Keep serving! Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) continuos to tirelessly assist the frontline personnel who are striving hard to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. This time, the Innovation and Commercialisation Centre (ICC) in collaboration with Food Security, Innovation and Development Research (FInDER) successfully produced germ disinfectant liquid or hand sanitizers.
Director of FInDER, Dr. Risyawati Mohamed Ismail said she planned to produce 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer under the 'Function of Science' project during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
According to her, the substances needed for the production of the germ disinfectant liquid were provided by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST). Aimed at alleviating the burden of frontline personnel fighting against the spread of Covid-19, GIST also provided the said substances to six other public universities in the production of the hand sanitizers.
She said an estimated 500 bottles of germ disinfectant liquid could be produced in one day with the help of three lecturers along with two Bachelor and PhD students.
"The germ disinfectant liquid is packaged into 80ml bottles and manufactured according to stringent World Health Organization (WHO) specifications. The germ disinfectant liquid produced by UUM contains no unpermitted substances; in fact it is produced based on WHO-approved formula that has been proven to kill the Covid-19 virus.
"Besides being produced for frontline personnel such as the police and the State Health Office, this hand sanitizer will also be supplied to the people in the B40 group in Kedah. They are the ones who are unable to afford it due to the high selling prices," she said.
Dr. Risyawati said by producing the germ disinfectant liquid, UUM was able to play its part in assisting the frontline personnel as well as the B40 in their efforts to address the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to her, the earnest effort to supply the hand sanitizer would be carried out despite the end of the MCO period and would be part of the UUM service to the community.
FInDER is a research centre under the School of Technology Management and Logistics (STML) that focuses on food security, innovation and development. Outstandingly, FInDER has two types of expertise namely technical and management expertise.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Prof. Dr. Ayoib Che Ahmad had also spent his time visiting the hand sanitizer production process at FInDER Lab, STML with the Director of ICC, Prof Dr Razamin Ramli.
