UMPSA hosts the 17th Public University Innovative and Creative Group (KIK) Convention for Year 2024

GAMBANG, 8 August 2024 – The 17th Public University (UA) Innovative and Creative Group (KIK) Convention for Year 2024, which lasted two days, concluded recently. 

This year, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) was honoured to host this prestigious event.

The KIK convention serves as an excellent platform for the university community to nurture a culture of innovation and creativity through projects and ideas that have a meaningful impact in solving problems and improving the quality of service delivery at the university level.

UMPSA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ts. Dato' Dr. Yuserrie Zainuddin, officiated the Closing Ceremony, which included the Presentation of Prizes and the Announcement of the Host for the 18th UA KIK Convention at Dewan Astaka, UMPSA Gambang Campus.

The event was attended by top management from UMPSA, including Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Professor Ir. Ts. Dr. Ahmad Ziad Sulaiman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Ts. Dr. Aida Mustapha, and Registrar, Dato' Saiful Bahari Ahmad Bakarim.

Also in attendance were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) of the National Defense University of Malaysia (UPNM), Professor Ts. Dr. Haji Azizi Haji Miskon, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) of Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI), Professor Dr. Suriani Abu Bakar.

Professor Ts. Dato' Dr. Yuserrie highlighted that the 17th KIK UA Convention is a powerful platform to ensure that universities continue to evolve and innovate.

"The KIK Convention fosters a culture of innovation, creativity, and forward-thinking, which enhances work quality and the effectiveness of public universities’ service delivery systems. 

“Creative employees are a key component in ensuring that university functions and operations remain relevant and transformative.

"Empowering creativity among UA staff is also essential in developing individuals with high skills and critical thinking abilities," he added.

The 17th Public University KIK Convention at UMPSA marked a historic milestone, as it was the first to implement the New Horizon format, in line with PKPA No. 1/2016, replacing the previous format provided by the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC).

This year, the KIK Convention featured two project categories: Social Innovation and Service Delivery Innovation. A total of 28 KIK groups from various UAs competed in these categories.

UMPSA was represented by two groups: the Innovative-T group from the Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology (FSTI) in the Social Innovation category, and the Innovative group from the Mathematical Sciences Centre (PSM) in the Service Delivery Innovation category.

Participating universities included Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).

The three major awards contested were the Main Category Award, the Service Delivery Category Award, and the Social Innovation Category Award.

The Agromind group from UiTM clinched the Main Category Award, while the Reborn Rehab group from USM won the Service Delivery Category Award. 

The Social Innovation Category Award was also won by the Agromind group from UiTM.

UMPSA's Innovative-T group secured the runner-up position in the Social Innovation Category.

Congratulations to all the winners and participants from the UAs who took part in this year’s convention.

By: Naqiah Puaad, Centre for Corporate Communications

Translation by: Aminatul Nor Mohamed Said, UMPSA Career Centre (UMPSACC)