SIIDEx 2026

SIIDEx began in 2016 with the aim of fostering innovative products developed by teachers and students. The first SIIDEx involved several secondary schools and was held at Jubilee Hall, Samarahan campus, from 29 to 30 January 2016. The competition and exhibition are an effort of the Research Innovation and Business Unit (RIBU), Industry, Community, and Alumni Network (ICAN) and UiTM Sarawak’s Pasukan Gerakan Kualiti Pelajar (PGKP) in collaboration with the Invention and Design Association of Sarawak (IDEAS) and the Workforce Development Unit (WDU). In the first SiIDEx, there were 410 participants, with 88 products, divided into 39 staff products, 35 youth products, and 14 products created by secondary school students.

The success of the first SIIDEx in 2016 has led to high demand from schools in Kuching and Samarahan to hold it again in the following year. As a result, the second SIIDEx, themed "Empowerment through Invention, Innovation and Design," was held at Penview Convention Centre, Demak, Kuching, from 2 to 4 March 2018. There were 707 participants with 154 products on display. Among the activities shown at SIIDEx 2018 are a motivational speech, sharing on how to commercialise products, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) quizzes.

Feedback from SIIDEx 2018 shows that school innovation products need improvement, and Initiatives should be taken to produce high-quality products among students. Therefore, UiTM Sarawak together with MESTR, Sarawak Education Department and Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) organised the Sarawak Invention, Innovation and Design Expo (SIIDEx) 2019 as a platform to promote and increase the interest of high school students in the field of Science and Technology.

Four levels of activity have been planned for SIIDEx 2019 to achieve these objectives. SIIDEx 2019 started with the Mentor workshop. There were 19 mentors involved, each given the responsibility to guide schools in producing products. The second stage involves an Innovation workshop, which has taken place in three zones in Sarawak. A total of 183 schools across Sarawak participated in this workshop. To ensure high-quality products were produced, SIIDEx 2019 held a Mini SIIDEx 2019 competition in each zone. A total of 102 schools participated in the competition, and 26 products have been selected to compete in the main SIIDEx 2019 at the CIDB Convention Centre, Kuching, from 21 to 23 October 2019.