Forty aspiring young entrepreneurs from among the full-time students of WOU displayed their creativity and innovative spirit as they teamed up to develop practical consumer products, with the potential for start-ups.
EXPLAINING HOW THE BIOMETRIC PALM READER WORKS TO A FELLOW STUDENT.
The students from the Entrepreneurship Development course – divided into 10 teams of 4 members each – participated in the half-day “Entrepreneurship Product Idea Pitching Event” organised by the School of Business & Administration (SBA) at the main campus today. The students were given the opportunity to present and pitch their innovative product ideas, together with product samples and/or prototypes to the staff and students of WOU.
Among the innovative products displayed were: smart multifunctional wardrobe; door latches for home security; beespoon made from 100% honey for consumption; Tupperware holders; Deafute, a vision-based telephone relay system; Blindeyes, a light, battery-operated walking stick; PalmInGo, a biometric palm reader; and smart traffic lights with AI technology.
WOU ACTING VICE CHANCELLOR PROF ZORAINI ADMIRING THE SMART WARDROBE.
The pitching event kicked off with a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony by Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Zoraini Wati Abas, after which she, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Outreach) Prof David Ngo Chek Ling and SBA Acting Dean Prakash V Arumugam visited the booths to view the products and listen to the pitching.
PRAKASH (LEFT) AND LALITHA RAMASAMY LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INNOVATIVE WALKING STICK.
Each team had set up a booth to display their products along with details of their proposal, including product description, costing, benefits, potential competitors and target market, and their marketing/promotion strategies. As the students undertook research on the costing and market competition for their products, this enabled the budding young entrepreneurs to gauge the viability of their product and the feasibility of their entrepreneurial idea in the real world.
A MODEL OF THE SMART TRAFFIC LIGHTS WITH AI TECHNOLOGY.
A panel of judges comprising individuals in the business, banking and academic sectors visited the booth for review and assessment. They were WOU’s School of Science & Technology Lecturer Azrina P Jamal Mydin, Ripples of Joy Enterprise Director Khor Chiew Chi, and Bank Negara Malaysia’s northern region liaison officer for Economics, Panimalar Kalidass.
THE JUDGES HEAR HOW THE DOOR LATCHES HELP WITH IMPROVED HOME SECURITY.
According to SBA Senior Lecturer Lalitha Ramasamy, “This assignment under the Entrepreneurship Development course is designed to harness the students’ entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and innovative product ideas, all of which are crucial for anyone embarking on start-ups.”
