The recent virtual edition of the 31st instalment of the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) drew participants from 16 countries and regions, with 5,000 viewers, over the course of the 2- day virtual exhibition. The well-established exhibition for inventors was held virtually for the first time in its illustrious 31-year history, and continues to be the ideal launch pad for innovative ideas and latest inventions.
Jointly organised by the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS) and C.I.S Network Sdn Bhd (C.I.S), the internationally renowned exhibition showcased close to 500 inventions, technologies and products by inventors from 16 countries and regions. The event was officiated by the Minister of Higher Education Malaysia, YB Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad, who remarked that the current pandemic has pushed everyone to embrace new technologies and become more proactive in creating new inventions, innovations and technology.
“We once used to casually talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but now, we stand on its precipice. The way we live, work and relate to one another has quickly changed due to our current circumstances and thanks to technological advances,” she said. “When executed well, this revolution will bring new opportunities for value creation to businesses and organisations. It will pave the way for the formation of digital ecosystems, collaborations and engagement with the masses at a greater scale.”
She added that this revolution also brings with it, exciting possibilities, new solutions to global challenges, and employment opportunities for jobs that have yet to be invented. Also at the virtual event was President of MINDS, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Augustine S.H. Ong who said, “With digital disruption, the courtyard is constantly changing. Coupled with the unprecedented year that we face, the rules of the game will continue to change and manufacturing and industrial practices will also converge with digital technologies and with this, reinventions are crucial and will remain very relevant in the near future.”
President of ITEX’s Joint Organiser C.I.S, Dato’ Vincent Lim added that the move to the digital space has been timely for the community. “We had close to 500 inventions from 16 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam, listed on PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ITEX Online, making it apparent now that, regardless of the challenges – from travel restrictions to social distancing, innovators and inventors can still meet up with the investors, venture capitalists and other key stakeholders to present and enable their evolution of ideas from concepts to marketable reality whilst other visitors can also use this space to upskill, learn from and be inspired by the multiple programme line-ups.”
He added, “As we move into this new norm of the exhibition industry, I am also glad to see that most of the inventors and the judges have adapted to this new trend, practically overnight. This proves to us, yet again that the community is always quick on their toes to evolve into their surroundings with new solutions.” Apart from the invention listings, and dialogues and workshops by industry experts, ITEX 2020 also concurrently ran the fourth edition of the World Young Inventors Exhibition (WYIE), encouraging young minds to explore their creative and critical thinking skills through innovative inventions via the Asian Young Inventors Exhibition (AYIE) and the Malaysian Young Inventors Exhibition (MYIE).
The three top score invention team from each category among the young talents gathered this year that won the WYIE 2020 Champion Excellence Cup as Lim Kai Shen and his team team from SJK(C) Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Malaysia with the invention named “Ezbin” won the Primary School Category and Valerie Voon Wen Xin and her team from SMK Lake, Malaysia with the invention named “Xcellent Lumibrite” won the Secondary School Category. For the Tertiary School Category, was won by inventor Dmytro Lopushanskyy from National Center “Junior Academy of Sciences Of Ukraine” Under The Auspices Of UNESCO, Ukraine with the invention named “Multifunctional Device For The Visually Impaired Helpyeyes”.
Other highlights of ITEX 2020 included the Virtual Opening Ceremony of ITEX Online 2020, VC2E (Venture Capital to Entrepreneurs Talks) by MVCA (Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association), Tech Talks by AIPO (Association of IP Owners) and IET (Institution of Engineering & Technology) and Virtual Ceremony for Local and International Winner Announcement. ITEX has achieved another milestone this year, with its first collaboration with the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) for the Best Technical and Vocational Invention.
With this collaboration, ITEX became a platform to promote TVET and more technical and vocational inventions to be seen or to be explored in the near future. Among all the brilliant inventions, technologies and products listed on ITEX Online this year, the ITEX Asian Invention Excellence Award has be won by Dr. Yong Kok Chong and his team from Lembaga Getah Malaysia with the invention named “RRIM TM-A Novel Antistatic Footwear” while Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP) has won the ITEX Golden Award as the organisation with the most gold medals at ITEX 2020. The homegrown ITEX series is an annual regional showcase of close to 500 inventions, besides being a platform for inventors and innovators with investors, to propel ideas forward into commercially viable realities.
ITEX Online’s full listings including award-winning inventions are available for viewing and sourcing until 31 March 2021. And ITEX 2021 will be back on 27 & 28 May 2021 in a form of hybrid exhibition that will complement ITEX Online as the digital platform. For more details on ITEX and to register for ITEX 2021, go to www.itex.com.my
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