JOHOR BAHRU, 18 April 2019- The Bioprocess Engineering Student Society (BIOSS) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has successfully organized their 5th International Biotechnology Competition and Exhibition (IBCEx’19) on the 5^th and 6^th April at Dewan Sultan Iskandar and Dewan Banquet, UTM, Johor Bahru. This is an annual program with the main objective of providing a great opportunity for local and international undergraduates from various institutions to introduce their creative innovations and further enhance their knowledge in the field of biotechnology. With the theme “Green and Sustainable World”, the organizer opens three categories of innovation for contestants which are Environment/Waste Treatment/Biotechnology, Biofuel/Renewable Energy and Green Building/Green Technology Product. There were a total of 41 teams who took part in the program comprising 26 international teams and 14 local teams. Out of the 27 international teams, 2 teams were from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (Indonesia), 12 teams from Universitas Brawijaya (Indonesia), 1 team from Pertamina University (Indonesia), 7 teams from Universitas Islam Indonesia, 3 teams from Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (Indonesia) and 1 team from Universitas Sebelas Maret (Indonesia). The 14 local teams who participated in IBCEx’19 included 5 teams from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 4 teams from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 3 teams from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), 1 team from Universiti Teknologi MARA Kampus Bukit Besi (UiTM) and 1 team from Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). A poster competition was also organized as a side competition with the same theme and was open only  for undergraduates and diploma students who are currently studying in Johor. The participants of the poster competition were from UTM, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed), Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan as well as Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Industrial Technology (UniKL MITECH). YB Tuan Lim Kit Siang, a Member of Parliament at Iskandar Puteri was invited to officiate the IBCEx’19 during the closing ceremony on the 6^th April 2019. Other VVIPs that were invited include Prof. Dr. Durrishah Idrus (Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roshanida A. Rahman (Deputy Dean of Faculty Engineering), Prof. Dr. Mohd Ghazali Mohd Nawawi (Principal of School of Chemical Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Liza Md Salleh (Advisor of Bioprocess Student Society) and the Director of IBCEX2019, Tan Jian Ming. The champion for the main competition for the Environment/Waste Treatment/Biotechnology category was Universitas Brawijaya with their MS IP PRO (Monitoring System with Integrated Parameter Program): Vannamei Shrimp Cultural Monotoring Solution Based IOT (Internet of Things). For the Biofuel/Renewable Energy category, the champion was Pertamina University with their innovative product called Green Gasoline: Renewable Fuel from Palm Oil Solid Waste and Plastic LDPE (Low-Density Polyetylene) Using Microwave, Catalytic Cracking Method and ZSM5 Catalyst. For the final category of Green Building/Green Technology Product, UTM was announced as the champion with thier innovative product Artificial Tree (ART3) by Using Marine Microalgae. Lim Jun Jie from NUMed won the 1^st place for the poster presentation competition with the title ’10 Steps towards a Green and Sustainable World’. The Best Booth Award went to booth GB 04 (Artificial Tree (ART3) By Using Marine Microalgae) from UTM. The Best Presenter Award went to Siti Fatimah Masturah Binti Musa from UTM while the Best of the Best Award went to the champion from the Biofuel/Renewable Energy category. UTM hopes that this program will be able to create and produce more undergraduates with real-life skills through competitions such as IBCEx. Moreover, UTM is increasingly making full use of the competition platform to help students to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical skills needed in the future workplace. Last but not least, the IBCEx2019 agenda is one of the stepping stones to ensure that Malaysia can meet the qualification of “United Nation’s Global Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development”.

YB Tuan Lim Kit Siang officiates the IBCEx2019. From right, Prof. Dr. Durrishah Idrus, YB Tuan Lim Kit Siang and Tan Jian Ming.

All the winners for all categories took pictures with YB Tuan Lim Kit Siang and the invited VVIPs, Prof. Dr. Durrishah Idrus (Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Roshanida A. Rahman (Deputy Dean of Faculty Engineering), Prof. Dr. Mohd Ghazali Mohd Nawawi (Principal of School of Chemical Engineering), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Liza Md Salleh (Advisor of Bioprocess Student Society) and the director of IBCEx2019, Tan Jian Ming.

Picture of all the participants and the ICBEx2019 organizers with the invited VVIPs.

This report was jointly written by;

Nur Izyan Wan Azelee, Ph.D.,

Chong Kar Lun,

Victor Lai Wei Xiang,

Tan Yee Qing.