TAWAU, 25th November 2023 – The last weekend of November 2023 marks a significant milestone for UiTM Sabah Branch Tawau Campus, as it has successfully engaged 223 Pre-Diploma students of the October 2023 – February 2024 semester in its inaugural Innovation Competition Programme (ICP 2023).
The selected theme for ICP 2023 was “Innovation Sustains Student Development”. In tandem with the rapid development of digitalisation and the deployment of AI-powered applications and tools at the workplace, the organiser reckoned that innovation is the key to creating a workforce capable of meeting the increasing demands for high-skilled workers in the job market. In this light, innovation gives our graduates the edge to survive the competition and competitiveness, whether in human-human or human-robot scenarios in the near future.
The objectives of the ICP, among others, were to create a platform for students to showcase their innovation products and designs, and to create awareness about the importance of innovation and invention in the fields of Teaching and Learning, Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and Environment.
The innovation competition has received an encouraging response from the Pre-Diploma students. A total of 31 innovation teams, comprising 154 students, took part in the competition. The breakdown of students’ innovations according to subthemes was Teaching and Learning (3), Entrepreneurship (7), STEM (11) and Environment (10).
The competition featured seven awards in total. The four Best Innovation Award winners (one for each subtheme) were Group Q3 with “Essay is Easy” for the category of Teaching and Learning, Group Q2 with “Smart Menu” for the category of Entrepreneurship, Group P3 with “Magical Umbrella” for the category of STEM, and Group T4 with “Green Symbolic” for the category of Environment. Additionally, three special awards were also presented. The Most Promising Innovator Team Award was won by Group Q4 with their innovation titled “Anti-Rain Suspension”; the Best Innovation Presentation Award was received by Group T2 with their innovation project “Environment Justice”; and the Most Outstanding Innovation Award was again presented to Group T4.
The Head of the panel of judges, Dr. Azmin Pullong, commented that participants demonstrated notable strengths in that they were able to produce 3D models, prototypes, mock robots, apps and integration of apps. As for their weaknesses, he found that some students lacked teamwork and effective communication skills during the presentation. Some participants also struggled to articulate the originality or uniqueness of their innovation products. Furthermore, some participants who lacked business skills, also had difficulty determining the cost and the selling price of their innovation products.
The highest-achieving winner of the innovation competition, Group T4, championed the conservation of the seas and oceans. Using recyclable materials, they created a device that helps to suck the trash in the sea water and keep the sea free from litter. Their initiative to preserve the environment with the slogan “Be part of the solution, not the pollution” has earned them two innovation awards in the contest.
In a nutshell, ICP 2023 has not only given students the opportunity to discover and hone their skills in innovation and invention, but also ignited a spark of interest in innovation in the novice innovators, whose potential, we hope, can be tapped and expanded in the future.