Malaysian Woman Researcher Receives Recognition in London
Kangar – Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) Faculty of Engineering Technology (FTK) Senior Lecturer Rafiza Abdul Razak did Malaysia proud when she won the first runner-up position at the Women Inventors & Innovators Network (GWIIN) Showcase, Conference and Award 2019 in London.
Rafiza, a Centre of Excellence Geopolymer & Green Technology (CEGeoGTech) researcher, shared the first runner-up position with Eng. Jenam Esam Al Shehab from Kuwait, while Margrét Vilborg Bjarnadóttir from Iceland was announced as the first place winner.
During the competition which took place on June 27 and 28, another Malaysian researcher Associate Professor Dr. Ervina Efzan Mohd. Noor from Malaysia Multimedia University ranked fourth while two other UniMAP representatives Dr. Zarina Yahya and Dr. Alida Abdullah received a Special Recognition Award.
Dr. Rafiza, in an interview, said that this was not just a personal success but also a success for the whole community as this research would be able to solve the problems of the community.
She said that the idea to produce artificial rock in the production of concrete for construction purposes using volcanic mud from Sidoarjo, Indonesia grabbed the jury's attention.
“The issue of volcanic mud has been around for some time and the initiative undertaken in collaboration with researchers from Petra Christian University, Surabaya does not merely solve volcanic mud problems but has also succeeded in producing new findings for the construction industry.
“I will strive to carry out more studies that can solve the problems of the community while creating products that would benefit our society in return,” she said.
GWIIN is an annual event that gives women researchers around the world a chance to showcase their research results to be judged by internationally renowned researchers, scientists and corporate members.
This year, a total of 500 female researchers took part and only 22 entries reached the final stage. In addition to the four female researchers, Senior Lecturer at the UniMAP School of Materials Engineering, Dr. Mohd. Ariff Anuar Mohd. Salleh was awarded the “Outstanding Male Researcher and GWIIN Ambassador” for his research involvements with several universities in London.
Meanwhile, UniMAP Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ir. Ts. R Badlishah Ahmad said that UniMAP has always provided space and opportunity for all researchers regardless of gender to create innovative products that would benefit the whole community.
He said that it is also in line with the Malaysian Ministry of Education agenda which encourages researchers to create products that can solve problems in the community and at the same time could be commercialised.
At the same time, he explained, it proves that UniMAP researchers are at an international level and able to compete with researchers worldwide.
“Recently, two UniMAP researchers successfully obtained the Prototype Research Grant Scheme (PRGS) from the Ministry of Education Malaysia worth RM205,000 to develop research prototypes,” he explained.