JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 12 – Professor Dr. Johari Surif, Director of the Center for Community and Industry Network (CCIN), formally launched The Ultimate Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation Hackathon, “Anything is Possible!”, under the Komuniti@UniMADANI programme by Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance (MOF). The initiative brings together nearly 500 participants from across the country, fostering creativity, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathemathics) learning, and real-world problem-solving to drive technological innovation and strengthen university-community collaboration.
Nearly 500 people from all over Malaysia have participated in the program since it launched virtually on June 3, 2025. 180 schools students and teachers have attended the most recent physical session, maintaining the momentum established in the previous phases. This program’s main goal is to promote creativity among participants by using the Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate (CDIO) framework. Through specially created modules, participants were exposed to workshops on STEM-based learning and Design Thinking skills. By providing facilities, educational resources, certified teachers, and the required technical assistance to guarantee that participants had the best possible and most interesting learning experience, the program was carried out more successfully with the funds allotted.
There are three goals for the program: to introduce and improve participants’ knowledge of technology, electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), the IoT, and STEM education; to assist participants in creating creative prototypes that tackle community issues in the real world; to encourage the creation of highly qualified human capital in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education of the United Nations (UN) and Industry 4.0. The programme’s main activities are hands-on workshops and training sessions in IoT, AI, electronics, and engineering. Academic experts, assistant engineers, and students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), who collaborated closely with each participating group, provide knowledgeable advice to supplement these sessions. Participants were able to acquire both technical and practical insights into the innovation process thanks to this collaborative environment.
The curriculum emphasizes the development of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in addition to technical proficiency. The program gives participants a chance to create technically sound and socially significant solutions by fusing academic knowledge with community-based problem-solving techniques. In addition to fostering a new generation of creative and competitive tech workers, UTM hopes to improve ties between the community and the university by holding this hackathon. Beyond the hackathon itself, the results are meant to motivate participants to keep refining their projects and promote sustained cooperation between academia, business, and society.
The Ultimate IoT Innovation Hackathon is ultimately more than just a competition; it is a movement to strengthen communities, hasten the adoption of new technologies, and produce innovations that have a significant impact on the advancement of society. This initiative is part of the Komuniti@UniMADANI program, which is led by MOF. With an emphasis on empowering society via education, skill development, and technology adoption, the initiative provides a forum for enhancing cooperation between communities and universities.
By Nurul Ashikin Abdul-Kadir and Suhana Mohamed Sultan.