ALOR STAR: Young innovators from four schools in Perlis who came up with various creative inventions brought home a trophy and five gold medals in the Kaohsiung International Invention and Design Expo (KIDE) 2015 which took place in Taiwan recently.
Among the students, Muhammad Qhalif Azariq Sahzan from SK Sena who came up with a vegetable cutting machine which he named Master Cut, was announced as the International Best Young Inventor. The 11-year-old walked home with a trophy and a certificate.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Puteri Nurfarahliana Mansor from SMS Tuanku Syed Putra who won a gold medal for her invention, Hydro Fertiliser, which converts diapers, food waste and soil into high nutrient material, enabling a plant to last longer without water.
A team of form four students from SMK Dato Sheikh Ahmad — Haikal Azhar, Muhammad Aliff Eimman Zaidi and Mohamad Khairul Hazman Hashim — invented a smart hydroponic system that uses solar power while a team from SMK Tuanku Lailatul Shahreen — Shafiq Rezal, Wan Muhammad Hazim Wan Noor Azairi and Foo Sher Lee who came up with Tennis ball collector machine also walked home with a gold medal each.
Ten-year-old Nur Hana Alisha Khairel Rafezi, also from SK Sena, who created a three-in-one smart storage for shower gel, shampoo, and sponge also contributed a gold medal for the country.
University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Kamarudin Hussin, in a statement, said all the four schools which were involved in KIDE are cluster schools which were adopted by the university under its innovation and science programme which aims to bring forward inventions and research of local students internationally.
"The programmes started in 2010 with SK Sena, followed by the other three schools.
"Under the initiative, the Malaysia Research and Innovation Society (MyRIS), Yayasan Tuanku Syed Putra (YTSP) with the collaboration of the Perlis State Education Department, drafted a study module to introduce the students with innovation.
"The selected students were given the opportunity to participate in various activities under the programme such as innovation workshops, robotic workshops, conducting lab tests, consultation with experts from UniMAP and competitions," said Kamarudin.
KIDE 2015 which was organised by the World Invention Intellectual Property Association (WIIPA) with the collaboration of the Kaohsiung City government involved over 20 countries including China, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Tunisia, Turkey, Romania, and Vietnam.
The three-day event took place from Dec 4 till 6, at the International Convention Centre Kaohsiung (ICCK) in Taiwan.