Team FeedRight from APU and USM won the Ocean Hackathon International Grand Finale 2025 in Brest, France, with their AI tool for optimising fish feeding. Competing against nine global finalists, they earned unanimous praise from the jury, while Team Victoria (Canada) and Team LIAttoral (Brest, France) placed second and third. 

Team FeedRight — a dynamic collaboration between students from Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) — has achieved an extraordinary achievement at the 9th Ocean Hackathon International Grand Finale 2025, after previously winning the 3rd Kuala Lumpur Edition of the challenge.

Organised by Campus Mondial de la Mer, the Grand Finale was held in Brest, France, bringing together 10 teams, 10 innovative ocean-focused projects, and 10 high-impact pitches, all competing for a coveted top three finish.

The finalist teams represented Brazil, Canada, Congo, Croatia, France (two teams), Malaysia, Portugal, South Africa, and Spain, tackling pressing ocean challenges in areas such as coastlines, oil spills, upcycling, aquafeed, aquaponics, erosion, blue carbon, waste management, maritime collisions, and ocean currents.

Team FeedRight’s groundbreaking project: A real-time AI “translator” for fish appetite: helps fish farmers avoid over- or under-feeding by showing fish feeding behaviour captivated the international jury and earned them First place.

The team comprises six talented students, Ang Qi Yuen, Chai Hong Jie, Phang Shin Ni, Soo Mun Gian, Ang Tyen, and Wong Chai Fuu.

“Competing against finalists from nine other cities across the globe, we delivered a strong and compelling solution that earned unanimous recognition from the international jury. This win inspires us to push our innovation even further,” said Qi Yuen representing FeedRight.

Second place went to team Victoria (Canada), Surface Current Drivers in the Strait of Georgia whose project used AI to analyse the influence of tides, wind, and river flow on ocean current patterns offering valuable insights for environmental and navigational planning.

In third place, team Brest (France), LIAttoral impressed the panel with an AI-powered digital mapping tool designed to track and adapt coastal pathways affected by climate change.

APU’s Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer, Professor Ir EUR ING Dr Vinesh Thiruchelvam, explained that the idea, which was developed as a Final Year Project at APU, successfully evolved into an AI-based application powered by deep learning through the effective adoption of emerging technologies. 

“The solution serves the fisheries industry and directly addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 9, 12 and 14,” added that “This project demonstrated a brilliant pitch and a winning outcome, showcasing Malaysian tech talents on the international stage.”

APU’s Senior Lecturer School of Computing (SoC) and Advisor to team FeedRight, Ms T. Tulasi Sathyabama Appalasamy, also represented APU at the event and served as a member of the international jury.

“Their dedication, resilience, and teamwork shone through at every step,” she said.

Special appreciation goes to Professor Ir. EUR ING Dr Vinesh Thiruchelvam, APU Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer; Associate Professor Ts Dr Tan Chin Ike, APU Head School of Computing (SoC); Ms Harjinder Kaur, Senior Lecturer, School of Marketing & Management (SoMM); Mr David Ng Kok Meng, Senior Lecturer, SoMM; and Mr Lee Chee Nian, Lecturer, School of Mathematics, Actuarial & Quantitative Studies (SoMAQS), for their continuous support and guidance.