Chan Kien Yew, studying the Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) in Software Engineering clinched the First Runner-up spot at the Make It Challenge, a national-level web3 hackathon held on 6 July 2024. The hackathon required more than 110 participants to implement green solutions on blockchain to develop net zero and sustainable cities. 

On top of the First Runner-up prize, Kien Yew also won the Best Prototype prize in implementing a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Energy Marketplace on Solana that enables individuals to sell their excess solar energy to others. “To generate power, the world still predominantly relies on fossil fuel, a non-renewable pollutant. Solar is a much better option and one way of promoting the use of renewable energy such as solar is by enabling individuals to sell their excess solar energy via P2P marketplace on the Blockchain. In addition, investors looking to invest in renewable energy will find that the financial demand to do so is not very demanding as investors can purchase fractions of real-world assets like solar farms instead of purchasing the entire solar farm, which can be very costly,” Kien Yew explained.

The interface of his prototype.

He further added, “I feel very encouraged of winning this prize as it signifies my creation is of industry standard. I also learnt good lessons from the experience such as perseverance and critical thinking as these are the precursors to success in any given project. They are also important to practise in every phase of the project to minimise failure by amending implementation flaws early before they accrue and become too late to rectify.

Kien Yew with the certificates of his achievements.