APU celebrated a double medal haul at the International Research and Information Science Expo (IRISE) 2025, where Software Engineering and Data Analytics students won Gold and a Special Award for their AI-powered financial wellness platform, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) students secured Silver for their innovative Virtual Reality (VR) Frog Dissection project, showcasing APU’s commitment to fostering innovation and practical skills in its students.

The second edition of the International Research and Information Science Expo (IRISE) 2025, organised by DIGIT360 Sdn. Bhd. — a startup from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) — in collaboration with UiTM Kelantan Branch and the Digital Information Interest Group (DIGIT), proved a resounding success. 

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), renowned as an award-winning university, has earned national and international recognition for its excellence in education and innovation over the past few decades. 

We are therefore, thrilled to celebrate the stellar achievements of these students, whose innovation and dedication proved to be a successful formula.

First, a wave of applause for our Software Engineering and Data Analytics students: Kwan Jun Er, Kylan Shane, Amelia Sow Jing Yi, Lo Sau Kang, and Cindy Pua. 

They clinched the Gold Medal in the Tertiary category (Science and Technology, Online) and the Special Award for Emerging Innovation for their project, ‘AI-Powered Financial Wellness Platform for Teens to Enhance Smart Spending and Long-Term Planning’.

Their revolutionary platform, YumeFinance, is an AI-driven open finance solution designed to empower both young people and working adults. It provides intelligent financial management tools and delivers bespoke financial insights, enabling users to make informed decisions for a secure financial future. 

The team received invaluable mentorship from Ms Salasiah Sulaiman, a lecturer from the School of Computing (SoC).

Jun Er explained that despite their experience in other innovation competitions, IRISE was their first.

“Our project addresses the pervasive issue of poor financial habits, which often lead to excessive loans and overspending. We developed a web application that integrates open finance and open banking, assigning a financial score based on purchasing behaviour to encourage smarter spending.”

The platform’s AI analyses purchase necessity and suggests more affordable alternatives. It also features a loan predictor, assessing credit scores and repayment capacity to prevent financial instability. 

Beyond short-term management, it offers long-term planning tools, including retirement fund predictions, insurance insights, and AI-driven investment suggestions.

“We gained invaluable expertise in project management and full-stack development,” Jun Er added, “It was thrilling to see such interest in our project and to engage with other innovators.”

This experience significantly complemented their learning at APU, especially in the Essentials of Web Applications course, and broadened their perspective on financial innovation. 

“We would consider returning, though other competitions are also on our horizon.”

Virtual Reality (VR) Biology Breakthrough

A hearty congratulations also to Artificial Intelligence (AI) students Remy Ong Jing Yi and Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Abdel Moteleb. 

They secured a Silver Medal in the Tertiary category (Science and Technology, Online) for their project, ‘Frog Dissection Virtual Reality’.

This remarkable achievement, mastering VR development in just two weeks, showcases their dedication. 

Their project delivers an immersive VR frog dissection experience for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students, fostering a safe, engaging, and interactive learning environment.

Mentored by Assistant Professor Ts Dr Siti Azreena Mubin and Mr Au Yit Wah, both passionate academics from the School of Computing (SoC), the team aimed to revolutionise biology education.

“We created a VR application that places students in a realistic operating theatre, guiding them through the dissection with visual cues and performance tracking,” Remy explained.

“We learnt a great deal, not just about the application, but about working under pressure and rapidly acquiring new skills.”

“Despite facing numerous challenges, the team persevered. This competition sparked our initiative,” Remy added, “While we aimed for gold, we are proud of our achievement and will strive harder for gold next time.”