Above: Minister Hassel Bacchus with unidentified developers at the awards ceremony. Photos courtesy MDT.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation hosted its concept awards ceremony for the first D’Hub Challenge on September 29.
The selected developers will create a proof of concept based on their project submissions.

The developers will compete to deliver a viable proof of concept solution for five different challenges and each selected development team received a $50,000 award to proceed with their work.

One Eleven Technologies (Tyrel De Bique), TriniCodeHunters (Julie Koon Koon, Angus Chai-Hong, Varendra Baldeen
and Michael Sam) and D’Velopers (Akshay Seedath, Kyle Jaimungal and Suveer Ramsamaroo) will work on their projects for a Liquor License Data Management Solution. The Digital Transformation Ministry described the required software to be “A digital solution for the management of Liquor License data from the various Customs and Excise offices (Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tobago) in a unified manner, to improve data accuracy, accessibility and security.”

The Online Passport Application Tracking Solution, which the ministry described as a digital solution that enables passport applicants to easily receive updates on the availability and readiness of their passports throughout the application process, will be tackled by Project Apollo (Chad Kanhai and Christopher Mason), VirtuosoForce Innovations (Kerisha Stewart and Anand Singh) and Ankh Tech Team 2 (Christopher Keller and Agola Kisira Odero).

*Franka Costelloe, Chief Adjudicator, speaks at the awards ceremony.*

The Noise Pollution Measurement and Reporting Solution, a digital solution that provides the public with the ability to measure noise pollution via personal devices and subsequently make reports will receive the attention of J3T (Johnny Tiu), Tri-Rocket (Aaron Boodoo, Marc Hypolite and Trevyn Roberts) and Sandy (Dane Sandy).

The Personalised Health Monitoring and Advisory Solution is a digital solution that provides the public with the ability to monitor their health, push prescriptive advice and allow individuals to subscribe to information on NCDs to help them take control of their wellness. The project concept proofs will be developed by The E-Team (Emeka Farrier), SK DEVS (Kwasi Edwards and Sinead Hamel-Smith) and Bright Engine (Anil Ramanan and Sacha Beharry).
Section 31 (Jourdain Cornwall and Sarah Calbio), ThaVibes Ltd (D’Journe Arthur) and SK DEVS will produce a proof of concept for a Real-time S42 Address Identification Solution, a digital solution that provides the public with easy access to residential and commercial S42 addresses.

According to a media brief issued by the ministry, “A total of 50 applications were received and 15 winners, three per category, were selected by an independent panel of expert judges. Each successful entrant, comprising individuals and teams of up to six software developers, will receive funding to develop a workable proof of concept.”

“They will be allowed three months to complete this stage and they will undergo another round of evaluations for advancement to the next stage of development. The eventual winning team for each service will receive funding for full development and deployment of their solution.”

At the launch, Minister Bacchus said, “In the ever-evolving world of technology, Trinidad and Tobago must stay ahead of the curve. The D’Hub Challenge is our commitment to nurturing homegrown talent and providing them with the tools and support they need to innovate.”