Research, innovation crucial in development – CM

KOTA KINABALU: Research and innovation play very crucial roles in the development of a nation, especially in this era of progressive transformation and endless challenges, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said those involved in the education sector be it in schools, secondary and higher institutions are inevitably entrusted to be the leading think tank to produce solutions which will eventually make a difference.

“Armed with the right information from research and input from various parties, innovators can play an important role to industries, society and government in the process towards sustainable development.

“Hence, it is imperative that they adopt a mindset that encourages exploration of novel ideas and out of the box thinking skills when conducting research and innovations,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Sabah International Virtual Innovation and Invention Competition (SIVIIC2019) at The Pacific Sutera here yesterday.

“I was informed that the response for SIVIIC has been very positive despite the fact that it is the first virtual competition held at an international level. This is made possible by the Sabah Ministry of Education and Innovation and Universiti Teknologi Mara, Sabah Branch (UiTM Sabah).

“I am confident that this competition is an effective kick-starter that will provide the platform for future innovators to share their creative ideas and intellectual interactions in order to enhance the quality of life,” said Shafie, whose speech was read out by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau.

Meanwhile, UiTM Sabah rector Datuk Dr Abdul Kadir Rosline in his welcoming speech said the university had been actively organizing innovation competitions for the past several years, to cultivate the spirit of innovation among the academicians, non-academcians as well as students.

In the beginning, he said the competition was conducted in a conventional way where the participants needed to exhibit and showcase their projects where the budget was costly.

Then, in response to Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), UiTM Sabah took the initiative to digitalise the competition which required the participants to submit their videos in compact discs to the organizer.

“Eventually in 2019, we took progressive steps by utilising the Internet-of-Things (IoT) where we incorporated YouTube as a channel where we could showcase the participants’ projects to the world.

“This not only benefited us but also the participants as YouTube is accessible, free of charge and the projects’ link can be shared to other social media platforms with a few clicks of the mouse. This enriches the digital society as a whole,” he said.

During the event, a group of lecturers from Universiti Teknologi Mara Johor won the main award of SIVIIC2019 with their project entitled Picoseconds Dark Pulse Zirconia-Yttria-Aluminium-Erbium-doped Fiber Laser.

The project was jointly participated by Dr Arni Munira Markom, Dr Hazlihan Haris, Dr Ahmad Razif Muhammad, Prof Dr Mukul Chandra Paul and Prof Ir Dr Sulaiman Wadi Harun.

The main award, Champion of All Platinum, was sponsored by Celcom Sabah.

Also present were Sabah Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob and his assistant minister Mohammad Mohamarin.

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