Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) student Tan Jing Jie and his teammate from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) won Gold and Best Presentation awards at the 8th Innovative Research, Invention and Application Exhibition (I-RIA 2023), held on 26 August 2023.

Their award-winning project was titled “Empowering E-Learning Platform: Innovative Features for Self-Learning Awareness and Enhanced Engagement in InfiniteLearningSpace”. Tan and his teammate, Ng Tian Xin, took home a medal and a certificate as the winning prize. The team also received a Special Award for their video presentation.

Their project application, InfiniteLearningSpace epitomises the fusion of innovation and education. Tan highlighted the pivotal importance of self-learning awareness among young Malaysians by enhancing the InfiniteLearningSpace platform. This transformation, which showcased technical prowess and creativity, included the development of a cutting-edge chatbot linked to Tan’s PhD research in Natural Language Processing (NLP). This chatbot became an integral part of the platform, facilitating personalised interactions and providing tailored guidance.

Tan said, “The innovation extended further with the integration of a unique feature—an ‘Easter egg’ powered by machine learning within the InfiniteLearningSpace platform. This feature was ingeniously designed to encourage and incentivise users to remain engaged in real study activities on the website. Through rigorous user testing and verification, they confirmed the effectiveness of this feature, observing a notable increase in user retention and active participation in educational pursuits. This inventive addition not only demonstrated their technical acumen but also highlighted their commitment to fostering a vibrant and sustained learning community within the digital realm.”

“Winning this competition not only validates the effectiveness of this software-driven approach but also serves as a testament to the significance of robust software development methodologies in fostering educational innovation. It underscores the importance of a meticulous software development lifecycle, incorporating agile methodologies, continuous iteration, and robust testing frameworks to create user-centric solutions that address critical challenges in education,” he enthused.

Organised by UUM, I-RIA 2023, themed ‘Humanising Today’s Technology for Resilient Future’ aimed to provide an ideal platform for inventors, designers and entrepreneurs to showcase their latest inventions, ideas, prototypes, products and designs to investors, manufacturers, distributors and marketers who are seeking new ideas to work on, making it the ideal platform for technological commercialisation and collaboration. It also aimed to serve as a platform for young inventors to showcase their projects and innovations at the national level.