By: Jo Timbuong
Source: The Star

What they thought was an silly idea at the time won a group of student-inventors the top prize for Best Business Idea at the recent MSC Malaysia IHL Business Plan Competition (MIBPC) 2009/2010.

Ahmad Dzurkarnain Salehuddin, Omar Magomedov and Muhammad Mukthar Awalludin created the Foot Mouse, a specially designed laser mouse for people who have lost the use of their hands.

“We had to look into the gamers inside of us and thought of a product that would help all gamers — handicapped or otherwise,” said Muhammad Mukthar after the MIBPC prize giving ceremony here.

The Foot Mouse is shaped like a slipper and users just need to tap their toes or heels to right- or left-click respectively.

Muhammad Mukthar said the team deliberated over more than 30 other “silly” ideas before they found a gem.

“Our friends and family members also contributed their ideas when we told them we wanted to create something that could help society,” he said.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Best Business Plan category created a solution that can be of use to people who often forget to turn electrical appliances off.

The team, made up of a lecturer and two students from KDU College in Penang, bagged the top prize for the best business idea for their SMS-Controlled Multi-Socket.

According to the lecturer in the group, Gerard Boey, the SMS-Controlled Multi-Socket is an electrical multi-socket with an integrated GSM module that allows users to control their electrical appliances using SMS.

“So the next time you’re stuck in a jam and realise you’ve left the iron on, all it takes is one SMS to do turn it off,” he said.

Boey said the invention can also help out-of-towners turn on the lights at appropriate times.

“This can help users save on their electricity bill as well as do their part for the environment,” he said.

Boey and his teammates are also working on commercialising their product.

“We’re actively seeking grants to further develop our product and hopefully to also expand our product line,” Boey said.

Muhammad Mukthar and his team members also hope to enter the business world as soon as they graduate.

“We want to patent the Foot Mouse and improve it. We’ll also be working on other computing peripherals in order to get everyone to embrace IT,” he said.

The MIBPC is co-organised by the caretaker of the MSC Malaysia initiative, the Multimedia Development Corp, along with several universities under the National Unipreneur Development Programme and Higher Education Ministry.

Among its goals are to encourage innovation in institutes of higher learning and strengthen technopreneurship skills among participants through the commercialisation of their ideas.

The 2009/2010 edition of the competition attracted a total of 452 business ideas and 210 business plans from 31 institutions of higher learning around the country.