Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-Yayasan Sime Darby Sustainability Challenge 2015 unearths students’ creativity

The dynamic duo, Kaw Meng Chung and Teh Wei Huai, inspired by their internship experience at palm oil mills, invented a methodology to recover low-heat waste and walked away with the first prize of RM8,000 in cash sponsored by the UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainability Development. 

During the post-event interview, the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) final year Manufacturing and Mechanical engineering students said, “We could hardly believe our luck that we won this competition. We found out about this sustainability challenge displayed at our university’s foyer and only had less than three weeks to prepare”. 

“The idea came from our internship stint at palm oil mills and we realised that not much attention was given to recovering low temperature waste heat. As Malaysia is currently the second largest producer of palm oil in the world after Indonesia, we feel that our zero waste technology model will bring added value for palm oil companies by reducing carbon emissions and operating cost of mills in the future”. 

The inaugural UKM-YSD Sustainability Challenge 2015 was held on 18 November 2015 at Puri Pujangga UKM, Bangi with the objective to explore and develop innovative ideas on the sustainability of the palm oil industry among university students, a platform for the participants to present their sustainability ideas to industry practitioners and to promote the Chair and Research Centre for Sustainable Process Technology (CESPRO) at national and regional levels. 

The competition was targeted at Malaysian undergraduate students with the choice of an individual submission or a group of three in eight different areas of interest ranging from agriculture and biological sciences, economics, engineering and applications, green technology, renewable energy and environment, safety, risk, reliability and quality, strategy and management, and, waste management and disposal. 

UKM received a total of 205 applications from 21 local universities. Ten best essays were selected for the final round based on the originality and quality of ideas, practicality and strategy of implementation, as well as contribution towards society, economy and the environment.

UKM students Ramzi Wazir and Nurnuha Shamsir won the first runner-up with a cash prize of RM5,000 sponsored by the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) after presenting their innovative idea on the “Conversion of Sap Oil Palm Trunk into Furan Derivatives supported by Solic Acid Catalyst for Synthesis Anti-Cancer”. Another team of three from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) won third place with cash prize of RM3,000 with their presentation entitled “A Responsive Storm Water Management Strategy in Oil Palm Plantation”. 

Noorfarah Asyiqin Noorossaidy, a Chemical and Environmental engineering student from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) won The Best Poster Award category with RM500 sponsored by the UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainable Development for her poster on “Digital Agriculture”. 

At the event, YSD Governing Council Member YBhg Tan Sri Dato' Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin encouraged more undergraduates to move out of their comfort zones.

“I strongly encourage our university students to challenge conventional ideas and theories and to think outside the box. We must strive to promote innovative thinking within our academia to become a globally competitive nation. Through competitions held by the Chair, we are providing a platform for these young minds to test and share their creative ideas that are implementable and the opportunity for them to make significant contributions to greener practices within the palm oil industry,” said Wan Zahid. 

Since 2010, YSD and Sime Darby Plantation has formed a public-private and industry-driven research partnership with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) with an endowment of RM15 million to the UKM-YSD Chair for Sustainable Development – Zero Waste Technology for the Palm Oil Industry. 

The Chair’s aim is to turn palm oil mills into green, carbon-neutral factories with zero discharge, as well as ensuring the productivity and sustainability of the palm oil industry via creation of home-grown technology by local researchers.

Prof. Dr. Imran Ho, UKM’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Industry and Community Partnerships said: “I am very pleased with the active exchange of ideas and views on how we could effectively address and fill in the gaps related to palm oil sustainability through the Chair. 

“The greater challenge lies in each party translating the innovative concepts into concrete benefits for the people. In this regard, I would like to encourage the younger generation, especially university students, to embrace the opportunity, participate in similar competitions and develop solutions for the industries.”

Also present at the competition finale were UKM’s Director of Institute of Climate Change Prof. Dato’ Dr. Sharifah Mastura Bt Syed Abdullah, UKM’s Dean Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment Prof. Dato’ Ir. Dr. Abdul Wahab Mohammad, Director of UTM Palm Oil Research Centre Dr Sune Balle Hansen, Head, Processing Technology, Sime Darby Plantation Hj Shawaluddin Tahiruddin and Hj Iqmal Fajri Danial from Sime Darby Plantation Sustainability Team. 

Since 2009, the Foundation has committed RM127 million under its Environment pillar for conservation initiatives and environmental projects.

For further information, please contact: 

Regina William
External Communications
Group Communications & Corporate Affairs
Sime Darby Berhad
Tel:  03-2711 3895 (Off), 019-299 0470 (HP)
Email: regina.william@simedarby.com

About Yayasan Sime Darby
Yayasan Sime Darby, or Sime Darby Foundation, was established in 1982 and is the primary driver of Sime Darby Berhad’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. 

The objectives of Yayasan Sime Darby are supported by its five pillars, namely: community and health; education; youth and sports; arts and culture; environment. While led by independent members of a Governing Council and managed by a dedicated team, Yayasan Sime Darby works closely with the Sime Darby Group, in areas of mutual interest. 

Since its inception, Yayasan Sime Darby has awarded scholarships worth RM226 million to 2,815 students both in and outside Malaysia. It is supporting long term research projects of significant scientific value like the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project which is the world’s largest ecological project, a joint effort with the Royal Society (The UK and Commonwealth Academy of Science). Yayasan Sime Darby is also actively involved in the development and improvements of sports in Malaysia namely track cycling, lawn bowling, cricket, tennis and golf. Under its community & health pillar, Yayasan Sime Darby supports initiatives to promote the well-being of disadvantaged people irrespective of race, culture, religion, creed or gender and works with established organisations to promote the development of arts & culture.