Students from the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM)’s School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences claimed second place at the inaugural Talentbank Tech Hackathon 2026, held on 22 August 2026 at Sunway Resort Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Competing under the name Notts-Hackers, the team competed against more than 1,000 entries submitted across 27 countries, and took home RM6,000 for coming in second.
The team comprised Shahjalal Mosharof, Shirley Ng, Pius Lau, and Yoong Shen Ng, and was mentored by Dr Christina SS Ooi,. Organised and fully sponsored by Talentbank, the hackathon challenged participating teams to develop innovative technology solutions addressing real-world issues in the hiring and talent landscape.
Notts-Hackers built a functional web-based job platform designed to address core inefficiencies in the current recruitment process, including the limitations of CV-based screening and the risk of strong candidates being overlooked due to poor self-presentation. "A lot of teams had similar ideas," said Shahjalal, who served as team leader and led development across the platform's frontend design, backend architecture, and feature implementation. "But our team had one of the best executions: a real platform that could take the current fragmented landscape and turn it into something truly impactful."
Coordinating Across Borders to Reach the Finals
On the path to finals, Shahjalal and his teammates had to overcome time zone and geographical differences. With two members on exchange at UNM's UK campus and one at its China campus, the group coordinated their work entirely online across multiple time zones throughout the summer semester break. Dr Christina's guidance proved instrumental in bridging those gaps. "She went above and beyond to guide us all," said Shahjalal. "She also provided invaluable information from her experience in procurement and on how to execute storytelling in order to create a platform that anyone would want to use."
The final round, held before a panel of judges that included Talentbank Founder and CEO Ben Ho, was closely contested. Notts-Hackers were among ten finalists selected from an expanded shortlist of 80 teams. Shahjalal recalled the moment their pitch concluded: "No questions were asked during the Q&A, unlike other teams, and the CEO told us he would be in touch. That was a great moment that felt like all our hard work had finally paid off." Talentbank has since invited Notts-Hackers to continue building their project in collaboration with the organisation.
For Shahjalal, the experience reinforced lessons that began in the classroom. He attributed part of the team's success to UNM's Year 2 Software Engineering Group Project module, which he said taught him how to manage stakeholders, keep a team on track, and build a product that people would genuinely want to use.
The achievement is a demonstrable example of how UNM's curricula focus on producing graduates who are not only technically proficient, but also able to apply their skills to industry-level challenges.
Posted on 14th September 2026