Champion at Health iPhAMA-thon 2022

A team comprising UTAR academics (in-house mentors) and students from different faculties were crowned as Champions for their project titled “MEDiCAM” at the Health iPhAMA-thon 2022: Decoding Chronic Disease through Innovation, which was hosted by the Pharmaceutical Association, Malaysia (PhAMA): Innovative Medicines for Malaysia. The name of their team was “What the Health”. The competition commenced with the submissions of student projects on 18 October 2022. Student teams (four members each) selected from universities all over Malaysia were then exposed to a mentor-assigned two-day workshop conducted by the iPhAMA-thon. The teams were then allowed two weeks to develop the submitted project. The seven teams that were short-listed conducted a Closed-door Final Presentation on 3 December 2022 at the One World Hotel, PJ, KL.

The award-winning project was a cross-disciplinary project by Mechatronics Engineering student, Tan Xuan Qing, Electrical and Electronic Engineering student Lew Yanzhe (both of them are Undergraduate Research Scheme (URS) students), and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S) students, Lee Dywei and Celysce Fui Sze Kei under the mentorship of Clinical Assoc Prof Dr Thaw Zin and lecturer Dr Avneet Kaur, M. Kandiah Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MK FMHS) and Chairperson of Centre for Immersive Technology and Creativity (CITC) Dr Aloysius Yapp from the Game Study department of Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI).

Their project stemmed from UTAR’s strive to become an “Age-friendly University” which aims to serve as a solution to overcome the burden of a collective disability of old age called the “Geriatric Syndrome”, the main cause of elderly Malaysians ending up in Assisted Living Residences (ALR). The ‘Prototype: Apps’ developed by the students was derived from the principle of the incorporation of “Digital Technology” into “Medicine” which can be used for organising and administering medication in the elderly (called Realistic Care and Responsible Medication) both by the care-takers of the ALR in Malaysia and those taking care of elderly at home. These user-friendly Apps can improve medication compliance and also help prevent medication errors and their dangerous consequences, thus adding quality to living for elderly Malaysians and ensuring much-needed compliance.

“This is our 2nd cross-disciplinary project with MK FMHS and we would like to thank Assoc Prof Dr Thaw Zin, Dr Avneet, and the students for the wonderful achievement in iPhAMA-thon,” said Dr Aloysius Yapp. Dr Thaw Zin said, “The innovative and creative potential of the students is the show of teamwork and family mentality that exist among students and teachers as partners in education at UTAR, and this achievement would not have been possible without the support and guidance of the IPSR/UTAR, which has been the backbone of all our research activities. We feel truly thankful for this wonderful opportunity.” Dr Avneet, who has been a brilliant co-ordinator among students and mentors said, “It was a wonderful opportunity for students to experience a field of healthcare innovation that is going to help so many people in the future. Selecting students with a creative mindset was absolutely necessary and we will continue finding many more opportunities for these brilliant minds to exercise their innovative skills.”

“We are happy that iPHAMA invited many universities, including us to participate in this innovation competition. While working with students from different disciplines for the first time and experiencing conflicting opinions initially, we were able to accept our differences; harmonising them led to better decisions and ultimately, better outcomes. Finally, we would like to thank all our supervisors, Dr Aloysius Yapp, Dr Thaw and Dr Avneet for giving us this opportunity and trusting our abilities,” said Lee Dywei and Celysce Fui Sze Kei.

“First and foremost, we would also like to thank our supervisors for introducing us to the team and supporting us throughout the competition. Our iPhAMA-thon mentor, Nic Tai, also provided constructive advice on our ideas which were important for our success. We had a good collaboration experience with FMHS students, who were knowledgeable and extremely helpful,” said Tan Xuan Qing and Lew Yanzhe.

The Iphama-ton 2022 was organised by the Pharmaceutical Association, Malaysia and the PhAMA: Innovative Medicines for Malaysia.

From left: IPSR Director Assoc Prof Dr Yong Thian Khok, Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman, Lew Yazhe, Lee Dywei, Tan Xuan Qing, Dr Aloysius Yapp, Dr Thaw and Dr Avneet

From left: Celysce Fui Sze Kei, Lee Dywei, Dr Thaw, Lew Yanzhe and Tan Xuan Qing

The prizes won by the team