JOHOR BAHRU, 10 December 2014 – Team SPPL 1 from the Faculty of Education emerged as  Champion at the 7th Student Innovation Competition of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) held at the Centre for Student Innovation (CSI), Kolej Tuanku Chancellor.
The group, comprising Noor Khairul Azwan, Nuraisyah Ahmad and Anuar Mohammed managed to bring home the Best of the Best Award, Best Presentation, Gold Medal and cash money of RM1000.00 through their invention, an onion peeling machine named Peel-O.
CSI Innovation Officer, Azizul Azman said the competition aims to foster a culture of innovation among students by providing a platform for them to showcase their creative ideas.
“The 2014 competition known as the 7th Innovation Competition with the theme ‘Improved +’. The theme emphasizes ‘improvement’ on any equipment, gadget or process that will facilitate our daily activities,” he said.
The competition was held at two levels, the preparation, and evaluation of project proposals.
Any group that had passed the selection stage will then be required to develop the proposed products and compete in the competition.
Products which made it to the final round were assessed by a professional jury of 12 people consisting of faculty and administrative staff who have expertise in areas related to product development innovation, commercialization and marketing.
A total of 43 groups consisting of 157 students made it to the finals, with the products classified into four categories, namely, open, design, technology and mobile application.
“All groups proceeding to the final round were given RM 300.00 seed money allocated by the UTM CSI to further develop their respective innovative products.”
The awards and medals contested were Best of the Best, Best Presentation, Most Creative Innovation, Best Poster, Most Interactive Booth, The Best Dress, Best Team Working, Most Well Prepared Proposal, six (6) Gold medals, six (6) Silver and six (6) Bronze medals.