UNIVERSITI Sains Malaysia (USM) emerged the big winner at the recent 14th International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition (Itex 2003) with seven gold medals.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia won two golds each, while Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia bagged one gold at the event.
Itex 2003 provides a platform for inventors and researchers to showcase their creations and findings. Organised by the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (Minds) and endorsed by the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry, the exhibition theme was Creativity and Innovation: Key to Competitiveness in the Global Economy.
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A STEP AHEAD: Inventor Murad Mustaffa showing off his special prosthetic leg which won a silver medal at the exhibition. |
At a press conference, USM Vice-Chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said: “This is the biggest haul for us since the inception of the exhibition 14 years ago. All our inventions can directly be used for the betterment of society. We are not doing this for prizes.”
USM submitted 36 entries. Among its award winners was the E-Tac (Early Treatment Avoid Complication) prosthetic legs and Typhirapid, a rapid test for the diagnosis of acute typhoid fever.
E-Tac inventor Murad Mustaffa said unlike most prosthetic legs, which can only be used four to six months after amputation, E-Tac legs can be worn within a month.
Other unique entries for Itex 2003 was the use of silk for soft body armour, a new production process for keropok lekor and a satay-skewering machine.
UKM's gold medal winner was Assoc Prof Dr Ruszymah Idrus for her research: Formation of Tissue Engineered Human Skin for Clinical Application. The varsity also bagged four silver and five bronze awards.
Other exhibitors included the Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute, the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, the Malaysian Science and Technology Information Centre, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), the Malaysian Rubber Board, the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing and the Industrial Chemical Research Institute of Poland.
The big winner at Itex 2002 was the research on “Green and renewable low pour point palm oil diesel” by scientists from MPOB, which won the WIPO Gold Medal Award for the Overall Best Invention, the Henry Goh Environmental Innovation Award, the Kandiah and Associates KASS Award and the WIPO Overall Best Woman Invention.
