News

28 January 2021: AIS NEXT, AIS’ business unit dedicated to innovation driving program, is powering ahead with its program ‘JUMP THAILAND 2021’. This invites Thai people to join in solving problems and crises with innovation, to create big impacts on society and the world sustainably. This goes through a selection process of the best solutions similar to startup ideas. The first ever Online Hackathon is giving opportunities to all Thai people to participate in ideas brainstorming process to save both Thailand and the world. The prizes worth a total of 1 million baht. Projects that pass selection process will be able to leverage and work with AIS NEXT and its partners, with supporting budgets of up to 100 million baht.

Arakin Rakchittapoke, Head of Novel Engine Execution Department at AIS, noted, “Amidst the trend of digital disruption and the rapidly changing global situation, the entire planet is facing a great number of unavoidable problems and risks. These include global warming, shortages of resources, changes in economic power, and cyber security. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for humanity to deploy its existing technology to solve these challenges in almost every aspect, to suit changing lifestyles in the age of New Normal.”

Examples of current global issues with a broad impact on everybody's lives at present, and which require urgent joint efforts to address them include:

1. Environment: PM 2.5 / microplastics / plastic waste / pollution / global warming
2. Health: Covid-19 pandemic / access to treatment opportunities / medical Services / medical expenses
3. Education: satellites / income / quality of instruction / infrastructure system
4. Economics: unemployment rates / employment / high cost of living / immigrant labor / narcotics
5. Transportation: access to public transportation / service quality/price / traffic congestion
6. Social Safety: street lighting / narcotics / corruption

"We believe that there is agreement of opinion on these urgent issues. However, there are still many other challenging trends arising amidst of digital disruption. AIS NEXT has selected key strategic trends which will have impacts at the level of the individual, the corporation and the country. This underlines warnings to see the challenges, making us ready to prepare and deal with the issues, accordingly; by transforming challenges into opportunities to “jump” ahead. These include:

1. Digital Identity Foundation initiative: Overall picture of individual identity on various platforms, ownership of identity, and ease of identity’s permission and control, under the supervision of Thai governmental agencies.
2. Digital Archive and Intelligence Initiative: Collecting data with sensors and IoT devices, data storing and enhancing by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies. Ultimately to create deep insight from big data, including the foundation of cloud storage to be applied universally.
3. Phygital Exchange Market Initiative: Combining the real world and virtual world, creating and controlling exchange markets between digital assets and real assets. The systems that store digital data between assets in the real world and virtual assets, which is foundational for Thailand.
4. Future Workforce Platform Initiative:Capabilities and skills of various groups in society, specifically aging society agenda for Thailand. Dividing disciplines of knowledge between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”.Trends of micro learning, principles of learning and updating knowledge in the digital age; including the gig economy social structure in Thailand.
5. Digital Police Initiative:Law enforcement in Thailand’s digital world, applying the legal standards within the world of IoT devices in 5G era. Cyber-security, and cyber-crime issues to be aware of.

“From the problems and crises which have arisen around us, as well as these challenging trends mentioned, we are confident that if Thai people unite and combine their ideas together under these strategic innovations and technologies filtered, they can find solutions and ways, whether big or small. We call for a volunteering citizen to be the focus groups for us to understand perspectives on different issues from every persons’ perspectives. As a “Digital Life Service Provider” in possession of digital platforms and network infrastructure including 5G, Fibre, IoT, Big Data, Cloud and AI; We cordially invite every groups the entire nation, be schoolchildren, students, faculty, researchers, innovators and experts in every fields to submit and combine their ideas to create solutions for mentioned issues with a startup-like process. Alongside problem submission from all, a “JUMP THAILAND by AIS NEXT” Online Hackathon, the first and biggest of its kind, will be organized to address such pain points.

We want to lead and address the country's challenges by helping to improve Thais’ quality of life together, program timeline in the following details:

1. Problem Submission: Submit a problem to vote on topics desired to see the change in Thailand, starting today to 14 February 2021 on our Facebook page: JumpThailand or the website: jumpthailand.earth
2. Team Registration: Teams can apply from 15 February to 15 March 2021 at the Facebook page: JumpThailand or the website: jumpthailand.earth. The selected teams will be announced on 27 March 2021
3. Online Hackathon: A Hackathon competition in the middle of May 2021
4. Incubation: After the program, projects which have passed the criteria will be accepted for Innovation incubation with AIS NEXT.

Participating teams in JUMP THAILAND by AIS NEXT will have the opportunity to access AIS' work processes and technology such as 5G, AI, Blockchain, Cloud, XR, and Big Data, as well as using the space of the AIS PLAYGROUND for prototype testing with real time networks and innovative environments. On top of this, the winning teams will have the opportunity to get the prize worth a total of 1 million baht. Additionally, if a project has the tendency to be capable for further development and scaling, it will get the opportunity to participate in innovation incubation program with AIS NEXT team, to test solutions in the real market with dedicated supporting budgets of up to 100 million baht”, concluded Arakin.

Anyone interested in the JUMP THAILAND program can find more details and submit the problems which they consider the most urgent for a solution from now until 14 February 2021 at the Facebook page JumpThailand or the website jumpthailand.earth