Over 40 undergraduates and postgraduate students tackled real-world technical challenges set by the companies during the over-40-hour coding marathon at City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan) (CityUHK (DG))’s first hackathon from 16 to 19 May 2025.

This hackathon, co-organised by tech giants OPPO and Sangfor Technologies, bridged academic prowess with industry demands through interdisciplinary collaboration and hands-on problem-solving.  

Four teams advanced to the finals, with “Code Youth” and “Mygo!!!!” jointly claiming the championship in different tracks. Prizes included OPPO smartphones, tablets and earphones, alongside direct interview passes for OPPO and Sangfor’s graduate recruitment programmes, as well as Active Learning credit certification from the university.  

Chen Yulong, a first-year Data Science postgraduate and leader of “Code Youth”, highlighted the team’s strategic use of the university’s high-performance computing clusters to address multimodal challenges. “I focused on baseline architecture and model integration, while Zhang Haoyu optimised algorithms. Our success stemmed from meticulous preparation and the courage to implement cutting-edge research without existing codebases,” he noted.  

“Mygo!!!!,” led by Computer Science postgraduate Han Xuda, emphasised rapid decision-making and role specialisation under time constraints. Two members developed core algorithms, while others handled system integration. “This win validates our technical vision and proves the viability of turning concepts into solutions under pressure. The experience has fuelled our drive to explore impactful technologies,” Han remarked.