Month: July 2026

Rovation 2026 Innovation

Today, I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for the National Rovation Innovation Competition 2026, evaluating entries under the Innovation Category in Vocational College Kulim, Kedah. The participants came from vocational colleges across Malaysia, bringing with them a diverse range of ideas, solutions, and perspectives.

I have always enjoyed being involved in innovation judging activities like this. In fact, I have been doing this since 2014, which means it has now been 12 years of observing how students conceptualise, build, and present their innovations. Beyond the competition itself, it offers a unique window into the evolving landscape of student innovation and technology adoption.

Over the years, I have noticed a clear shift in the nature of projects. In the earlier days, many innovations revolved around microcontroller-based automation, where students focused on controlling devices and automating processes. As connectivity became more accessible, projects evolved towards Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, incorporating remote monitoring, notifications, and internet-enabled control. More recently, especially over the past one to two years, a growing number of projects have started incorporating elements of Edge AI, reflecting the increasing accessibility of artificial intelligence tools and technologies.

Of course, the overall maturity of many projects is still a long way from industrial deployment. However, that should not overshadow the value of competitions such as this. The competition serves as an important platform for students to transform ideas into tangible solutions, communicate their thinking, and defend their approaches before a panel of judges.

What I find particularly valuable is not necessarily the final prototype, but the opportunity for students to develop the confidence to present and discuss their work. The depth of knowledge naturally varies depending on the students’ academic background, exposure, and experience. Yet, one skill consistently stands out: the ability to remain composed when faced with difficult questions, and to respond, clarify, or sometimes tactfully redirect the discussion. These are skills that are difficult to teach in a classroom but are often developed through competitions and real-world engagement.

Sometimes I find myself wondering whether participating as a judge is worth the sacrifice of being away from formal teaching commitments. My answer is neither a simple yes nor no. Rather, it is about making full use of the time and space given. Every judging session provides an opportunity to understand emerging trends, appreciate the creativity of young minds, and reflect on how education and technology continue to evolve.

Once again, congratulations to all participants. Every project represents effort, courage, and a willingness to share an idea with others. Continue refining your work, asking questions, and exploring new possibilities.

With the accessibility of AI today, there has never been a better time to learn deeply and push ideas further. Use these tools wisely, not merely to generate answers, but to challenge assumptions, explore alternatives, and develop a stronger understanding of the problems you seek to solve.

As we often say at UMPSA STEM Lab 🙂

See. Think. Explore. Marvel.

Keep exploring. The best innovations often begin with curiosity.

Nurul – July 22nd, 2026

 

Young Innovators Challenge Pahang State 2026: Inspiring the Next Generation of AI Innovators

On 16 July 2026, we had the privilege oto co-organize the Young Innovators Challenge (YIC) Pahang State 2026, a competition that brought together 15 teams of young innovators showcasing their creativity, technical skills, and problem-solving abilities.

This year’s challenge was particularly exciting as participants were required to integrate microcontrollers and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their projects, introducing a new dimension to the competition. The shift towards AI-enabled solutions reflects the growing importance of intelligent systems and digital technologies in addressing real-world challenges.

The competition was preceded by a Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme held in May 2026, where participants and mentors were introduced to concepts and hands-on applications of Edge Impulse, AI, and Machine Learning. The training provided a solid foundation that enabled teams to transform ideas into working prototypes and innovative solutions within a relatively short timeframe.

A special note of appreciation goes to Chumbaka for their continued partnership and support in nurturing STEM and innovation education. Initiatives such as these are instrumental in exposing students to emerging technologies and empowering them to become creators rather than merely consumers of technology.

My sincere congratulations to all participants for embracing this year’s challenge. Developing projects involving microcontrollers, embedded systems, and AI is no small feat, particularly for young learners. The enthusiasm, resilience, and willingness to explore unfamiliar technologies demonstrated by the teams were truly commendable.

I would also like to thank my fellow judges for their dedication and insightful deliberations throughout the evaluation process. It was an enriching experience to engage with educators, industry representatives, and technology practitioners who share a common passion for developing future-ready talent.

