GCIT students showcase industry-driven tech innovations

Sherab Lhamo

The final year students of Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology (GCIT), Kabesa, showcased 16 innovative real-life projects yesterday, demonstrating the application of their technical skills in collaboration with industry partners.

The projects, developed by teams of four to five students, span key technological domains such as full-stack development, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The showcase marks the culmination of a model initiated in 2022 to integrate industry collaboration into GCIT’s curriculum. The approach not only bridges academic learning with workplace realities but also encourages students to address real-world challenges with practical solutions.

One of the project showcased was a Drukair Heli Reservation System, developed in partnership with Drukair. The system, designed to streamline helicopter flight bookings, replaces the company’s current reliance on Excel spreadsheets.

“Our system offers data analysis on monthly revenue, sets revenue targets, and tracks yearly performance. It also displays charges in both Ngultrum and US Dollars (USD),” said a team member Tandin Penjor.

Deployed in December 2024, the system is now in its second development phase.

Another project showcased was a Facility Management System for Gyalsung, developed under the full-stack category. The system records and manages institutional assets such as furniture and equipment. It features cost analysis, repair and maintenance tracking, preventive maintenance scheduling, and detailed reporting to enhance operational efficiency.

In the IoT category, the team Craw Tech IO collaborated with Singapore Crawfish Private Limited and Crawfish Himalayan Limited to build an aquaculture monitoring system. The system tracks crawfish habitats using water level, pH, and temperature sensors, integrated with an automatic feeder.

“The system allows administrators to access data remotely via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and alerts them if temperature or pH levels drop,” said the team. It also enables remote control of feeders and oxygen pumps, while providing visual analytics on environmental conditions.

A team led by Ngawang Chojey Rai, in partnership with the National Land Commission, developed an AI-powered document retrieval system using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). The tool mimics platforms like ChatGPT, allowing users to query a localised dataset.

“While it currently takes five hours to retrieve specific documents from over a million files, our system can do it in under 10 minutes,” said Ngawang.

By using semantic search, which converts data into numerical values—the system improves retrieval speed and frequently assists in locating critical records like thram numbers.

Another full-stack project focused on streamlining customer service at Bhutan Telecom through a QR-based queue management system. The system, launched in mid-November 2024, replaces traditional paper tokens. Customers scan a QR code to obtain a digital token, enabling tellers to manage bookings more effectively.

The system tracks teller performance, service duration, and collects customer feedback, which is analysed to improve service delivery.

In the blockchain category, Kuenzang Lhaden and her team introduced a national digital voting system aimed at enhancing electoral participation. “Voters can register using their Citizen ID, which is verified by an administrator before they are allowed to vote. All votes cast are encrypted,” Kuenzang Lhaden explained.

The system’s automated “smart count” feature tallies votes by constituency, reducing human error and increasing transparency.

She shared a relevant context to the project’s utility: “During the last elections, some Bhutanese in Australia were unable to vote due to lost postal ballots.”

The new system, she said, could greatly enhance voter inclusion, enabling Bhutanese citizens abroad to participate in future elections. The team plans to present the project to the Election Commission of Bhutan.