Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) 2024 Open Challenge for Innovators

Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) 2024 was launched officially today at the Dewan Musyawah, International Convention Centre, Berakas. Present as the guest of honour to officiate the launching ceremony was Yang Berhormat Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Shamhary bin Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Mustapha, Minister of Transport and Infocommunications.

The arrival of the Minister of Transport and Infocommunications at the ceremony was welcomed by Yang Mulia Ir Awang Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC), as the Co-Chairman I of the BICTA 2024 Steering Committee; Yang Mulia Awang Ir Haji Jailani bin Haji Buntar, Chief Executive of the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI); and Yang Mulia Pengiran Sarimah binti Pengiran Haji Abdul Latiff, Chairperson of InfoCom Brunei (IFB), as the Co-Chairman II of the BICTA 2024 Steering Committee.

Also present were Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Dayang Chong Chee Yee, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries at the various ministries, head of departments and senior government officials, representatives from educational institutions and local ICT companies, as well as members of the BICTA Alumni.

The ceremony began with a recital of Surah Al-Fatihah and Doa led by Yang Mulia Awang Morni bin Haji Nayan, Mosque Affairs Officer. The event proceeded with a welcoming remark by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC), as Co-Chairman I of the BICTA 2024 Steering Committee.

BICTA 2024 once again brings the themed “Smart Nation Through Digital Transformation”, which emphasizes on the importance of innovation and development of new technologies to support digital transformation and to drive economic and social development for this country.

BICTA 2024 is the year of the Royal Patron Award. Held every 2 years, the Royal Patron Award gives recognition to the best out of the best among all winners of BICTA 2024. This year’s competition is opened for ten (10) categories for participation by individuals, students, businesses, government agencies and interested organizations. The categories and prizes for winners are as follows:

Subject to eligibility, submission of entry in the Main Category (except for Student Category) can also enter either one of the categories in the Cross Categories.

BICTA 2024 will also present five (5) Smart Nation Awards to a non-winning entry which has fulfilled Brunei’s Smart Nation vision on digital transformation for improved quality of life, public services, schools, safety, mobility of people and to achieve environment sustainability within the applications of the five (5) specific sectors, namely Tourism, Agriculture, Construction, Logistics & Transport and Education.

After the opening remarks, the guest of honour then proceeded to launch BICTA 2024 using Hologlass, a technology that integrates holographic elements with glass to create an exciting visual experience. Hologlass was developed by Zylit, one of last year’s BICTA participants.

The guest of honour then presented BICTA Special Appreciations in conjunction with BICTA’s 20 years anniversary this year, where BICTA has introduced a Special Award to recognize and appreciate individual’s commitment and contribution towards BICTA including those achievements in the international ICT competition, namely the Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards. The recipients of the BICTA Special Appreciation are as follows:

1. Most Active Individual Participation – Recipients consist of BICTA past participants from the industry as well as supervising teachers for school’s participation in BICTA, who have demonstrated full dedication and high commitment through consistent participation, and have strived to achieve winning awards in APICTA.

i. Haji Muhammad Zuwaini bin Haji Aliyani, Ma’had Islam Brunei

ii. Matthew Wong, Chung Hwa Middle School, Bandar Seri Begawan

iii. Pengiran Khairi bin Pengiran Haji Metussin, Mindtrex Academy

iv. Sarinah binti Ziziumiza, Rumine Corporation

2. BICTA Service Appreciation – Recipients comprise leaders and individuals who have made significant contributions towards the progress of BICTA, and have been actively involved in the leadership of APICTA.

i. Dr. Yong Chee Tuan

ii. Sheikh Haji Abas bin Sheikh Mohamad

BICTA, which was first introduced in 2004, is an annual ICT competition jointly organized by the MTIC, AITI and IFB. BICTA is also supported by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Education and Darussalam Enterprise (DARe).

Also included in BICTA 2024 activity is the BICTA Plus Bootcamp, a specialized training and mentoring program for BICTA participants to enhance their skills and abilities in various areas prior to competing. Among the topics covered in this program include ideation and validation, business and financial planning, marketing strategy, pitching and presentation skills as well as design and thinking.

BICTA is a component of the Asia-Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards where the quality and categories provided are in-line with APICTA standards. Brunei Darussalam’s participation in APICTA since 2008 has achieved four (4) winning awards and thirty-two (32) merit awards to date. The winners of BICTA 2024 will represent the country in the APICTA 2024 which will be held end of this year in Brunei Darussalam.

All primary, secondary and tertiary schools, as well as local individuals, MSMEs, government agencies and organizational bodies having their own ICT products and services are encouraged to participate. More details for participation and the application form can be found on the BICTA website at www.bicta.gov.bn. The deadline for entry submission is 30 May 2024.

For further information, interested participants can contact the BICTA Secretariat at bicta@aiti.gov.bn or 2323232.