The inaugural PlugFest International Programming Competition (IPC) saw a wide variety of applications built using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provided by data.gov.sg. The awards ceremony held on 3rd April 2013 at Google Asia-Pacific’s Singapore office saw several innovative apps based on both mobile as well as web media clinch top spots in the competition. The ceremony was graced by Mrs. Josephine Teo, Minister of State for Finance and Transport.
Minister Teo explained that the rationale behind PlugFest was to position Singapore as the Silicon Valley of South-East Asia. She explained that the availability of Government data in the hands of creative local developers would create novel services for society. She also emphasized on the need for independent developers to work with the government to find solutions to problems and improve the quality of life for tomorrow.
Most applications were developed for the web and Android and hosted using Google App Engine. 8000 datasets were released by data.gov.sg from over 60 different ministries and government agencies. The judging panel comprised accomplished industry veterans from The Institute for Infocomm Research, Ufinity Pte. Ltd., Singapore Management University (SMU) and Newton Circus. A total of eight prizes were given out including two special prizes, “Most Innovative App” and “Most Socially Impactful App”.
PlugFest saw over 30 teams in two different competition categories, PlugFest IHL and PlugFest Open. The PlugFest IHL comprised students from tertiary students. The winning team from Nanyang Polytechnic engineered “iGoNYP”, an interactive application using augmented reality and Google Street View to allow students to efficiently navigate around campus.
She also emphasized on the need for independent developers to work with the government to find solutions to problems and improve the quality of life for tomorrow.
The PlugFest Open Category saw many innovative applications such as The Great Singapore Rat Race, Chill Out and Last Order. The top spot in this category was clinched by The Great Singapore Rat Race, which also won “Most Innovative App”. It is an application which compares the relative monthly wages of graduates from tertiary institutions across different industries. The second spot was clinched by Chill Out Event Organizer, an application capable of retrieving data from different government websites such as National Library Board (NLB) and National Parks Board (NPB) to give a consolidated list of government events.
Last Order, which clinched the final spot in the open category, was also the winner of the “The Most Socially Impactful App”. The idea behind Last Order is simple yet brilliant: hotels and restaurants that have surplus food left over after buffets or events can put up offers of these surpluses valid for short durations. This will allow customers to avail of highly discounted prices for food as well as reduce food wastage.
PlugFest was a wonderful opportunity to get an idea of the development scene in Singapore, showcasing the talents of both local and foreign developers. Dr Louis Shue, co-founder of Google Developer Group Singapore, believes that the competition has set the tone for the future of programming not only in Singapore, but also in the region. The government has also launched its next competition, “Apps4SG”. Apps4SG is targeted at generating innovative applications for work, school or play in Singapore.