JOHOR BAHRU, 11 Sept. – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has once again proven its excellence in innovation as three students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FKM) were named Malaysia National Runners-Up in the prestigious international engineering design competition, the James Dyson Award (JDA) 2025.
The team, comprising Chow Ming Fong, Magnus Gin Xiang Short, and Wong Zhi Ying, developed the Flood Monitoring Alert & SOS System (FMAS)—an intelligent, low-cost innovation powered by LoRa technology that detects rising floodwaters, provides early warning to communities, and enables victims to send GPS-based emergency signals for faster, targeted rescue operations.
Organised by the James Dyson Foundation, this year’s award spans across 28 countries and has supported more than 400 impactful inventions globally since its inception. At the national stage, each participating country selects one National Winner and two National Runners-Up. In Malaysia, the National Winner title was awarded to Asia Pacific University (APU), while the other National Runners-Up spot went to Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
This achievement qualifies the UTM team to advance to the global stage, where their project will compete alongside finalists from 28 countries. Entries will be reviewed by Dyson engineers, shortlisted to the Top 20 Global, before Sir James Dyson himself selects the international winners and runners-up.
Reflecting on the achievement, Ir. Dr. Amir Putra Md Saad, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Mechanics and Design, FKM UTM, expressed his gratitude, “I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to everyone involved. This marks the very first time UTM, particularly FKM, has celebrated success in this prestigious problem-solving design competition. As the coordinator of this design elective, I am immensely proud of this accomplishment and remain committed to strengthening the journey of design innovation at FKM.”
FMAS was developed as a practical solution to the recurring floods in Southeast Asia, which continue to claim lives and cause severe property damage. Unlike existing systems that rely solely on one-way alerts, FMAS introduces two-way communication through a waterproof, portable SOS Locator Beacon capable of transmitting GPS locations directly to rescuers—even in the absence of mobile networks or electricity.
With this milestone, UTM has further solidified its reputation as a leading research university that nurtures innovative talent, aligned with its mission to deliver meaningful contributions to society through impactful design. The achievement not only underscores the capability of UTM students to create globally relevant solutions, but also highlights the university’s role in shaping a new generation of design engineers attuned to pressing societal challenges.