Being involved in competitions at this level provides a valuable perspective on the current trends in STEM education, innovation, and AI adoption among young learners. More importantly, it offers insights into the cognitive capabilities, creativity, and problem-solving approaches of the next generation. The ideas presented clearly demonstrate that today’s students are not only capable of using technology but are increasingly able to leverage it to design impactful solutions for society.

As AI and digital technologies continue to reshape the world around us, initiatives such as the Young Innovators Challenge play a crucial role in building confidence, curiosity, and innovation capacity among our youth. I look forward to seeing how these young innovators continue to grow and contribute to Malaysia’s technological future.

Reconfigurable Electronics – Why BHE3233/BEL4553/ BTS4433 Are Your Tickets to the Semiconductor Design Industry

Hey everyone, and welcome to the blog!

If you’ve stumbled upon this page, chances are you’re trying to sort out your upcoming electives, or maybe you’re just looking for that elective subject that will make your engineering resume instantly stand out to recruiters.

Either way, here you are.

Today, let’s talk about why we named this space Reconfigurable Electronics and why three specific courses at the faculty—BHE3233, BEL4553, and BTS4433—are going to completely flip the way you think about hardware design.

What on Earth is “Reconfigurable Electronics”?

Back in the day, if you designed a digital chip and manufactured it, that was it. If you found a bug or wanted to add a new feature, you had to throw the physical chip away and spend millions of dollars building a new one from scratch. Static. Permanent. Expensive.

Enter reconfigurable electronics.

Imagine hardware that behaves like software. Instead of hardwiring circuits, you write code in a Hardware Description Language (HDL)—like Verilog—and flash it onto a piece of silicon called an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). If you make a mistake, you don’t scrap the chip. You just tweak your code, re-compile, and reconfigure the chip in seconds. One minute the silicon is acting as a video processor, and the next minute it’s running an AI accelerator or an industrial CPU core.

How These Courses Bring Reconfigurability to Life

If you join us in BHE3233, BEL4553, or BTS4433, you aren’t just sitting in a lecture hall listening to theory. We have officially shifted these courses toward Project-Based Learning (PjBL), dropping the stressful written final exams completely.

Instead, you spend your semester directly interacting with reconfigurable hardware using the Altera DE10-Lite FPGA board. Here is the exact pipeline you’ll master:

      1. Code & Simulate (RTL Design): You’ll learn to describe complex digital logic using Verilog HDL.

      2. Optimize: You’ll run synthesis and handle Static Timing Analysis (STA) to make sure your designs run at blazing industry-standard speeds.

      3. Deploy on Silicon: You actually download your architecture right onto physical FPGA silicon and watch your code control real hardware.

 

Instead of building simple basic gates, you’ll get the opportunity to design advanced systems—like RISC-V processors, custom CPU architectures, cryptographic hardware accelerators, or digital communication nodes. You change the code, and the chip instantly reconfigures to match your imagination.

Why “Reconfigurable Electronics” Belongs on Your CV

Let’s be real for a second: the semiconductor and chip design industry is absolutely booming right now, and competition for top graduate jobs is fierce.

When a recruiter from a top chip design company scans a stack of resumes, they see a lot of the same things: standard project reports, high GPAs, and generic programming languages.

But when your resume says

      1. Proficient in Verilog HDL & Register Transfer Level (RTL) Design

      2. Experienced in Logic Synthesis & Static Timing Analysis (STA)

      3. Successfully deployed a custom RISC-V/CPU architecture on an Altera DE10-Lite FPGA platform

Taa daa… You immediately jump to the top of the pile.

Having reconfigurable electronics on your CV proves to employers that you don’t just understand digital logic on a whiteboard; it proves you know how to build, debug, and validate actual working hardware using the exact tools the industry relies on every single day.

Ready to Jump In?

If you want an elective that moves away from text-heavy cramming and gives you an authentic, hands-on engineering portfolio to show off in interviews, pick your track:

      • Engineering Programs: Register for BHE3233 or BEL4553.

      • Engineering Technology Programs: Lock in BTS4433 as your elective track.

Take a look around the rest of the blog to see project roadmaps, code snippets, and some of the incredible digital systems our senior students have built.

Have questions about the syllabus or how the FPGA labs work? Drop a comment below or swing by my office for a chat.

Let’s stop just studying engineering, let’s start building it  =)  !

Nurul – July 14th