NIBONG TEBAL, 1 December 2023 – NI Autonomous Robotics Competition Championship Event (NI ARC) 2023 provides a great platform for students to have an innovative learning experience with the industry, says Professor Dr. Habibah A. Wahab.

Representing the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation said that, this solution and Industry 4.0-related technology created by our own university talents will encourage local industries to optimise productivity and enhance their capabilities.

“Through events such as these, USM aims to equip our graduates with critical and innovative thinking and to inspire learning and advanced Industry 4.0 technology by involving industry experts in sharing their experience and knowledge.

“We are delighted to be partnering with NI again, as we share a common vision to enhance students' skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” said Habibah.

Habibah said, USM previously worked with NI to establish and operate the NI Embedded System Laboratory, located in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the USM Engineering Campus here. The lab has been a great outcome of the collaboration and is currently used by the USM faculty, researchers, and students.

“It has also provided engineering students from year 1 to year 4 with an innovative learning experience that complements traditional courses such as electronics and mechatronics,” she said during the closing ceremony of the event, held at the USM Engineering Campus on 18 November 2023.

“On top of that, USM also aims to produce more holistic talents to help reduce the mismatch of skills required by industries and improve the employability of our graduates through this collaboration,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of APAC Mfg and the Managing Director of NI Malaysia, Selwam Chinappan said, NI is very pleased with the commitment given by the participating universities, particularly to the lecturers and supervisors of each team.

“Thank you for your support in giving the students the opportunity to participate in NI ARC each year.

“Their participation is extremely important to meet the industry’s crucial needs in building the future talents of the country,” he added.

With the theme ‘Robots in Manufacturing: Direct Dispatch’, a total of 15 teams from various institutions of higher education (IPT) such as Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara (KKTM) participated in this competition.

The champion for ARC 2023 was the Airost team from UTM.

Text: Siti Faizah Abd Halim/Editing: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin/Photo: Muhammad Taufik Abdul Rahman