Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for NASA Space Apps Challenge
Kuala Lumpur 2019
Q: What is the difference between Hackathon & Ideathon?
A: HACKATHON participants need to present a concrete solution or utilizing NASA’s open data source.
IDEATHON does not require participants to present a concrete solution or utilizing NASA’s open data source, as long as you have great problem-solving ideas based on the theme given.
Q: Can I participate in both Hackathon & Ideathon?
A: Unfortunately, we do not allow participant to participate both challenges at the same time to ensure fairness.
Q: Can I still participate even though I am not a Coder?
A: Everyone is welcome to participate! If you are not a Coder, it is highly advisable to participate for IDEATHON instead. Beginners, students, engineers, experts, makers, artists, storytellers - Space Apps is for you! We welcome all passionate problem solvers to join our community of innovators.
Q: How many members can we have in a team?
A: You may have up to 5 team members. We encourage bringing together people with different set of skills and talents is often the key to a breakthrough innovation! We do not discriminate of who you want to bring, as long as your team member is a legit human.
(we like aliens, cats and elephants, but we need to be fair)
Q: What is Pivotal Pitch and Moonshot Pitch?
A: Pivotal is where all teams are required to pitch, and only the best 10 teams from Hackathon and 5 best team from Ideathon will proceed to the next round
Moonshot pitch is the final pitch.
Q; Can I stay overnight?
A: Yes. Overnight stay allowed only from Saturday to Sunday. No overnight stay on Friday. For safety purposes, we will ask your details on Saturday.
Q: How to register as a team?
A: Kindly proceed to this link https://forms.gle/WX1yYYhNzCSDKrTy8 for team registration, and fill in the required details. Only team leaders are advised to fill in the details. This is compulsory to ALL participants, with team or individual challenger.
Q: I am participating as an individual and will work without a team. Do I still need to fill in the Team Registration Form?
A: Individual challenger is also required to submit the Team Registration Form. You may put your name or nickname (or whichever name you wishes us to call you on the event day!) at “Team Name” field. Please follow the instructions to ensure a smooth registration.
Q: Any restriction on naming my team?
A: As long as your team name does not contain any profanity or provoking words, you are all good! We hope it will be easy for us to announce too!
Q: I have participated in NASA Space Apps Challenge before. Can I participate again?
A: Sure. You can participate again, and again, and again. This is the spirit that we are looking for!
Q: What are the new additions to this year NASA Space Apps Challenge KL 2019?
A: Don’t feel like hacking? Not to worry as this year we are implementing something new for our event. Introducing hands-on workshop, keynote speech and fireside chat lead by experts in their respective fields! Everyone is welcome to join regardless of different background.
Q: What is a Fireside Chat?
A: Fireside Chat is an informal and casual discussion between a moderator and a guest discussing the topics given in depth. The interesting part is, we are focusing on women in data as one of the topics for Fireside Chat!
Q: What should I bring to NASA Space Apps Challenge?
A: Kindly bring your laptop and anything you need for hacking (please leave your pet at home).
Q: What is the age requirement to participate in NASA Space Apps Challenge?
A: Our event is open to all university/college students and professionals preferably around Kuala Lumpur.
Q: I am below 18. Can I participate?
A : If you are 17 or 16 years old and currently pursuing for Tertiary Education (College or University Diploma / Degree), you are eligible to join as long as you are able to present a valid Student ID.
Q: I am below 18 and still in High School / Secondary School (or equivalent). Can I participate?
A : We like your interests, however, the event is only open for University / College students or working adults.
Q: I bought/register for NASA Space Apps Challenge through Eventbrite/ Peatix/ Eventnook/ Townscript. Do I still have to register again in the official registration?
A: Yes, you are required to register through our official registration provided on the top page on our website. Not to worry, our dedicated team members will send a confirmation email attached with the registration link should you have register through all event platforms stated above.
Q: Do you guys provide any meal?
A: Yes, we do. We also provide options for vegetarian and non-vegetarian in our Registration Form.
Q: Do you guys provide any event shirts for participants?
A: Yes, we do. Kindly choose your preferred size in the Size Options provided in our Registration Form.
Q: What kind of programming language will be used for this event?
A: Free to use any relevant programming language you like (Java, C++, C#, Ruby, Python, and other).
Q: As some solutions can be solved using mechanical solutions, I don't want to use any datasets. Is it possible?
A : Yes, datasets are optional.
Q: What should we prepare for workshop?
A: Please bring your laptop. Some workshop will require you to install Anaconda.
Q: Can I use different datasets? (Not the data provided by NASA)
A: No. NASA’s open dataset is good enough to make your project works #humblebrag.
Q: Do I need to bring my own hardware?
A: Yes, you need to bring your own hardware as we would not be providing any.
Q: Do I need to attend the Opening Ceremony?
A: Yes, we want to see everybody who participates for our event to be there!
Q: What are the requirements to pitch for Hackathon participants?
A: You are highly advised to prepare any proof of concept, minimum viable product (MVP) or any prototype of the solution for the Moonshot Pitching.
Q: Is there any WIFI access at the venue?
A: Yes, WIFI is accessible to all at the venue. We will provide the username and password for your reference.
Q: Can one person be in 2 teams or more?
A: No, it is strictly prohibited. You are either a sorcerer, a wizard or having some-kind of superpower to do so, we guess.
Q: Is there any surau or toilets nearby at the venue?
A: Yes, our dedicated team members will help assist you should you need any assistance or directions.
Q: Is there any smoking area at the venue?
A: Yes, only available outside the venue. Smoking is strictly prohibited inside the venue.
Q: Is this challenge open to Malaysian and Non-Malaysian?
A: NASA Space Apps Challenge is open to both Malaysian and Non-Malaysian, provided with a valid documentation ID and age 18 years & above.
Q: Do I need a Coder in my team?
A: Not necessarily, but you are advised to have at least one Coder in your team.
Q: I am a newbie in programming. Is this challenge suitable for me? I am afraid I will be challenged by many experienced programmers.
A: Everyone is welcomed to this challenge regardless of your skills and strengths! Who knows you might come up with brilliant solutions and amazes the judges.
Q: I don’t have a team. Can I participate individually or I have to form a team to participate in this event?
A: You are allowed to participate individually. If you don’t have a team and wished to form a group with other participants, we are able to assist you on that matter during event day after the opening ceremony.
Q: Are you guys going to place us randomly in a team if we don't have a team?
A: No. We will not place you to any teams. It is up to your discretion on who you want to join. We only provide a slot for you to find a team.
Q: Is walk-in registration available on the event day?
A: Yes, however the registration only open on 18th October (Friday) for Conference and 19th August (Saturday) for both Hackathon/Ideathon and Conference. There will be no walk-in registration available on 19th October (Sunday).
Q: Most of us are Muslims and as stated in your schedule, your event starts on Friday. Is it possible for us to go to the mosque to perform our Friday prayer?
A: Yes, you definitely can. Please come back to the venue before 2:30 PM for our next slot which is the keynote speech.
Q: I want to join Hackathon but at the same time I want to join the Conference as well. Is that possible?
A: Yes, you are more than welcome to join both should you wish to do so. There are no restrictions for Hackathon or Ideathon participants to join the Conference.
Q: As mentioned before, you guys are providing meal in a lunch box. Can we eat anywhere we want or are there any places that we should avoid?
A: We are currently liaising with our Venue Partner and will post updates soon on all of our official platforms (FB, Instagram, website).
Q: Is it compulsory for all Hackathon/Ideathon participants to join the Conference?
A: It is compulsory for those who have already registered for the conference. However, for Hackathon/Ideathon participants, it is not compulsory but you are encouraged to join should you interested as we have different interesting topics led by experts in their respective fields.
Q: What is a “Pitching Session”?
A: Pitching session is the session where you will be presenting your solutions to the judges, followed by Q&A.
Q: What should we bring to the pitching session?
A: You can bring your laptop and any devices that aid your pitching session. However, due to the limited time provided for each team to pitch, we highly advise you to have everything ready before the pitching starts.
Q: Is there anything I need to prepare before the Hacking Day?
A: Apart from gathering the ideas on what you should work on and finding team members to work with, there is nothing else to be prepared in advance.
Q: Where can we get the datasets?
A: Datasets will be provided on NASA’s official website. You can click here https://www.spaceappschallenge.org to find out more.
Q: Are there any hidden charges to participate in this event?
A: No, the event is FREE of charge!
Q: Can I add in more or drop any members after I have filled in the Team Registration form?
A: Yes. Just send us a new Team Registration Form. Make sure the name of your team is the same so we can see the changes.
Q: How is the winner chosen?
A: Check the judging criteria.
Q: Where do I sign up?
A: You can choose which category you prefer (Conference only or Hackathon/Ideathon). The link is up and available on our website!
Q: Why do you guys didn't separate between working adults and students to join the Hackathon / Ideathon?
A : Because we want you guys to try the hardest to compete. Don't worry about feeling other teams are better than you, be sure to gather your strongest-skilled team mates.
Q: How to compete with these much-experienced programmer? We are just a bunch of year 2 students, who are still lacking in experience.
A: The best that we can say is make sure your team is a well-balanced team with an excellent skills in developing an app / system / software.
Q: Seriously, can I participate individually?
A: We really encourage you to gather a team, or at least has a coder/programmer in your team. But if you feel you have the adequate skill to go individual, we won't stop you! #jangancakapsistakwarning
Q: I don't have a background in coding / programming / related field, but I still want to join for Hackathon. Can I?
A: You can! Even though we do not recommend you to do so, but if you feel you can and you want to challenge yourself, you are good to go!
Q: I registered as solo participants, but I want to bring my team to join me. Can I do that?
A: You can... but your team is not allowed to pitch with you. As well as joining you in the Hacking Area. Once you decided to go solo, you go solo!
Q: Guys, we still have questions!
A : We know, your curiosity is amazingly high! If you have any questions that are still unanswered, feel free to contact us through
Facebook : www.facebook.com/spaceappskl
Enquiry email : info@ud-intl.com
We have to be honest, our admins does still need to feed the cat, feed themselves, and their families, thus please be patient on getting a reply. We will try to reply to you as fast as we can!
*protip : send us messages on weekdays from 8.30 am - 6 pm for a schwifty reply!
*this FAQ only for guidelines of the event and cannot be treated as T&Cs, or be used in court if problem persists.