“It feels so surreal! We can hardly believe it, but we feel very accomplished,” said Az Zahraa Azhan, Aisya Sofea Jamil, and Nurraihanah Safiyyah, three exceptional Form 5 students from SMK Bandar Seri Putra. These bright young minds won this year’s National Sustainability Innovation Challenge (NaSIC’24) with their groundbreaking idea: using innovative LED lighting technology to extend the quality and shelf life of fresh produce.
Bright Ideas in Action
The talented trio, who call themselves team Masterminds, discovered that specific LED lights could slow the spoilage of meats, fruits and veggies. “We found that certain LED lighting can slow down the degradation of fresh produce, so we dove into research. We found some special LED lights already being used, but we wanted to jazz it up with our own IoT-based system,” shared Aisya.
Entering the competition for the second time, their innovative twist on existing technology earned them top marks and victory over four other finalists in the final match held at Lotus’s Kepong over the weekend.
However, their road to glory was not without challenges. “We were so scared that our idea wouldn’t take off quickly enough because we had lots of tough competitors. Their ideas were great too! So, to make ours stand out, we focused on marketing since Lotus’s loves good marketing,” Az Zahraa explained.
Hoping to make a global impact, Aisya added, “Taking care of Mother Earth is super important. Solid waste is a huge problem, and not many people seem to realize it. This competition was a fantastic way to spread the word, especially to students who are future leaders.”
Fostering Future Changemakers
Organized by Lotus’s Malaysia together with the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the NaSIC’24 is designed to inspire students aged 16 to 19 to develop sustainable, real-world solutions that could help the planet and make a greener tomorrow.
This year, 142 teams from across the country participated and shared innovative ideas to help overcome a great challenge that Malaysia faces today: a mounting waste problem.
Throughout the challenge, students had to propose practical solutions that could be adopted in the retail sector to minimize waste generation and maximize resource efficiency.
The ideas presented by participants were judged and further workshoped by technical consultants from MJIIT, UTM, and industry professionals from Lotus’s and Unilever Malaysia over 17 weeks, from April to July 2024.
Azliza Azmel, Corporate Services Executive Director of Lotus’s Malaysia, emphasized that the challenge serves two main purposes.
The main purpose is to crowdsource for sustainable solutions by tapping into these young sustainability flag-bearers – the students. But another big part of it is providing them with the exposure they need to become better individuals.
Lotus’s Malaysia Corporate Services Executive Director Azliza Azmel.
She explained that the winning teams were selected based on six main criteria:
- Need assessment: How well does the idea address a specific need.
- Clarity in identifying issues: How clearly are the issues identified.
- Focus on the correct solution: Is the proposed solution appropriate and effective.
- Creativity: How unique and innovative is the idea.
- Benefits and applicability: How beneficial is the idea to Lotus’s operations and society in general.
- Presentation effectiveness: How well is the idea presented.
The top three teams received cash vouchers: RM1,200 for first place, RM900 for second place, and RM600 for third place. Their ideas will be further developed by MJIIT-UTM and may be tested within Lotus’s Malaysia’s operations.
At Lotus’s, empowering and engaging with the students has always been something that is close to our heart. We share ideas about sustainability and talk about taking care of the climate. This helps us communicate better and keep the momentum going.
Lotus’s Malaysia Corporate Services Executive Director Azliza Azmel.
With such bright minds at work, the future of sustainability in Malaysia looks incredibly promising! For more details, visit the NaSIC’24 official Instagram or Facebook page.
