Materials Lecture Competition (MLC) 2021 continued its mission to inspire excellence among Malaysia’s young materials professionals, with the semi-final and final rounds hosted by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

The semi-final competition brought together participants from 18 Malaysian universities, aiming to select the top five finalists for the national final round. These top five, listed as the leading participants in Table 2, advanced to the MLC 2021 Finals, held virtually on 28 July 2021 and officiated by Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Syed Fuad Saiyid Hashim, Dean of the School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM. The half-day online event showcased the outstanding communication skills and research depth of Malaysia’s future materials engineers. The session concluded with closing remarks by Dato’ Dr. Ir. Ts. Haji Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, President of the Institute of Materials, Malaysia (IMM).

Ms. Farah Hannan Abd Nasir from Universiti Malaya was crowned the Champion, Mivolil Duinong (Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Merna Ehab Mohamed Kamel Shehata (University of Nottingham Malaysia) were named second and third prize winners, respectively. Consolation prizes were awarded to Ms. Nur Fatikah Tajul Arifin (UTM) and Mr. Yong Hsin Nam Ernest (University of Nottingham Malaysia). The winners received cash prizes of RM3,000, RM2,000, and RM1,000, respectively, while consolation prizes of RM500 each were presented to the remaining two finalists. All prizes were sponsored by IMM.

The first-prize winner, Farah Hannan Abd Nasir, earned the honour of representing Malaysia in the Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition (YPWLC) 2021, organised virtually by IOM3 (UK) in November 2021. The success of MLC 2021 reaffirmed the resilience of Malaysia’s materials community and its commitment to advancing research communication among young professionals.