TAR University College Garners Two Silver Medals at ITEX 2015

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR University College’), spearheaded by the lecturers and students from the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (‘FEBE’), rose to the occasion and clinched two Silver medals at the 26^th International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (‘ITEX’) held on 21 - 23 May 2015. Formed into two teams, the lecturers and students brought to the table their strong technical knowledge as well as a dose of creativity and innovation to come up with their two award-winning creations for the event.

Organised by the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (‘MINDS’), ITEX is an international platform for local and international inventors and research scientists to present their inventions and innovations to business communities who are keen on commercialising viable inventions. The awards given will accord recognition and attract more business opportunities for the winning products.

This year’s exhibition featured more than 1,000 inventions from 21 countries showcased and categorised under 24 industry categories of new innovations, concepts and applications with more than 100 local and international industry professionals as judges. TAR University College teams competed against other teams from Malaysia, Asia and Europe to win the Silver medals under the categories of Materials and Personal-Care Products.

The first Silver was for the invention in the Materials category called the “Novel Metal Oxide Based Nanocomposite for Neutral Aqueous Supercapacitor”. It is a novel development of a highly efficient supercapacitor which is made from eco-friendly nanostructured metal oxides (zinc oxide and titanium oxide) and activated carbon which can be potentially used for green energy storage applications. The “Materials” team comprised Ms Ho Mui Yen, Lecturer of FEBE and Chan Ying Chao, now a graduate from TAR University College.

Ms Ho Mui Yen highlighted that it took about 1 year for them to do research and to develop the product. “The supercapacitor is an energy storage device using low cost materials. After much experimentation, we finally came up with a device that does not cost much to produce and is eco-friendly.”

The second Silver was for an invention for a personal-care product called the “Flexible Bending Motion Controlled Electrical Wheelchair with Kalman Filter Algorithm”, which is a wheelchair for severely disabled people who have difficulties using a joystick in controlling an electrically powered wheelchair. Those involved in the project were Assoc Prof Dr Yip Mum Wai, Associate Dean of FEBE, Mr Eu Kok Seng, Dr Lee Yoon Ket and Dr Ko Ying Hao, lecturers of FEBE as well as Lim Zhi Zhang, Tan Kok Loon, Lee Yan Fong and Tan Yeung Keat, all of whom are Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Mechatronic students.

Lim Zhi Zhang said the team members were very much hands-on in the project. “As a student, I was involved from the beginning of the project till the end. I did programming, assemblage and calibration of the wheelchair. The testing equipments and machines found in our engineering labs were put to good use in producing the wheelchair.”

The other student participant, Tan Kok Loon, said that the subjects that he had learnt in the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Mechatronic programme enabled him to work on the project. “I find subjects like Engineering Design and Theory of Machines to be very useful as I could put into practice the knowledge that I have learnt in creating the prototype.”

Both Zhi Zhang and Kok Loon concurred that the ITEX 2015 was an eye-opening experience. “We were exposed to the industrial field and learnt about how the engineering principle was applied into a product. We were also involved in showing how our wheelchair would work. Teamwork is very important and students would need to have a certain amount of knowledge and specific skillsets to be part of such project.”

The win in 2015 is the second year in succession that TAR University College has won top prizes in ITEX. Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR University College, elatedly commended the achievement of the lecturers and students in ITEX. He said: “The efficacy of our holistic education is once again validated with this achievement in ITEX. In TAR University College, both theoretical and practical understanding is given the same weight and this aims at building up students’ knowledge and skills. We also give equally strong emphasis on honing important soft skills such as creative thinking and teamwork given that these skills will help the students succeed in the world of work.”

TAR University College will be holding the annual Info Day on 21 – 23 August 2015 at Kuala Lumpur Main Campus as well as all the branches in Penang, Perak, Johor, Pahang and Sabah where interested students may come and enquire for more details on the September 2015 intake. Alternatively, please visit www.tarc.edu.my or contact 03-41450100 / 23 ext. 547 / 548 for more information on September intake.