Can You Hack It, a 24-hour hackathon by Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) is back for the second time following its debut success last year.

To be held on April 27 and 28 at Menara Hong Leong in Damansara City, Can You Hack It is a unique initiative by HLB under its digital innovation push, offering prizes of RM15,000 in cash, potential employment opportunities and even further funding and support for incubator or accelerator programmes for promising projects that are presented.

Last year’s Can You Hack It, participant Aaron Chuah, 20, from Inti International College Subang

has joined HLB as an intern at its IT Centre of Excellence in January.

“The highlight of my experience at the hackathon was watching the top 10 group presentations as I learned that applications not only need to be functional but must also have creative features to increase usage.

“I’m excited at the chance of being hired as a full-time employee at the Bank after I graduate because Hong Leong Bank is one of the more technologically savvy banks in Malaysia.

“The working environment here is very conducive for tech innovation, which gives people like me the opportunity to learn more and enhance my IT skillset,” said Aaron.

For others, like IT graduate Tan Chun Keat, 27, who was hired as a full-time employee of Hong Leong Bank in February after his participation in last year’s hackathon, it was his experience as a first-timer at Can You Hack It that changed his perception of technology in the industry.

“Our idea was to create a web app to make it easier for SMEs to apply for loans, using automation. It was such an educational experience.

“I’m a developer in Group Operations & Technology now, but it was during the hackathon that I was truly exposed to how ideas can influence the way that banking works, to make things better,” said Chun Keat.

Here is the step by step of how to impress the judges, and potentially take home the prize money or even a job with one of Malaysia’s leading financial brands.

1. A hackathon, especially at a financial institution, is not a place to wander in unprepared, take the time to read the hackathon’s website, understand what judges will be looking for and be clear about what can be brought to the table
2. The idea matters, focus on the idea that has been building, why that matters to a company, a bank, and its customers and then find the right technology for it.
3. Test every idea as hackathons are a great place to build ideas, test them there and if it works, great. If not, a valuable lesson was learn as well.
4. More importantly, mentors are accessible and they can give invaluable feedback; be willing to build fast, test often, learn and adapt.
5. Most importantly, ask for help as hackathons are a great place to learn, make friends, gain knowledge and grow.
6. The need for a team, hackathons can help to draw people into a more cohesive fighting unit, and making sure that everyone, not just the techies, have a role to play in making the dream come true.
7. Present oneself, great ideas don’t work if people don’t understand them, be sure to think about how to share information on that new function, feature, or product with the judges even before building it, simple language and great images are one way to go.

A collaboration with JomHack Malaysia, Google Cloud and Rakuten RapidAPI, Can You Hack It is one of the Bank’s initiatives in solving the challenge of hiring fit-for-future talent while immediately rewarding individuals and teams who demonstrate innovation and great ideas for better banking.

Can You Hack It is designed to allow participants to propose their ideas or solve problem statements provided by the Bank, for a better digital banking experience or new financial services, products, coding and validating them, and then demonstrating a working prototype to a panel of HLB’s key executives and observers from the local digital industry and VC scene.

With over 150 FinTech developers and designers in one place, it will explore the limits of their imagination in the field of financial products, banking experiences, and in the discovery of new uses for existing technologies.

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