APU students and staff won four medals — two Gold and two Silver — at IUCEL 2024 for their creative AI projects, exceeding their previous year’s achievement of three medals.

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation’s (APU) School of Computing (SoC) once again made waves at the International University Carnival on E-Learning (IUCEL), showcasing its commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of education technology.

Competing against institutions from across the globe, APU’s talented students and academic staff returned with four medals — two Gold and two Silver medals. 

This year’s success marked a significant improvement over the previous year, where they secured three medals.

Themed ‘Futuristic Transformative Education at the Core of Sustainable Development’, IUCEL 2024 offered five categories which are Future-Proof Transformative Curriculum, Futuristic Teaching, Future-Proof Learning, Futuristic Product, and Digital Assessment and Alternative Evaluation for participants to showcase their innovative ideas. 

The APU team consisted of a varied mix of students from various levels of the Intelligent Systems, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence degree programme, all of which were mentored by Assoc Prof Ts Dr Vinothini Kasinathan, Ms Nur Amira Abdul Majid and Dr Julia Juremi.

The Recline 2.0 team’s innovative system could be a game-changer for stroke rehabilitation. 

This ground-breaking technology, led by Leong Kah Meng and Ho Hooi Yi, uses object detection to help individuals recover their upper-limb function.

“Securing our second Gold medal is a major accomplishment for our team. We are incredibly thankful to APU for providing us with the resources and support to develop such an innovative system. 

“Recline 2.0’s integration of NLP is a significant advancement that demonstrates our commitment, aligning with Industry 5.0’s vision of human-centric technology,” said Kah Meng.

The Wau Bulan Kaleidoscope team, which included Lum Sook Teng, Lee Shu Huey, and Ling Siew Win, received a Silver medal for their project that combined traditional Malay kite-making with modern technology. 

This unique approach showcased the power of combining cultural heritage with innovation.

“Competition day was a huge event for us. Our team has been working on our first significant project since May. 

“It was great to see our effort and dedication pay off. While we are still learning the ropes of tech competitions, this experience has given us a taste of what to expect. 

“We excited to improve our system based on the feedback we got and continue to work with our team to achieve even greater things,” said Sook Teng.

A diverse team, a common goal

The Kompang Chatbot: Pak Bung team, composed of Level 1 students: Lim Jia Leong, Samantha Tee Ker Xin and Tan Wai Ken, impressed the judges with their interactive digital platform that teaches traditional Malay drumming. 

The project, which combined AI-powered tutorials with immersive learning to preserve and promote this traditional art form, also received a Silver medal.

“During our AI assignment presentation, Dr Vino was impressed with our project presentation. She said it was competition-quality, which was a huge boost for our team, and we are so glad we added our own creative touches to the project. 

“Even though we did not win gold medal, we learned a lot and gained a new appreciation for the insights shared. We joined the competition to improve, and this early feedback is exactly what we needed,” said Wai Ken.

The Pythons & Ladders team, consisting of academic staff Mr Mohamad Firdaus Che Abdul Rani and Ms Salasiah Sulaiman also secured a Gold medal for their formative assessment hybrid board game for Python programming. 

This innovative approach emphasised the importance of inclusive and equitable quality education.

“Pythons & Ladders is a one-of-a-kind hybrid board game that combines the excitement of gaming with the rigor of education,” said Mohamad Firdaus. 

Salasiah added that this innovative approach to teaching Python programming is designed to help students overcome the challenges of learning code and prepare them for the digital age.

“By incorporating principles from different learning theories, Pythons & Ladders creates a rich and rewarding learning experience,” she said.

All projects demonstrated the university’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and creativity among its students and staff.

“Against all odds, our young teams held their own against experienced competitors. Our AI students proved themselves by securing a gold and silver medal, making us incredibly proud,” said Dr Vinothini.