USM PENANG, 6 August 2023 – The Intervarsity Think Tank (iTank) 2023, the first and largest student-led ASEAN think tank competition has concluded, with its Closing and Award Ceremony held today at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Main Campus.

The ceremony began with the founding director, Jeremy Lau Wei Han saying a few words regarding iTank 2023. He mentioned that iTank was held as a platform to integrate with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“University students locally and from the ASEAN region can leverage and utilise the platform to aspire for and also inspire ideas regarding issues in society,” he said.

He believes that it can be a meaningful mechanism that would offer ‘bottom-up’ solutions and advocacy to the problems faced today.

Then, in representing the USM Vice-Chancellor and his capacity as Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Student Development Affairs and Alumni, Professor Dr. Azlan Amran in his speech said that it is inspiring to witness young changemakers channeling their innovative ideas towards creating solutions that align with the collective commitment to academic excellence and community engagement.

He added that USM has been ranked as the 4th best university in the world according to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THE-IR) 2023.

“This achievement serves as a testimony to the dedication and unwavering commitment by USM in addressing global challenges through innovative and impactful initiatives via its APEX agenda.

“As sustainability lies at the heart of the university’s mission, iTank offers the opportunity for students to tackle real-world difficulties, and the programme provides a nurturing ecosystem to aspiring changemakers.

“At the same time, this programme has also fostered collaboration, learning, and growth among the participants. Having young minds working together would surely lead to a better and more sustainable future for the world at large.

“An event like iTank is instrumental in building a sense of purpose among our youth and in inspiring them to envision a world where technology, innovation, and empathy converge to create meaningful change,” he further said.

Following that, Emeritus Professor Dato’ Dr. Morshidi Sirat, the Higher Education Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and representing the Minister, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in his officiating speech said that higher education is the cornerstone of progress in any nation, including ASEAN.

“The young minds are full of fresh and radical ideas that can challenge conventional wisdom. They could therefore provide innovative ideas and approaches to myriad issues.

“At the institutions of higher learning, they would have the opportunity to not only achieve academic excellence, but also to be involved in community engagement activities,” he said.

“The iTank programme aligns perfectly with the vision of the Ministry.

“Such opportunities could nurture and empower these young changemakers, for them to generate ideas that would take effect in society, at the national and also regional levels,” he added.

Morshidi then presented the prizes to the category winners.

The programme which began in May 2023, reached its grand finale, which was from 4th-6th August 2023. Workshops were held earlier on 4 different topics.

28 local and international varsity teams from ASEAN countries pitched ideas that corresponded with the theme ‘A Sustainable Campus’.

Five categories relating to the theme were competed in: Health, Waste Management, Environment, Education and Transportation, with the winning team in each category awarded prizes.

The industrial partners involved in the programme were Payments Network Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (PayNet), Digital Penang, Exabytes Network Sdn. Bhd., Integrated Psychology Network Sdn. Bhd., Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Sustainable Malaysia Association.

Others who were present at the ceremony included Assistant Vice President of Group Marketing, Exabytes, Michelle Yap; Assistant Registrar, USM Division of Student Development Affairs & Alumni, Ahmad Heidey Iskandar Mohd Rayhan; President of the USM Student Representative Council, Afirul Idris Ayub Khan; industry partners, sponsors, judges and principal officers of USM.

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Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin/Photo: Shahnizam Ab Rahim