* Feature image caption: members from team Trinity Flow visited villages in Indonesia for their research on water purification solutions.
Beyond the classroom, how can students learn while utilizing their skills and knowledge to contribute to real-world solutions? Two collaborative research teams under the CBR Seed program supported by SOI Asia completed their 6-month research journey in March 2026. The two teams presented their accomplishment at the CBR Seed Batch #01 final presentation on April 7, 2026. Below are the achievements from both teams in summary.
Building a Transparent Renewable Energy-Powered EV Charging Map for Sustainable Cities (Team Kiku)
Team members: Naomi Tham Kah Mun (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Bok Wei Hong (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Aashish Karki (Tribhuvan University), Apala Timalsina (Tribhuvan University)
Supervising faculty: Dr. Yung-Wey Chong (Universiti Sains Malaysia), Dr. Arun Kumar Timalsina (Tribhuvan University)
In the past six months, the Tenatra project (Team Kiku) has advanced the development of a digital platform to improve access to EV charging infrastructure in Penang, Malaysia, and Kathmandu, Nepal. The team has integrated data from multiple sources into a unified database and map, while conducting surveys, interviews, and field visits to understand user needs and challenges. They have engaged with stakeholders, including the Nepal Electricity Authority, and identified gaps in the visibility of existing charging stations. In parallel, the team has developed an initial simulation dashboard to explore station placement and outlined key user features such as real-time availability and charger compatibility, generating early insights for infrastructure planning and policy use.
HYDRO-TRINITY: Triple-Stage Smart Water Purifier with Adaptive Moringa Coagulation and AI-Powered Flood Sentinel (Team Trinity Flow)
Team members: Lizza Mirizza (Universitas Hasanuddin), Shabila Nuramaliah Poetry (Universitas Hasanuddin), Siti Zahra Shofia Rahma (Universitas Syiah Kuala), Muhammad Bintang Panji Kusuma (Universitas Syiah Kuala)
Supervising faculty: Prof. Dr. Eng. Muhammad Niswar, S.T., M.IT (Universitas Hasanuddin), Rahmad Dawood (Universitas Syiah Kuala)
The team has made steady progress in developing their system. They have completed the hardware and assembled a working prototype, while addressing earlier technical issues such as leakage. The system now includes integrated IoT sensors for real-time water quality monitoring, along with a web dashboard to visualize the data. The team has also begun collecting initial data—such as pH, TDS, and turbidity levels—to support the ongoing development of their AI model.
In addition to presenting the results of their research, the students responded thoughtfully and confidently to questions from the SOI Asia faculty members. Their presentations received constructive feedback and valuable insights to support the wider dissemination of their research, marking an important first step toward contributing meaningful ideas and creating a positive impact in society.
About CBR Seed
The CBR Seed is a 6-month student-led, mini community-based research project in which students from SOI Asia university partners propose and collaborate to develop real-world solutions guided by a human-centered, technology-driven mindset. This program allows learners to apply the skills and knowledge acquired previously through the APIE and EBA learning components.
Reflecting on the pilot implementation of the program, the improved second batch of the CBR Seed program is now open for proposal application from students from SOI Asia partner universities until July 14, 2026.