A Malaysian team secured second place in the Innovation and Creativity category at BEYOND Hack Day 2026, underscoring the growing presence of Malaysian innovators on the regional technology stage.

The team (representing A47 Media), comprising Hong Bing Sim, Shi Wei Leong, Maxine Lai, and Ken Ooi, emerged as runners-up during the hackathon held alongside the BEYOND Expo 2026 in Macau, one of Asia’s largest technology and innovation gatherings.

The competition brought together developers, entrepreneurs, and technology enthusiasts from across the region to build and showcase innovative solutions spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies.

The project presented by the Malaysian delegation was “GazeLearner,” a webcam-based gaze detection system built using the open-source WebGazer library. The application analyzes how users engage with tutorial videos and online lectures, generating personalized learning insights and identifying segments that may require further explanation.

Participants received live feedback from judges during the competition, offering both technical and commercial perspectives on the projects. While judges praised the innovation behind GazeLearner, they also highlighted challenges related to commercialization and deployment, including hardware inconsistencies across devices that could affect large-scale adoption.

Ultimately, the Malaysian team’s entry, led by Ken Ooi, stood out among submissions and secured second place in the Innovation and Creativity category.

The achievement was welcomed by Malaysia’s startup development agency, Cradle Fund, which highlighted the success as a reflection of the country’s growing talent pool and the importance of providing innovators with access to regional platforms and networks.

“We are proud to celebrate the Malaysian team who won second place during the BEYOND Hack Day for the Innovation and Creativity category in Macau,” Cradle Fund, an agency under Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation said in a Linkedin post.

“Their achievement reflects the quality of Malaysian talent and the value of giving our innovators access to regional platforms, networks, and opportunities.”

The recognition comes as Malaysia continues to strengthen its startup ecosystem and expand opportunities for founders and developers to engage with international innovation communities.

Featured photo credits: Shi Wei Leong’s Linkedin post, Cradle’s Linkedin post

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