Adham (middle) launching ITEX with C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd president Datuk Vincent Lim (left) and Prof Ong.
THE youths’ role in the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) ecosystem was one of the highlights of the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX), held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre last month.
For over three decades, ITEX has opened the doors for thousands of scientists, researchers and inventors to secure investment opportunities.
This year’s hybrid event, which received close to 500 inventions with participation from 15 countries and regions, included the World Young Inventors Exhibition (WYIE), Asia Young Inventors Exhibition (AYIE) and Malaysia Young Inventors Exhibition (MYIE).
Open to local, regional and international school students below the age of 20, all three exhibitions were aimed at nurturing budding young scientists and providing them with opportunities to present their creations to funders, investors and representatives of industries, corporations and small and medium enterprises.
This year, the platform even saw two of its youngest participants – eight-year-old Malaysian pupils from SJK (T) Ladang Ebor.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the government aspired to upskill and reskill the workforce.
“We need to stay well-informed with the transformation through various frameworks, roadmaps and initiatives.
“The World Economic Forum (WEF) report stated that to remain employed in the next five years, 50% of workers will need to upskill or reskill,” he said in his speech at the exhibition.
A new concurrent event that made its debut at ITEX this year was the International Conference on Tropical Agriculture (ICTA), which brought together leading stakeholders in the agro-tech industry, to exchange and share their experiences, research findings, best practices and success stories.
Malaysian Invention and Design Society (Minds) founding president and ITEX 2022 joint organiser Tan Sri Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Augustine SH Ong said: “In the past, we have been fortunate to witness the transition of many inventions that leveraged on this platform to go on to become commercialised or incorporated into industry-based operations.
“This is a huge achievement, not only for the young inventors, but us as the enablers.”
ITEX serves as an enabler to facilitate a collaborative and transformative mechanism for high impact and inclusive development of the nation.
It also aspires to enable the convergence of technologies that can transform the corresponding economic sector and in turn, create a multiplier effect on other socio-economic drivers.
ITEX awards outstanding and innovative inventions in six categories – corporate, university, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), research institutions, individual and international participants, as well as secondary and primary school inventors.
Since its inception in 1989, ITEX has been organised annually in Kuala Lumpur and has grown to become the region’s leading exhibition for aspiring inventors in various categories.
The exhibition is jointly organised by Minds and C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd.
ITEX Online, the event’s virtual edition, is live until June 30.
For details, visit www.itex.com.my
