young innovators, came to a successful close in the Greater Bay Area's globally renowned high-tech centre, Shenzhen last weekend, providing talented, tech-savvy, and entrepreneurial participants from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas with a platform to showcase their forward-looking and inventive spirit. With the final event held at Qianhai Kerry Centre on 16 November, the Cathay Hackathon 2024 marked its first expansion into the wider Greater Bay Area since its launch in 2016.

The programme’s Final Pitch event brought together young tech enthusiasts as they developed and presented their innovative ideas and solutions designed to enhance the travel experience for Cathay Pacific’s customers, elevate Cathay’s lifestyle offerings, innovate Cathay Cargo’s operations, and increase HK Express’ operational efficiency.

This year’s Cathay Hackathon attracted an overwhelming 1,500+ applications from university students in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas. Following a rigorous selection process, 74 teams involving some 300 students were invited to participate in a 24-hour online Development Day, where participants created, refined and prototyped their ideas before presenting them to a panel of industry experts during the First Pitch. Ten teams were shortlisted to enter the final round, with the opportunity to showcase their concepts to Cathay’s senior management as well as other judges.

Joining the Final Pitch in Shenzhen as Guest of Honour, Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council member for the Technology and Innovation functional constituency Duncan Chiu said: “This year, the Cathay Hackathon has expanded into the wider Greater Bay Area for the first time. I see it as more than just a race; it’s a platform for teenagers to fulfill their dreams. I appreciate Cathay’s dedication to fostering a new generation of innovative thinkers by offering resources and support to help them pursue their aspirations with courage. Let’s all work together to empower these young dreamers so their passion for innovation can blossom like this hackathon, driving them towards future successes!”

Cathay Director Digital and IT Lawrence Fong said: “In its seventh edition, the Cathay Hackathon made its foray into the wider Greater Bay Area for the first time this year. This has not only provided us with a platform to engage with a wider pool of young aspiring tech enthusiasts, but also reinforced our commitment to fostering creativity and innovation, and cultivating a new generation of digital talent for the aviation industry. The ingenuity and resourcefulness on display has been truly inspiring, and it goes to show how talented these young individuals are and how much can be accomplished with a progressive and can-do spirit.”

Throughout the participants’ journey in the Cathay Hackathon, they explored emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, learnt about acceleration opportunities to jump-start their ideas, and were given a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Cathay’s operations – both in the air and on the ground – at its Cathay City headquarters. The event was supported by various partners, including Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BytePlus, Cyberport, Google Cloud, HK Express, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP), Hong Kong International Airport, Huawei, iOS Club, Microsoft, and China Merchants Shekou Cruise Homeport, all of which provided participants with the necessary advice, tools, and resources to ideate, develop, and refine their concepts.

This year’s winning team, GingTrip, comprised students from various universities in Hong Kong. Their winning idea features a modular trolley on HK Express flights to automate recycling and waste sorting. The waste data collected is processed automatically and loaded onto a dashboard, which helps inform and enhance data-driven decision-making.

GingTrip member Andy Ng said, “It’s great to be back at the Cathay Hackathon. We took part last year and learnt a great deal from the guidance and feedback provided by our coaches, subject matter experts and the judges. This year, with the Hackathon expanding into the wider GBA, we gained valuable insights into the region’s growing tech landscape and were honoured to come out on top. We would like to thank the Cathay Hackathon team for creating such a unique experience for all of us.”

GingTrip took home the top prize, with round-trip Business class tickets to any destination in Cathay Pacific’s network as well as a combined 100,000 Asia Miles. Additionally, they were offered fast-track access to ideation funding from incubation programmes, as well as a fast-track to Cathay’s Digital & IT Summer Internship and Graduate Trainee Programmes.

The Cathay Hackathon is part of Cathay’s ongoing commitment to nurturing and developing young talent for the aviation industry in Hong Kong and beyond. Through its many successful initiatives, including its Digital & IT Summer Internship, Graduate Trainee Programmes, Cadet Pilot Training Programme, I Can Fly programme, and Cathay Community Flight, Cathay continues to empower young people and promote aviation, technology, and innovation in Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area.

For more information, please visit www.cathay.com