Highlights/ Achievements TAR UMT

On 10 August 2026, TAR UMT achieved an outstanding international achievement, with its student team ‘Knots of Thoughts’ clinching the Grand Prize at the 2nd China (Guangxi)-ASEAN College Students Invitational Competition on Digital Economy and AI Application Innovation.

The competition brought together student teams from China and ASEAN to showcase their ideas and innovations in the fields of digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI). It was jointly organised by the China-Malaysia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of Digital Economy and various universities, companies and institutions locally and internationally, under the guidance of the Secretariat of the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

The winning team comprises Team Leader Lum Cai Yi, a Bachelor in Business Analytics (Honours) student and former student of Catholic High School, Petaling Jaya; Wong Xin Ying, a Bachelor in Marketing (Honours) student and former student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bandar Puchong Jaya (B); and Pek Juan Chuan, a Bachelor in Business Analytics (Honours) student and former student of SMK Putra Perdana.

For the team, the achievement was the result of adaptability and strong teamwork, particularly as the competition took place during the semester break. With the team unable to meet in person and members having different schedules, communication became one of their biggest challenges. Nevertheless, the whole team persisted to give their best. This taught them to be adaptable, understanding and working together for the sake of the team.

As part of the competition, the team developed an AI-powered system for scrap yards to help track and verify recycling activities while supporting informal waste workers. The idea came from looking beyond urban recycling solutions such as smart bins and focusing on informal waste pickers, who play an important but often overlooked role in recycling. The team wanted to turn this environmental challenge into an opportunity to support these workers in terms of better segregating recyclable waste. In addition, the AI system can also function to dispense small digital payments to those who gather recyclable materials and bring them to the scrap yards.

Winning the Grand Prize gave the team confidence in the potential of their idea and their ability to turn their knowledge into something with real-world potential. For Cai Yi, the achievement was particularly meaningful, as she highlights, “This achievement gives me confidence in achieving my aspiration of being an entrepreneur. I am grateful for this experience, as it also proves our good teamwork and shows that our idea is feasible for the real world.”