Published on 18 Mar 2026

Innovation in Action: Student Highlights from Ian Ferguson Innovation Challenge

Each year, students at NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) are challenged to take ideas beyond the classroom — exploring how materials science concepts might translate into practical solutions for real-world problems.

One platform that supports this exploration is the Ian Ferguson Innovation Challenge (IFIC). Through the challenge, MSE students work in teams to develop early-stage concepts into working prototypes with guidance from faculty and industry mentors, learning to navigate real-world considerations such as manufacturability, safety standards, and user adoption.

This year’s IFIC (AY2025/2026) saw 26 teams tackling real-world engineering challenges from sustainable packaging concepts to healthcare applications and functional coatings — reflecting the diverse ways materials science can shape everyday technologies.

Reimagining Everyday Packaging


The top prize of $4,000 was awarded to a team comprising Chong Yi Jie (Zhong Yujie), Han Song En, Maximus Toh Jun Fai, Vanille Goh (Wu Minxi), and Wee Shao Lun Dexter, who proposed a user- and environmentally-friendly straw-less drink carton.

Their concept addresses a familiar but persistent sustainability challenge: the continued reliance on single-use plastic straws in beverage packaging. Instead of introducing additional components, the team explored how carton design itself could enable convenient consumption while reducing unnecessary plastic use.

What began as a straightforward idea soon became a more complex engineering exercise.

"Initially, we expected the development process to be relatively straightforward — building a prototype and iterating based on feedback. However, even the ideation stage required thoughtful consideration, especially when balancing manufacturing constraints with innovative design."

Through several design iterations, the team worked to balance creativity with practical feasibility, considering how their concept might integrate with existing packaging processes.

Learning from Industry Perspectives

A key feature of the challenge is the involvement of industry mentors, who guide student teams in evaluating their ideas beyond technical novelty.

For the winning team, this meant exploring unfamiliar territory such as food safety requirements and packaging manufacturing considerations with mentors from Singapore Polytechnic’s Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC) , which provides technical expertise to support food enterprises in product development and commercialisation.

"Our mentors helped us understand food safety standards and industrial packaging processes. Their guidance helped us refine the design so it could align more closely with existing manufacturing pipelines."

FIRC mentors Mr Lim Keng Guan, Manager, Packaging Innovation, and Ms Foo Su Yi Charlotte, Food and Packaging Technologist, noted the team’s openness to feedback and their ability to refine the concept as the project progressed.

"The student team demonstrated openness and adaptability, by refining their design in response to real-world constraints. They advanced the work through fluid flow simulations and hands-on prototyping using real materials and 3D-printed components to bring their ideas to life for validation. 
Overall, the team showed great creativity and skill, taking their project from concept sketches to smart designs that solved real challenges."

Engineering Solutions in a Broader Context

Beyond technical development, the project encouraged students to reflect on the broader implications of engineering solutions.

"Through the project, we came to appreciate that reducing waste goes beyond packaging innovation. It also involves addressing the widespread use of single-use plastics. Our design may help alleviate part of the problem, but addressing waste management ultimately requires broader changes."

Such reflections illustrate how engineering education increasingly intersects with environmental sustainability, user behaviour, and ethical considerations.

Other Notable Projects

This year’s challenge also featured projects addressing healthcare applications and materials functionality.

First Runner-Up and Most Popular Project — $2,000
MyoFlow: Smart Wearable Compression Sleeve 
Team members: Usbal Elijah James Tinio, Woon Hin Juan, Wong Yu Hin and Yee Jia En


Second Runner-Up — $1,000
Anti-Slip Surface Coating
Team members: Choo Ke Er Coco, He Jingwei, John Low Ming Joong, Li Xingchen, Muhammad Hilman Bin Rohaidi, Tan Wei Xuan and Wong De Min

From healthcare wearables to advanced coatings, the projects reflected the breadth of applications that materials science enables.

Supporting Student Innovation

The Ian Ferguson Innovation Challenge forms part of NTU MSE’s broader efforts to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among its students. Through mentorship, seed funding, and prototype development, the programme allows students to explore how materials science ideas can evolve into practical applications.

By combining technical knowledge with problem identification, design iteration, prototyping, and industry engagement, students gain early exposure to translating engineering concepts into real-world solutions. Experiences like IFIC expose students to the full innovation cycle — from problem identification and concept development to prototyping, validation, and communication of ideas.

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