His Royal Highness Prince (Dr) Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and Patron of the Crown Prince CIPTA Award, graced the Crown Prince Creative, Innovative Product and Technological Advancement (CIPTA) Award 2025 Ceremony yesterday.

Upon arrival at the Plenary Hall of the International Convention Centre in Berakas, His Royal Highness was greeted by Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid, in his capacity as Deputy Chair of the UTB Council; UTB Vice-Chancellor Datin Paduka Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman; and Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Adeleye Falade.

UTB council members, Attorney General Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Nor Hashimah binti Haji Mohammed Taib and Deputy Minister (Energy) at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Haji Mohd Hanifah were also present.

The ceremony began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and a Doa Selamat by Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang Salim bin Haji Besar.

A multimedia presentation was also held showcasing the journey, achievements, and milestones of the Crown Prince CIPTA Award over the past two decades.

Head of the Technical Committee Pengiran Dr Rafidah binti Pengiran Haji Petra presented a summary of the overall appraisal from the CIPTA 2025 Judges Team Leads.

A new category, the Special Award for Sustainable Energy, was introduced in CIPTA 2025, highlighting the competition’s commitment to environmental innovation and green technology.

The award recognises outstanding projects that demonstrate exceptional innovation in sustainable energy applications, renewable technologies, or energy efficiency solutions.

Winning teams in all categories received cash prizes, medals, commemorative trophies and certificates of achievement.

Following the announcement of the winners, His Royal Highness consented to present the prizes, trophies, medals and certificates to the winners of the local categories, the Smart Junior Competition and the ASEAN categories.

A remarkable achievement was recognised at CIPTA 2025, with one innovation receiving the prestigious grand prize of the Crown Prince Special Award 2025.

The award was presented to Dr Law Kah Haw and Mohammad Asri bin Puasa, both from UTB, for their winning innovation titled, ‘Novel Filter-Less Single-Source Extendable Switched-Capacitor Boost Multilevel Inverter Suitable for Renewable and Industrial Applications’.

The selection of the grand prize winner underwent a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation process by a panel of international and local judges. This year marks the second time an innovation has received the prestigious grand prize, the first being exactly 10 years ago in 2015.

His Royal Highness consented to present the grand prize trophy, cash prize, and certificate to the winners of both the Crown Prince Special CIPTA Award and the Special Award for Sustainable Energy.

His Royal Highness also consented to receive a pesambah from the CIPTA 2025 Organising Committee, presented by Farah Zakiah binti Dato Paduka Sa Bali, a first-year Architecture Programme student from the School of Design who designed the royal gift with her peers.

His Royal Highness also interacted with the top winners, who exhibited their inventions. – Lyna Mohamad

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin