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SAS Hackathon winners decode real-world dilemmas with data

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International teams awarded for innovative AI and analytics solutions to humanitarian and business challenges

CARY, N.C., June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — SAS, the leader in analytics, today announced the winners of its 2022 SAS Hackathon. From 70 qualifying teams from around the world and 50 business case submissions, SAS recognized 13 teams for innovation using cloud-native SAS® Viya®artificial intelligence, Microsoft Azure and other technology. Tasked with tackling a real-world business or humanitarian problem, the winning teams’ projects ranged from optimizing disaster response to reducing food waste.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8827854-sas-hackathon-2022-winners/

More than 100 judges from diverse backgrounds recognized international winners across eight industries, six technologies and three regions. The awards ceremony was broadcast live on LinkedIn and YouTube.

Unique SAS Hackathon format boosts innovation
Rather than a traditional in-person hackathon that gathers coders for a few days, SAS Hackathon participants collaborated online for a month, enhancing their data science skills under the guidance of a SAS mentor through a variety of industry tracks. Each team had access to a learning portal and the ability to try SAS techniques such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, data visualization and IoT on SAS Viya, powered by Microsoft Azure. Participants were encouraged to network while solving real-world issues that affected their communities.

“There’s a stereotype that hackathons are just a bunch of coders hunched over computers tackling fluff challenges for the sake of it — and it isn’t true,” said Einar Halvorsen, Global Hackathon Lead at SAS.

“The end goal of the SAS Hackathon is to bring together sharp minds from many backgrounds to create a commercially viable solution for real-world problems. It’s a learning experience, an incubator and a trial for taking world-changing ideas to market.”

2022 SAS Hackathon Winners by category
Global Industries

Banking: Green Swedbank (Sweden): Record-breaking rain and flooding spurred by climate change battered Sweden last year. Team members from Swedbank and KPMG created a dashboard in SAS Visual Analytics to assess flood risk to properties — and price potential losses — for 100-, 200- and 1,000- year flooding scenarios.Energy: Innova Data Hub (Spain): As the European city with the most deaths linked to traffic emissions, Madrid wants to prioritize green transportation. To improve BiciMAD, Madrid’s bike service, Innova Data Hub from Innova-tsn compiled datasets on bike usage, then used predictive modeling to design an optimization solution that can be implemented in less than six minutes and reduce impossibilities by more than 90 percent.Health and Life Science: The Chart Chasers! (U.S.): While value-based care ties doctors’ paychecks to the efficiency of their care, doctors can be underpaid when mistakes are made in the medical coding process. Team members from InformedHC and Pinnacle Solutions built an automated system to uncover lost revenue for medical providers due to mistakes in the use of the International Classification of Diseases codes.Insurance: LiveEO #2 (Germany/Mixed): Dennis Schmargon, head of business development at LiveEO, used SAS analytics, LiveEO and open-source public and commercial satellite data to create a model that monitors and predicts flooding events, empowering insurers to make informed decisions about risk potential.Public Sector: Jakstat (Indonesia): Team Jakstat from StarCore applied SAS and Python to map and optimize the disbursement of COVID financial aid for the micro-, small and medium-sized businesses that make up 97 percent of Jakarta’s economy.Telecom & Media: Funka (Sweden) To improve the accessibility of web forms for people with and without disabilities, team members from company Funka Nu AB used computer vision, optical character recognition, machine learning, and test automation to create a solution for website owners to evaluate the accessibility of their forms — and apply solutions to any indicated problems — by inputting their site’s URL.Retail: TrendsPro (U.S.): Team TrendsPro from Maypro Group LLC used search engine trend analysis to forecast consumer demand for products to optimize ad campaigns. Their solution allows business owners to allocate inventory, discover the most appropriate advertising channels, and decide how many and what kind of ads to deploy.Mixed/Manufacturing: Notilyze (Netherlands): Notilyze created an insight tool for a food manufacturer that monitors processing and quality control. This allows the food manufacturer to optimize the manufacturing process for maximum profit while reducing energy consumption and food waste.

Technologies

IoT: Oges (Singapore/India): Accurate reservoir modeling is crucial for oil and gas companies to drill effectively, protect personnel and prevent oil spills. Team members from Oges Solutions incorporated SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning and Python Libraries to create a hyper-accurate AI-based oil reservoir model, ready to be incorporated by any oil and gas company.Machine Learning: The Positive Thinking Company (Germany/Belgium): As climate change intensifies, farmers most vulnerable to its impacts can benefit from protective, inexpensive microinsurance. Using SAS Viya and machine learning technology, The Positive Thinking Company analyzed climate risk in various states in India, then built a tool for at-risk farmers to explore how climate change can affect their livelihoods — and how microinsurance can help.Computer Vision: Funka [See above.]Decisioning: Linktera4Insurance (Türkiye): Digitalizing the customer journey in insurance would reduce paper usage and automate workflow and decision making for faster and easier underwriting and claims management. Linktera4Insurance from Link Tera Bilgi Teknolojileri employed SAS Viya on Azure to render complex insurance data into easily navigable dashboards and graphs, and used Neula Low Code Platform to automate workflow.Visual Analytics: Disaster Response AI (Canada): Globally, natural disasters cause more than 15,000 deaths and cost $173 billion per year. On SAS Viya, Team Disaster Response AI from Deloitte built an interactive map visualization rich with disaster insights and predictions to advise the Canadian government on how best to allocate relief funds.Forecasting: Team 4-kasting (Norway): To keep its ranking as the fastest mobile network in the world, Telenor Norway requires enough network capacity to stay speedy without tipping into expensive and unsustainable overcapacity. Team 4-kasting deployed machine learning/visual forecasting to create a system that forecasts expected usage at any given site, potentially saving the telecommunications company millions.Natural Language Processing: The Chart Chasers! [See above.]

Regions

Asia: JakstatEMEA: FunkaAmericas: The Chart Chasers!

SAS Viya on Microsoft Azure key to scalability around the globe
Microsoft — the hackathon’s sponsor — and SAS offer integrated technology that fueled innovation among the international cohort at SAS Hackathon. SAS Hackathon participants implemented SAS Viya on Microsoft Azure’s cloud-native, integrated technology to build insight tools, automated systems and models and more.

Analytics and AI answer real-world problems at SAS Hackathon
“Whether it’s ensuring doctors are paid for the quality of their care, optimizing sustainable transportation, or rendering hyper-accurate AI models for the world’s largest companies, our 2022 Hackathon winners applied SAS, Microsoft and open-source technologies in ways that inspired our judges,” said Peter Lundqvist, Global Hackathon Program Manager.

“Competition is fun, but collaboration and curiosity are what truly power the SAS Hackathon.”

For more information on the winners and what sets the SAS Hackathon apart, please visit sas.com/sas/events/hackathon.html and follow #SAShackathon on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2022 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Contact:
Julia Norton 
julia.norton@sas.com
919-741-7474
sas.com/news

 

 

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Synpulse announces appointment of Jieke Pan as CTO to supercharge technology house Synpulse8

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SINGAPORE, May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Synpulse, a leading consultancy for the financial services industry, today announces the appointment of Jieke Pan as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Jieke Pan is a passionate technology leader with over 20 years of experience in digital transformation, product innovation, and engineering excellence.

Jieke is an accomplished CTO, recognised for fostering hyper-collaborative, excellence-driven engineering cultures within the financial sector. Over the past decade, he has held the position of CTO for Hexaware’s digital and software division for EMEA / APAC, as well as serving as CTO Advisor and Enterprise Architect for prominent clients in financial services, banking, and insurance.

The appointment of Jieke Pan as CTO follows the successful launch of Synpulse8, the consulting’s technology house, in 2022. Notable achievements include the deployment of the Synpulse8 Wealth Cockpit at a bank in Thailand, the introduction of the OpenWealth API Standard at LGT and the launch of the reinsurance underwriting workbench for MS Reinsurance. Synpulse8 is dedicated to creating seamless digital experiences tailored for the financial services industry.

“I am excited to join Synpulse8 and lead it into the future. Together, we will bring PULSE8 to new heights, leveraging AI capabilities to meet the evolving needs of the financial services industry,” expressed Jieke Pan.

Jieke will lead Synpulse8’s global engineering team in delivering customised solutions, pioneering products, and managed platform services in close collaboration with clients and partners. In his role at Synpulse, he will be in charge of the firm’s global technology offerings. His focus will be on evolving PULSE8 into a robust solution platform that drives innovation and accelerates progress across the financial services landscape worldwide. PULSE8 is an orchestration platform that seamlessly integrates with legacy systems, efficiently extracting and unifying data to create a tailored environment. PULSE8 will be further empowered with AI capabilities, addressing the pressing need for advanced technological solutions within the financial industry.

Jieke Pan’s appointment as CTO marks a significant milestone for Synpulse8. His extensive experience in digital transformation and engineering excellence will be instrumental in driving our solutions forward,” said Salomon Wettstein, Managing Partner at Synpulse and Co-CEO of Synpulse8. “With Jieke at the helm, we are poised to enhance our technology offerings and foster a culture of collaboration that will elevate our services in the financial sector,” added Raphael Bianchi, Senior Partner at Synpulse and Co-CEO of Synpulse8.

-END-

About Synpulse  

Synpulse is a global professional services company and a valued partner of leading players in the financial services and related industries. We optimise the proximity to our clients and deep domain expertise to create sustainable value using technology as a business driver. Leveraging our strong network of over 100 ecosystem partners, we accompany our clients throughout their transformation journey – from strategy and development to implementation and management. With our tech powerhouse, Synpulse8, we collaborate with our clients to co-create digital experiences with innovative technologies and proprietary methods. Synpulse is powered by the passion and commitment of its more than 1000 employees from 21 offices who come from over 30 countries.

More information: www.synpulse.com

 

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FOREX.com lands in Singapore, reflecting a new era in retail and self-directed CFD trading

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SINGAPORE, May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — StoneX Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SNEX) (“StoneX”) today announced the launch of FOREX.com in Singapore, providing retail and self-directed traders access to its award-winning CFD trading platform. FOREX.com is the trading name in Singapore for StoneX Financial Pte. Ltd., which is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

FOREX.com was first launched in 2001 in the United States, to educate and support retail FX traders, and has since expanded to serve CFD traders across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The holding company behind FOREX.com was acquired in 2020 by StoneX, a Fortune 100 company, whose 4,600+ employees serve 54,000+ commercial, institutional and payments clients, along with 400,000+ retail accounts, from over 80 offices across six continents.

FOREX.com maintains the StoneX mission of delivering transparent, price competitive, and customer-first solutions. Its comprehensive trading and risk management tools, robust educational resources, and on-the-ground customer service are now available in Singapore.

“This launch marks a strategic milestone in empowering Singapore’s retail traders to access thousands of global CFD markets across top FX pairs, indices, shares, gold, silver and commodities,” remarked Andy Hudson, Head of Retail – Singapore.

Hudson added “FOREX.com supports its users from education through to execution, and empowers retail customers to trade with confidence. That confidence is supported by a full suite of user-first platforms, fast execution, tight spreads and transparent pricing.”

Greg Kallinikos, CEO, APAC, elaborated “Since 2006, StoneX has supported its customers across APAC from our Singapore headquarters. We are proud to expand this servicing further by having FOREX.com launch in Singapore and help us connect even more clients to markets. FOREX.com customers in Singapore stand to benefit from dedicated support operating 24 hours a day, five days a week in facilitating their trading needs.”

