KUANTAN: An innovation to boost the extraction of agarwood oil was among the outstanding products which saw Universiti Malaysia Pahang(UMP) walk away with 14 gold medals at the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) 2022 held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre recently.
The product, called 'Smart-Steadi for Efficient Agarwood Essential Oil Extraction' by UMP's Associate Professor Dr. Saiful Anwar Che Ghani also saw him presented with the special award for 'Best Invention Universities and Educational Institutions'.
Saiful Anwar from UMP's Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology faculty said the idea was first mooted when he was participating in a series of studies to build agarwood processing facilities for industrial needs with local and foreign agarwood entrepreneurs.
"The 'Smart-Steadi' product can be utilised to increase the yield of agarwood oil and at the same time reduce its production costs. The industry has a huge potential in Malaysia and will help create job opportunities.
"The agarwood business can be turned into an industry. For example, UMP's collaboration under the Bio Aromatic Research Centre with PIJ Agarwood, a Johor state government subsidiary, is now in the midst of completing an agarwood extraction facility," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, UMP's vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Yuserrie Zainuddin lauded the researchers for their innovative ideas which saw the campus winning 14 gold and 10 silver medals during ITEX.
ITEX is an exhibition with the aim to cultivate the ability to think critically and the annual event saw the participation of researchers from Malaysia and abroad.