The Hackathon contestants comprised teams of 2 – 4 undergraduate or graduate students. Participants had to develop and pitch their business projects in English. The competition included a preliminary round where teams submitted provisional business projects online via a 5-minute video clip. The final round was a 2-day hackathon at Bangkok University, where teams refined and pitched their complete business projects, covering pain points, business solutions, business plans, and financials.
The registration period opened on 15 February 2024, with a deadline extension until 22 February 2024, and the results were announced on 29 February 2024.
Finalists received 2-day training from 28 – 29 March 2024. The awards ceremony took place on 29 March 2024.
- The 1st prize winner received 100,000 baht and a certificate.
- The 2nd prize winner received 80,000 baht and a certificate.
- The 3rd prize winner received 50,000 baht and a certificate.
- Four honourable prizes, each receiving 10,000 baht and a certificate.
The theme of the event was "Innovative Business Project". The results showed that 58 interested teams with over 230 students from 23 universities across 7 countries participated.
BU x Berkeley SkyDeck Fund Hackathon Success
From the 58 interested teams with over 230 students from 23 universities across 7 countries, the pitching results were:
1st Prize: Team Glowco from Chulalongkorn University - Project "Painless Home Use Cholesterol Screening Kit"
2nd Prize: Team Workhard REPS from Petra Christian College - Project "Repurposed - Green Bin"
3rd Prize: Team Surety from Singapore University of Social Sciences - Project "Surety Menopause Management"
Honourable Mentions:
- Team PEER Lab from Hosei University - Project "Pineapple Leather"
- Team Excel In Stone from Asian Institute of Technology - Project "Thirsty Concrete"
- Team UGBN from Bangkok University, Chiang Mai University, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi - Project "IoT-ULAP"
- Team League Apollo: Quick Tech from Bangkok University - Project "Innovative Business Idea"
The key takeaway from this campaign's success was promoting essential skills for business project or innovation development and building collaboration between students, startups, and venture capitalists (VCs) in Thailand. This included promoting cooperation between students of universities in Thailand and abroad and the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, among other global partners.
Brian Bordley revealed about this collaboration: "Normally, the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund works closely with leading universities to provide knowledge and guidance on becoming a startup and creating an ecosystem conducive to startup business success. Over the past 5 years, we've had over 200 startups from over 30 countries worldwide join us, raising venture funding from $200,000 to a million. What we teach is not only how to be a good startup, but we also have funding sources that can help startups succeed."
The collaboration with the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund marks an initiative for Bangkok University to transform from a university with a strong point in creating SME entrepreneurs to startups capable of creating new disruptive global businesses and services for consumers. Please stay tuned for future collaborations between Bangkok University and the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund to organise the next Hackathon.
