UMP Student Team Competes at NMEPC 2022

MELAKA, May 14, 2023 - A team from Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) that introduced the Hand Obstacle Detector (HOD) prototype idea, focusing on developing assistive technology for the use of persons with disabilities (PWDs) during walking, won a consolation prize in the Technology and Innovation category at the National Micro Enterprise Pitching Competition (NMEPC) organized by the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) in collaboration with the managing institution, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM).

The first team consisted of students from the Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology (FSTI), namely Muhammad Fikri Firdaus Asmawi, Muhammad Haziq Syahmi Muhamad Asre, and Aiman AlHakim Mohd Rizal. They offered a solution to this target group, which often faces difficulty in identifying obstacles and determining accurate distances while walking.

Meanwhile, the second team, also representing UMP, received a consolation prize in the arts and creative category for successfully introducing the Combine prototype idea, a flexible-designed beverage bottle that provides a solution for users seeking functional variation in a beverage bottle.

This beverage bottle also offers a unique, easy-to-use, cost-effective, and practical design.

The team consisted of students from FSTI, Muhammad Ismat Hadif Mohd Arshad, and students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology (FTKA), Wan Ashraf Wajdi Wan Zakaria and Muhammad Amirul Hakim Zainal Abidin.

According to the Director of the Centre of Creative Entrepreneur Development (CCED), Dr. Suhaidah Hussain, this program aims to train, guide, and generate more student start-ups, particularly those based on technology and innovation.

"UMP was represented by two diploma student teams and a mentor, Dr. Nurul Ashykin Abd Aziz, who is the Head of Entrepreneurship Program at the Faculty of Industrial Management (FIM).

"NMEPC is a national-level entrepreneurship program that aims to train, guide, and generate more student start-ups, particularly those based on technology and innovation," she said.

There were 46 teams consisting of students from various Public Universities (UA), Polytechnics, and Community Colleges throughout Malaysia who participated in the boot camp and a series of online workshops from March to May 2023, guided by industry mentors for each student team.

By: Halizan Mahmood, Halizan   Mahmood,   Centre   of   Creative   Entrepreneur  Development (CCED)

Translation by: Aminatul Nor Mohamed Said, UMP Career Centre (UMPCC)