About FOREX.com:
Established in the United States back in 2001, FOREX.com is an award-winning trading platform[†] with over 1 million traders worldwide[‡]. FOREX.com is the trading name in Singapore for StoneX Financial Pte. Ltd. It operates across the US, UK, Europe and Asia, and provides retail traders with a suite of educational and trading platforms, access to thousands of global CFD markets, and reliable trade execution. In 2020, the holding company of FOREX.com (Gain Capital Inc.) was acquired by StoneX Group Inc.

† ‘Best in Class’ for ‘Mobile Trading App’ and ‘Platforms & Tools’ – ForexBrokers.com Annual Awards 2025.
 ‡ Based on demo and active live trading accounts globally since 2023.

About StoneX Group Inc.
StoneX Group Inc. connects clients to the global financial markets via a full suite of services including institutional-grade platforms, end-to-end clearing and execution, post-trade settlement, market intelligence and local expertise.

A Fortune-100 company headquartered in New York City and listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (NASDAQ: SNEX), StoneX Group Inc. and its 4,600+ employees serve 54,000+ commercial, institutional, and payments clients, and 400,000+ retail accounts, from 80+ offices spread across six continents.

As a regulated and publicly traded company, StoneX Group Inc. is subject to stringent corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure requirements. Our commitment to integrity, transparency, and trust is integral to building deeply valued, long-term relationships with our clients.

More information is available at www.stonex.com

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Hard Rock International Brought an Electrifying Soundtrack to FORMULA 1® CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2025 With Pitbull, Kygo, Steve Aoki, Kaskade and More Performances

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Assets from the Hard Rock Beach Club, trackside at the FORMULA 1® CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2025 here

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., May 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — For the fourth consecutive year, Hard Rock International kept the energy at an all-time high throughout the FORMULA 1® CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2025 race weekend with incredible performances from Pitbull, Kygo, Steve Aoki, Kaskade, Sofi Tukker and more.

On Friday, May 2, international dance music superstar Kygo and EDM extraordinaire Cedric Gervais kicked off the energy-packed weekend at the trackside stage.On Saturday, May 3, DJ and electronic music icons Kaskade and Steve Aoki revved up the Hard Rock Beach Club, while Sofi Tukker kept the crowd going at the nearby Guitar Hotel for The Official Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix Pool Party.Today, Sunday, May 4, Pitbull and Sofi Tukker kept the trackside party alive with their sets to close out another amazing weekend.

“It’s an incredible honor for Hard Rock to take center stage at an extraordinary event like Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix with the Hard Rock Beach Club experience,” said Keith Sheldon, President of Entertainment and Brand Management at Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming. “As one of the most iconic Formula 1 destinations offering perhaps the most unique race viewing atmosphere on the F1 circuit, there is simply nothing like it: from the top-tier performance lineup to exclusive cabanas to watch everything on track and off unfold. We look forward to building on this tradition and further elevating the experience in years to come.”

The Hard Rock Beach Club remains one of the most premier hospitality spaces at Miami International Autodrome. Located on the outside of Turns 11-13 on the track, Hard Rock Beach Club ticket holders enjoyed incredible live outdoor performances, luxury cabanas, unparalleled views of the racing action, pools to beat the Miami heat and delicious food & cocktails to stay fueled all day.

About Hard Rock®
Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies with venues in nearly 80 countries spanning more than 300 locations including owned/licensed or managed Hotels, Casinos, Rock Shops®, Live Performance Venues and Cafes. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s largest and most valuable collection of authentic music memorabilia with more than 88,000 pieces displayed at locations around the globe. The Unity™ by Hard Rock global loyalty program rewards members for doing the things they love across participating properties. In addition, Hard Rock Digital spotlights the sports betting and iGaming experience with products remixed in the spirit of Hard Rock for players worldwide.

HRI has received numerous industry and destination awards across the travel, hospitality, gaming, entertainment and food & beverage sectors. HRI currently holds investment grades from primary investment-grade rating agencies: S&P Global Ratings (BBB) and Fitch Ratings (BBB). For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com or shop.hardrock.com.

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