KUALA LUMPUR: Edotco Group, telecommunications infrastructure services company, is organising the first in Asia, Infrastructure Design Competition in collaboration with the University Community Transformation Centre of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UCTC UKM).

The competition is open to Year 3, Year 4, and postgraduate Engineering students who are currently studying in universities based in Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, and China.

Themed "Infrastructure for Tomorrow: Designing the Future", this competition is edotco's annual commitment to provide aspiring youths with a platform to engage with experienced leaders, gain industry knowledge and attain technology exposure while applying their skills to create innovative solutions.

"As a regional towerco, we acknowledge the importance of nurturing innovation and cultivating the importance of sustainability amongst the youth. Through this competition, we aim to spearhead innovation while upskilling youths across Asia. It is a part of our ongoing efforts on fostering a future-ready workforce that is capable of building next-generation technologies for the telecommunications industry," edotco Group's chief executive officer, Adlan Tajudin.

The competition was piloted in Bangladesh last year to nurture talents within the student community in the country and successfully garnered a total of 28 contestants from seven teams.

UKM is edotco's academia partner in organising and leading the university-student engagement initiatives. Both parties will join hands in the industry-academia mentorship sessions to coach and mentor participants throughout the competition process to ensure the outcomes align with the judging expectations.

"The technical focus of the competition brings together innovation, cost efficiency, feasibility and functionality, and environment-friendly solutions. Education institutions play an important role in shaping future telecommunication talents, and we are delighted to work with UKM on creating this platform for skills development. We look forward to involving these university students in our efforts of developing a sustainable and

efficient future, and we are excited to see the creative ideas that are about to come," he added.

To participate, students must form a team of two to four members consisting of at least one student from the Civil Engineering major. Upon successful registration, teams will be required to design a tower and foundation that fits the next generation of telecommunication infrastructure criteria based on the given Technical Framework. Over a period of 65 days, edotco and Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment of UKM will conduct mentorship sessions to coach participants on their projects and proposals. Registration for the competition will close on Oct 24, 2021.

The Top five entries will be selected for a presentation to the panel of judges, consisting of experts from edotco, the industry, and academicians from UKM, at the virtual Grand Finale that will take place in March 2022.

A total of three winners with innovative ideas will win cash prizes totalling up to US$5,000.

For more information about the Infrastructure Design Competition or to register, visit:

https://uctc.ukm.my/news/edotco-infrastructure-design-competition/.