It was a victorious day for UTAR when seven Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) Entrepreneurship teams from Faculty of Business and Finance won one gold and six silver awards at the International Young Social Entrepreneurs Competition 2019, held at Multimedia University, Malacca on 26 September 2019.

The competition aimed to create a platform for undergraduate students to express their creative ideas in overcoming social problems in the current society, as well as to provide them with learning opportunities in handling business challenges.

Apart from winning gold, the team which consisted of Ng Pei Yin, Chang Wei Bin, Sing Xiao Jie and Ang Xin Peng, also won Best Booth Award. They were among the 20 finalists in the competition. Led by their supervisor Khor Hoi Ching, their product named SANcare is an indoor garden bed that helps convert food wastes into compost. It also encourages green lifestyle and teaches to manage and reduce food wastes for household and gardening lovers.

“We were inspired by the problem of society having no proper disposal for leftover food. The average Malaysian throws 1.64kg of wastes daily. We want to help solve this problem and make this project meaningful. It will also help the society to properly manage their food waste, and thus minimising food waste issue,” said team leader Ng.

She added, “We believe that one of our winning factors was the content of our infographic and 3D animation display from the laptop. We participated in this competition because we wanted to test if our business idea was feasible. Therefore, we are very honoured to be given the gold award. Participating in the competition has gained us exposure and attention from the community. We also received valuable feedback from the judges on how to further improve our product. We are also grateful to UTAR for giving us the platform to learn and apply our knowledge and ideas, which led to our success. The experience we gained will certainly be beneficial for our future career.

The other six Final Year Project (FYP) teams who did not advance to the finals won silver awards. FYP group One consisted of students Marvin Goh Wen Yi, Koh Jia Ling, Lin Chee Loong, and Puah Poo Sheng. FYP group Four consisted of students Tan Chee Hong, Poh Chin Chieh, Chong Ian, and Wong Jia Jing. Their project was titled “ReNo”. They collaborated with students from the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) to use the project as a solution that could help people manage their time. They mentioned that the project was a good opportunity for them to explore, experience, and enjoy the process of being an entrepreneur.

FYP group Five also mentioned that the participation in the competition has provided them with valuable feedback on improving their project. The team consisted of students Liew Chee Seng, Ling Ting Rui, Lai Hao Shen, and Ho Ming Jun. Meanwhile, FYP group Six, with their project titled “UTARLent” created an online platform for users to buy, sell, or rent unused textbooks. The group consist of students Yap Kum Yang, Jane Food Paik Yee, Tee Soo Sheng, and Ang Jun Khim.

The team consisting of students Theophilus Hor Zhe Zhuan and Nicholas Joshua Jaesu Dass created a product named “TN Multi-function Phone Organiser”. The product aimed to ease the mobile phone users’ inconvenience of carrying their devices, charger, speakers and other accessories.

“We participated in the competition because we wanted to use the opportunity to introduce our product to others, as well as to gain knowledge and experience. So we were very happy when we received the Silver Award because all our hard work paid off. The subjects we learned in class, such as entrepreneurship, marketing, and small business management have taught, guided, and led us into inventing this product. It has also provided us with the fundamentals of business planning,” said Hor and Nicholas Joshua.

Another team, consisting of students Foong Zi Xin, Hew Yiheng, Toh Jin Yi, and Wa Teck Shuan, invented a product named “Winzy”. Considering how the use of laptop at a distance of 4 inches or less could harm users, and with 37 per cent of IT professionals suffering from Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD), the product aimed to reduce the harmful effects of electromagnetic devices and prevent people from suffering MSD.