Pat on the back for UKM duo

AS a child, Nur Liyana Syasya Mohd Zamuri was prone to injuries as she often stumbled and fell over. Hence, she was familiar with the use of healthcare products such as adhesive bandages.

When an opportunity came for her to take part in a regional case challenge recently, the Bachelor of Science with Honours (Materials Science) student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia took inspiration from her personal experience and her research work to provide an innovative solution, together with her coursemate Mohd Fahad Saleem.

Their effort saw them being crowned regional champions at the inaugural Inspire Challenge organised by global science company 3M in search of solutions to help elevate its business through the themes of Technology, Sustainability and Innovation.

Award-winning solution: Nur Liyana and Mohd Fahad put forward the idea of Smart Bandages in driving sustainability and improving wound care.

Naming themselves Too Good Duo, Nur Liyana and Mohd Fahad beat 121 teams in the region with their winning solution Smart Bandages, which aims to modify the organiser’s waterproof bandages utilising green carbon dot-chitosan nanocomposites to enhance and monitor wound healing.

Mohd Fahad said adhesive bandages are common items that can be found in many households as there has been an increased awareness in wound management over the decades.

“We came up with the idea of Smart Bandages to equip users with a product that can better monitor different stages of the wound healing process, and provide an optimum condition for the skin and tissues to heal so that they can continue with their day-to-day lives without worrying about their wounds,” he said in a press release dated Sept 23.

In an email interview with StarEdu, they expressed their hope of seeing the Smart Bandages being commercialised and accessible on the market, adding that they strongly believed that their solution would have its place in driving sustainability and improving wound care.

Their mentor and 3M Safety and Industrial Business Group (SIBG) Asia training lead Gursharan Sidhu commended the duo – the only team at the regional challenge with only two members – for their passion, determination and hard work.

“The team put in extra hours after their internships and classes, and even during weekends, to ensure that their plan was sustainable and met the needs of the market,” she said.

She also emphasised the need to develop youths in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“Experienced leaders already have the proven formula, but fresh perspectives are needed from time to time. More companies should inspire and encourage students from diverse backgrounds to pursue STEM,” she said.

At the regional challenge, Too Good Duo competed with five other country champions from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The participating teams pitched their solutions to a panel of judges from diverse areas of expertise which included business management, manufacturing and supply chain, research and development, sustainability, as well as branding and communications.

For their win, Too Good Duo clinched USD$3,000 (RM12,484) in cash prizes, and internships at the organiser’s local offices.

Team Charmmm from RMIT University Vietnam scored second place with their proposal of building a 360° Virtual Store for customer engagement.

The second runner-up spot went to team Kancil from Indonesia with their idea of offering a sustainable surgical mask option by using bioplastics as the main raw material.

Khadija, 16, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Throughout the year-long programme, participants aged between 14 and 22 from all across the country experience life as journalists, contributing ideas, conducting interviews, and completing writing assignments. They get to earn bylines, attend workshops, and extend their social networks. To join Star-NiE’s online youth community, go to facebook.com/niebrats.