Date: June 27, 2025 | By: Christian Nathaniel Tjandra

Immersive technology continues to make waves in the educational sector, as a talented team of APU students recently secured a Silver Medal at the International Education Innovation Competition (Edu@Innovate 2025). The award was granted in the Higher Institution Undergraduate Students category during the prestigious event held at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).

The award-winning project, “Frog Dissection VR,” was developed by Year 1 Artificial Intelligence students Remy Ong Jing Yi, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Abdelmoteleb, and Kaemon Ng Bao Leng. Designed to transform STEM education, the application serves as a modern, ethical alternative to traditional biology lab experiments.

Key Features of the “Frog Dissection VR” Project:

• Immersive Environment: Users are placed in a highly realistic virtual operating theatre equipped with a digital frog and virtual surgical tools.

• Cruelty-Free Education: The VR simulation entirely eliminates the ethical and physical safety concerns associated with live animal dissections.

• Interactive Guidance: The application provides step-by-step visual cues and tracks the user’s dissection performance in real-time to enhance knowledge retention.

The team developed this groundbreaking spatial computing solution under the expert mentorship of APU School of Computing academics: Assistant Professor Ts. Dr. Siti Azreena Mubin, Dr. Waidah Ismail, and Mr. Au Yit Wah. Their guidance enabled the students to rapidly master VR development and execute a fully functional, competition-ready application.

Edu@Innovate 2025 brought together innovators from various higher education institutions, industry players, and schools to highlight cutting-edge educational research. This Silver Award further cements APU’s reputation—supported by pioneering facilities like the XR Studio—as a leading hub for integrating virtual reality into the future of practical learning.