By Nurhayatul Nira Ramli

ARAU - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) won the gold and the grand prize (Diamond Award) at the International Innovation, Design and Articulation (i-IdeA 2014) in the Professional Inventor category, took home a cash prize of RM5000.00, a trophy and certificate.

Two researchers from the Faculty of Human Ecology, Dr Mohamad Fazli Sabri and Nurhayatul Nira Ramli won the award through their innovation, ‘Kit Bijak Wang: Anak Bijak Cerdik Duit’ also known as the Smart Money Kit in the competition which was held from 16 to 19 September.

The innovation is a teaching tool that contains 10 interactive games that have been devised and prepared to suit children between 6 to 12 years old. It contains 6 units of basic financial management elements so that the children are able to understand the concept of money more easily.

According to Fazli, this kit is able to help parents and teachers in providing the preliminary understanding to children through the model of financial education activities which are compatible to their respective ages as well as their development stages

"A study found that children who are exposed to the knowledge and skills in financial management since in their early age would stimulate a positive impact on their financial management practices when they reach adulthood.

"The kit is seen as an effective way to build a child's ability to be a prudent financial manager and raise integrity," he said.

The product has also won an award in the Best Professional Kass Invention category at the ITEX 2014, 4 gold medals (including at the PRPI), 2 silver and 1 bronze medals in various competitions, both at the national and international levels.

i-IdeA 2014 is an international competition that empowers product innovation and creative ideas among designers, researchers and industry players.

With a theme "Empowering Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ideas Towards Sustainable Economy", this competition also attracted participants from both Malaysia and overseas.

This year’s event was held at the Dewan Sri Putra, UiTM Perlis.

Date of Input: | Updated: | hairul_nizam