Shah Alam, 26th April 2016 – The Selangor Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (SITEC), with the support of Invest Selangor, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, and The LE@D, will be hosting a biannual event in search of startups, solutions, or ideas that would contribute towards Selangor becoming a Smart City state.
Held twice a year (in May and in August), StartupQuest Selangor (#SQSEL2016) is meant to encourage the public, especially students, to be involved in the startup scene, and at the same time to have a stake in the growth of Selangor.
Inspired by similar events across the globe such as Startup Weekend and Global Startup Battle, SQSel is open not only to those with experience in the startup world, but for the uninitiated as well.
Smart City Solutions for a Smarter Life
“Crowded urban life has become some sort of nightmare. Traffic on major highways are many a traveller’s bane, and the quality of life of the citizenry often leaves much to be desired.”, opines Yong Kai Ping, SITEC’s Chief Executive.
“Smart City Living is the way forward for progressive nations. Whilst actual definitions differ, most ideals point to one thing – the integration of useful and widespread technologies to improve the lives of the citizenry.
“This way, business and daily life is conducted in an efficient, hassle-free manner so as to make life in the City more liveable – and the bread and butter of improved services and solutions involve heavy doses of creativity and innovation
“As such, SQSel was designed to tackle several issues in an efficient and effective manner, starting with introducing Smart City as a theme for this year, which is in tandem with the Selangor Government’s ‘Smart Selangor’ initiative”, he added.
With SQSel, SITEC aims to tap into the collective pool of bright ideas by ambitious, motivated citizens, such as university and college students, and at the same time, offer them the opportunity to be the change they want to see by having a stake in nation building.
No Specific Knowledge Necessary
Participants are not required to have a firm grounding in IT or business knowledge before participating in StartupQuest Selangor, as the event is specifically developed so that those without specialised knowledge of programming, IT or business can learn and pick up skillsets and knowledge that will help see their ideas grow.
Similar to other startup events, ideas are pitched in 60 seconds, and individuals will group up in teams to pick their favourite chosen ideas to work on and develop. However, there is an added element, in that SQSel participants will be engaging in a ‘Quest’ to contribute ideas to address, explore or solve issues along specific focuses to do with the Smart City theme that will be given by the organisers.
Free 2-day Business Workshop worth RM 600 for all participants
Both iterations of SQSel will be held on weekends, with a compulsory two-day workshop held in the preceding weekend. This pre-event workshop is meant to furnish participants with the basics of starting up lean businesses, as well as to guide participants on how to develop an MVP, or, Minimum Viable Product.
Participants will also be taught how to utilise free tools to turn ideas into working products, as well as have a chance to meet potential teammates before the actual event.
The top three teams of each individual session will be given the opportunity to have their ideas validated, developed, prototyped and promoted for exposure and growth.
The top three teams will also be awarded with cash prizes and six months of free use of the co-working space at the Selangor Digital Creative Centre (SDCC).
The first prize winner of each season also walks away with a FREE five-day MVP boot camp worth RM1800.
Campus Roadshows Underway
SITEC has started holding roadshows at universities, having visited Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) on April 15th, and Universiti Selangor (UniSel) on April 21st.
This was done to promote SQSel via booths and talks to university students, as well as to answer any questions they may have about the startup scene, the Smart City concept, as well as to garner interest in having a stake in nation-building.
(Refer to picture albums below for roadshow pictures and more)
Open for Registration!
The May session of SQSel, to be held on May 28th and 29th, is already open for registration, with a registration fee of RM60.
Students with a valid matriculation card are entitled to a 50% discount.
It is mandatory for all participants to attend the pre-event workshop on business skills on May 21st and 22nd.
The deadline for all registrations is May 20th.
Interested parties can head over to .
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