JOHOR BAHRU, Oct 8 – At the NALI 2025, the project ‘ARban Life: Immersive Urban Sketches – Redefining Urban Planning with AI-Driven Augmented Reality’ took home the Gold Award, once again showcasing UTM’s leadership in educational innovation and digital transformation.
Developed by Dr. Nabila Abdul Ghani, Ts. Gs. Noradila Rusli, Gs. Dr. Nafisa Hosni, and Dr. Ak Mohd Rafiq Ak Matusin from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FABU), the project integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) to revolutionize how urban planning students learn and interpret the built environment.
Remarkably, this was the team’s first time participating in the NALI competition, making the Gold Award an even more significant milestone. The project exemplifies research-led teaching, where knowledge and insights derived from cutting-edge research are directly embedded into the teaching and learning process. By translating research outcomes into practical, immersive classroom applications, students gain first-hand experience with emerging digital tools that are reshaping the global urban planning landscape.
Within the context of urban planning education in Malaysia, ARban Life marks a pioneering effort; the first known attempt to integrate AI and AR technologies into the urban planning syllabus. This initiative not only enhances students’ creativity and spatial understanding but also prepares them to engage with the future demands of smart city development and digital urbanism.
The project reflects UTM’s ongoing commitment to innovation in pedagogy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student-centered learning, aligning with the university’s mission to nurture graduates who are both technically competent and forward-thinking.
The ARban Life initiative transforms students’ hand-drawn urban sketches into living, interactive experiences. Using AI-powered animation and AR visualization, static drawings come to life; depicting human environment interactions, street vitality, and spatial dynamics.
Students can now explore their own sketches through a smartphone, seeing animated “living sketches” that merge artistic creativity with spatial analytics; bridging the gap between traditional design learning and digital immersion.
“This project enriches visualization, strengthens creativity, and enhances digital competency, making urban learning more inclusive, engaging, and meaningful,” said the project team.
The award-winning work was implemented during Semester 1 (2024/2025) in the course SBEW1215 Experiencing Cities and Human Settlements, where students conducted field sketches in Johor Bahru and Melaka. Their analogue drawings were digitized, AI-animated, and integrated into AR-based exhibitions, allowing the public to experience the sketches through mobile devices. The ARban Life team envisions expanding the framework for community engagement, cultural heritage visualization, and AI-enhanced urban storytelling; paving the way for a new era of creative pedagogy at UTM.
About NALI 2025
NALI (New Academia Learning Innovation) is UTM’s flagship platform that celebrates transformative teaching and learning innovations aligned with Education 5.0@UTM. The 2025 edition, held at Persada Johor International Convention Centre, featured outstanding academic projects showcasing creativity, technology integration, and learner-centered design.
Prepared by: Noradila Rusli
