Press Release DGX Preliminary Round

June 28, 2001

For Immediate Release

Kuala Lumpur: The nation’s budding software developers are now a step closer to achieving their dreams after having successfully completed the Preliminary Round of the DGX (Developer Generation-X) Developer Code Competition 2001 on June 8, 2001. A total of 195 participants from a registered pool of 268 sat for the 65-question multiple-choice test in the Preliminary Round competition, clocking an attendance rate of 72.8 percent.

The Preliminary Round multiple-choice test was administered at seven zones throughout the country – Cheras (Kuala Lumpur), Sungai Petani (Kedah), Kuala Terengganu (Terengganu), Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Kuching (Sarawak) and the Federal Territory of Labuan. Participants from the state of Selangor represented almost 26 percent of the total participants of 195, with Kuala Lumpur coming in second with 16.8 percent and Kedah in third place with 13.4 percent. The remaining states managed to register only single digit percentages.

According to Daniel Tsen from the DGX Secretariat, the numbers from Selangor and Kuala Lumpur were in line with his expectation. “In a competition of this nature, participants normally come from the Klang Valley and the bigger cities where access to computing facilities and IT awareness and exposure are greater when compared to the rural areas,” Tsen said.

“Kedah was a pleasant surprise,” Tsen pointed out, “but Penang was a little disappointing because we had expected a good level of participation from the state earlier. Nonetheless, we were extremely encouraged by the level of enthusiasm shown by participants from Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan and Terengganu.” The objective of the Preliminary Round competition was the test the aptitude of the participants in software development and information technology. As Tsen put it, the Preliminary Round test was a “rake and raid” exercise in which the DGX organising committee used to sift through the participants to seek out budding developers.

Fifteen teams, comprising eighteen individuals, have been chosen to participate in the Final Round of the competition slated for September 3, 2001. They are: Team Shoxzck, Zybler MarketPlace, VaporWare, GBLIM, Kernel32.dll, Crispin, Darrell Chua, One Step Ahead, Spitz Programmer Group, Cykast, Si2Networks, VirtualSystems, JunHaan, NMRTech and The CIO.

The 15 finalists are all guaranteed of a minimum of RM1,800 in prize money. The first prize winner will receive RM9,000. In their run up to September 3, the 15 finalists will develop a software application of their choice. According to Tsen, the projects submitted by the finalists will be judged based on the participants’ creativity in problem-solving, the functionality or “user friendliness” of the application and the overall quality of project documentation.

DGX’s Developer Code Competition 2001 is a joint-venture effort between Microsoft Knowledge Capital Center (MKCC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of software giant Microsoft Corporation, i2Media Sdn Bhd, a media solutions and software development company and the Ministry of Education Malaysia. MKCC is a resource centre providing end-to-end services for software developers, independent software vendors (ISVs), and Malaysian businesses.

It is the objective of DGX to groom budding local talents into Microsoft certified professionals of world class standing. This is in line with Malaysia’s aspirations to create a community of IT innovators to support the country in the fast emerging knowledge economy where the human capital will play more than a significant role in determining the success of any company. It is also the desire of DGX to create a community of software developers as opposed to a community of software users.

“This program endeavours to seek and uncover hidden talents among young Malaysians who are keen in pursing their professional careers in the IT industry," Salwana Ali, Manager of MKCC said. “Today, wealth creation and jobs in the emerging digital marketplace will come from industries with a high knowledge, research and information content. Even traditional brick-and mortar businesses and public sector organisations will need to enhance the knowledge content of their products, services and processes, if they wish to succeed.

“DGX-DCC will provide a platform to identify young Malaysians to ensure that they receive the necessary support and direction to enable them to contribute significantly to the country. This competition is a part of Microsoft's on-going effort to ensure that Malaysia will have IT professionals and knowledge workers to meet the challenging economic scenario in future. Apart from this competition, Microsoft has implemented various programs, such as seminars and workshops through MKCC to transfer and build necessary skills and knowledge to people who are interested in building a career in IT and multimedia industry”, Salwana said.

Released on behalf of DGX by i2Media Sdn Bhd. For more information, please contact Daniel Tsen at +60-3-77268912 or +60-12-2360072