Young Thai Talents Addressing Workforce Gender Gap Emerges as Second Runner-Up of ASEAN Data Science Explorers 2019

Thursday 17 October 2019 09:44
The ASEAN Foundation, SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) today held the Regional Final of ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEANDSE) 2019 that saw three teams from Viet Nam, Singapore and Thailand emerge as winners for their insights and data-driven solutions to solve the region's most pressing social and economic issues. Co-hosted by Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), Executive Vice President of depa Ms. Kasama Kongsmak, presided over the prize presentation ceremony. The winners of ASEANDSE 2019's Regional Final are as follows:

[First winner] Team AWM from Viet Nam, comprising Ha Vu and Trung Vu from RMIT University Vietnam, took first place at the Regional Final. Their project focused on ethnic minorities as a potential source for economic development in ASEAN.

[Runner-up] Team Re:volution from Singapore, comprising Shi Xuan Teng and Egwin Fan from Nanyang Technological University, emerged as the runner-up. Their project was designed to solve the waste management problem in ASEAN.

[Second runner-up] Meanwhile, Team NT from Thailand, comprising Noppawan Rakthinkumnerd and Bao Tran Ngo Le from Thammasat University, became the second runner-up for their project on gender inequality in work force in ASEAN

This event was the culmination of a year-long journey that involved a series of enablement sessions where close to 500 educators and 3,000 students were trained in SAP Analytics Cloud. The ASEANDSE 2019 competition had 1,341 (70% YOY increase) participants competing in the national finals held in all 10 ASEAN member states. The national champions progressed on to compete at the regional competition in Bangkok, Thailand. The three winners were chosen for their excellent capabilities in developing and presenting data-driven solutions that highlight six Sustainable Development Goals namely (1) good health and well-being, (2) quality education, (3) gender equality, (4) decent work and economic growth, (5) industry, innovation & infrastructure and (6) sustainable cities and communities.

"We were just excited and delighted that our ideas and our solutions were acknowledged by ASEAN, UN and other governmental agencies to turn our vision into reality. We also got exposure to diverse cultures from students from other countries that we've become friends with. We can learn from each other and share our knowledge and different perspectives in the region and I believe that diversity is crucial for someone who wants to be a global citizen such as myself and a lot of other students," said Trung Vu, a member of Team AWM from Viet Nam.

Team Re:volution, comprising Egwin Fan and Shi Xuan Teng shared, "The ASEANDSE program has shown us the variety of social issues we are facing in our region today and how crucial we need to work together in order to handle the issues effectively. From the competition, on top of many ASEAN friends we have earned, it's powerful data analytics knowhow which enables us to see through the challenging situations we are in and identify the most intelligent solutions. This program has shown that students like us can be the policymakers, the future caretakers of our home."

Noppawan Rakthinkumnerd and Bao Tran Ngo Le from Team NT stated, "We are glad we made a decision to participate in this program. This learning journey on data analytics has shown us the power of data in allowing us to truly understand the social issues we are facing in our lives. For instance, our project regarding gender gaps is based on our very own experiences. Our findings from ASEANDSE competition have underlined how critical the situation must be addressed and enhanced."

ASEANDSE is a regional programme by the ASEAN Foundation and SAP that recognises the importance of equipping ASEAN youth with skillsets that will help them to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution and unleash the region's full potential. Since its inception in 2017, ASEANDSE has empowered over 9,000 youths from 230 higher education institutions in the region with data analytic skills. Participating students came from a wide range of disciplines such as political science, engineering and architecture gleaning actionable insights from data to come up with solutions that have an impact on these areas.

"ASEAN Foundation is honoured and proud to collaborate with SAP for three consecutive years. SAP played a significantrole in thisinitiative as together we are addressing the post-2020 direction of ASEAN youth development that focuses on fostering future-ready ASEAN youth through digital skills development. The initiative help ASEAN youths to seize the vast opportunities that lie ahead of them. At the same time, the initiative equips them with relevant digital skills they require to tackle the challenges posed by the Industrial Revolution 4.0," said Elaine Tan, the Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation.

"We have identified that a widening digital skill gap is becoming a growing challenge across all industries and sectors in ASEAN. The collaboration with ASEAN Foundation has helped us to steer our focus on developing the human capital pool to ensure that all ASEAN young citizens have the relevant skills needed to thrive in the digital economy". said Verena Siow, Managing Director, SAP Indochina. "Through the ASEAN Data Science Explorers programme, we hope to work towards filling the digital skills gap in the region".

"Seeing the youth as the generation of tomorrow, depa pays great attention to empowering them with universal mindset, innovative tools and most importantly compassionate visions. With the objectives of ASEAN Data Science Explorers being in line with our core mission and the theme of Thailand's 2019 ASEAN Chairmanship 'Advancing Partnership for Sustainability', we are more than pleased to support the program by being the co-host of the ASEANDSE Regional Final 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand and look forward to many more regional collaborative opportunities to come," stated Ms. Kasama Kongsmak,.

About SAP

As the Experience Company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world's transaction revenue touches an SAP(R) system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want — without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables more than 437,000 business and public customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

About ASEAN Foundation

Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among the people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia, at ASEAN's 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997. The ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN. For more information, please visit: http://aseanfoundation.org/

About depa

Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) was established by virtue of the Digital Development for Economy and Society Act B.E.2560 (2017) promulgated on 23 January 2017, the second year in the Reign of King Rama X to support and promote the development of digital industry and innovation, support and promote digital technology adoption which benefit the national economy, society, culture, and security according to Article 34 of the Act. A Commission, whose members had been appointed by the Minister of Digital Economy and Society, was authorized to regulate and ensure the agency's performance.