TOKYO, Mar 5 – The Rapid Prototype Development (RPD) Challenge Multi-GNSS 2026, held from March 3 to 5 in Tokyo, Japan, is an intensive, international hackathon designed to bridge the gap between theoretical engineering concepts and real-world applications. Co-organised by Multi-GNSS Asia (MGA) and the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, the event challenges participants to harness Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to devise solutions for pressing social challenges.
The participation of the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) delegation in the Rapid Prototype Development Challenge Multi-GNSS 2026 was a resounding success. Securing the 1st Prize not only highlights the exceptional talent and resilience of our engineering students but also solidifies UTM’s reputation as an institution capable of producing globally competitive innovators.
We extend our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the management of MJIIT and the UTM Centre for Student Innovation & Technology Entrepreneurship (UTMXCITE) for their unwavering financial and administrative support. Empowering students to step out of their comfort zones is vital for their professional growth, and this achievement would not have been possible without institutional backing. We look forward to applying the technical and cultural lessons learned in Tokyo to our future academic endeavours and continuing to represent the university with excellence on the global stage.
The 2026 iteration of the challenge was heavily supported by a coalition of esteemed global and Japanese partners, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Septentrio (part of Hexagon), Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT), among other strategic partners.
To foster genuine cross-border collaboration, 21 selected participants were dynamically placed into multinational groups, comprising five from Indonesia, five from Malaysia, four from Thailand, and seven from Japan. This approach mandated high-level intercultural communication and adaptive engineering teamwork, perfectly mirroring the modern global engineering landscape.
Event Participation
The Malaysian group, representing MJIIT and faculty from UTM, consisted of five dedicated individuals, led by one supervisor, Ts. Dr Mohd Fitri Mohd Yakub and four undergraduate engineering students from the Electronic Systems Engineering (ESE) program: Muhammad Faruqi Ahmad Ramzi and Jon Xavier Nathaneal Lingai from Year 4, Mahesh Mahendran and Loo Jia Jun from Year 3. To maximise collaborative exposure, the UTM students were strategically divided into two multinational teams, namely Team Active (Team A) and Team K-UTM (Team B). Team Active, which consists of Muhammad Faruqi and Mahesh Mahendran, collaborated alongside peers from Thailand and Japan, while for K-UTM, Dr Fitri, Jon Xavier, Loo Jia Jun, a nd Ayato Kanno, a student from Kanagawa University, formed this team.
The programme required sustained engagement, starting from a pre-session workshop on February 20th, carried out through an online meeting. Participants engaged in an introductory session covering the RPD Challenge mechanics, theme ideation and essential prototyping software/hardware preparations.
On the 3rd of March, Day 1 of the programme, mainly targeting ideation and concept building, took place at Nihonbashi, Tokyo. It was led by Kodaka-sensei and Nishino-sensei from Keio University, which focused on identifying specific community issues, conducting rigorous stakeholder analysis and developing viable case scenarios for GNSS-based interventions.
Day 2 of the programme, which focuses mainly on system design and rapid prototyping, took place at TUMSAT. The venue shifted for hands-on technical execution. It was mainly guided by Dinesh-sensei throughout the day, participants engaged in register-level and system-level design, assembling provided GNSS devices, establishing sensor interfaces and writing the necessary firmware to bring their concepts to life.
On the final day of the programme, which focuses on demonstration and pitching, the event took place again at Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Each team demonstrated their functional prototypes to a panel of judges, thus defending their solution’s social benefit, commercial impact, feasibility and technical creativity. Following the final demonstrations, Team K-UTM was awarded the 1st Prize (MGA Award), a testament to the team’s technical ingenuity, cohesive collaboration and effective problem-solving capabilities.
Impact
The RPD Challenge provided multifaceted benefits that directly align with both student development and institutional objectives. First and foremost, it significantly enhanced the students’ global engineering competency. By working in mixed teams with peers from Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, the students successfully navigated cultural nuances, differing technical terminologies and varied approaches to problem-solving. This immersive environment forged highly adaptable engineers capable of thriving in multinational corporate or research settings. In addition to these collaborative skills, the participants developed advanced technical proficiency. They gained hands-on experience with commercial-grade multi-GNSS modules, IoT integration and rapid prototyping methodologies. The intense pressure to transition a conceptual idea into a functional, hardware-integrated prototype within 48 hours rapidly accelerated their practical skills in embedded systems, hardware debugging and overall system integration.
Beyond individual student growth, the delegation’s participation strongly supported broader institutional goals. The team’s success at this international event heavily reinforces MJIIT’s monozukuri spirit, the core Japanese philosophy of craftsmanship and continuous improvement in manufacturing and design. Furthermore, this global exposure provides vital support for ongoing accreditation efforts. It directly fulfils several critical Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) outcomes, specifically those regarding modern tool usage, the engineer’s role in society, the dynamics of individual and teamwork and effective communication on complex engineering activities within the global community.
The RPD Challenge proved to be a transformative educational experience. The shift from theoretical classroom learning to high-stakes, practical application highlighted the crucial difference between designing a system on paper and making it function in reality. The hackathon underscored that successful engineering requires not only technical mastery of components like microcontrollers and sensors, such as the Raspberry Pi Pico used during the program, but also the ability to pivot when initial designs fail, manage time ruthlessly and communicate complex ideas clearly to non-technical stakeholders. Winning the 1st Prize validated the rigorous academic foundation provided by UTM as well as MJIIT, proving that the students are highly competitive on the international stage.
Challenges: Before the Event
Before departure, our group faced significant logistical, financial and academic hurdles. Coordinating international travel for the group required substantial funding and logistical planning. Fortunately, this challenge was successfully mitigated through the generous support of MJIIT’s management, who covered the flight expenses, and UTMXCITE, who sponsored the students’ allowances. Alongside these logistical preparations, ensuring all students were adequately prepared for the specific hardware and software stacks used during the hackathon was a major undertaking. The team had to engage in intensive self-study and preparatory workshops before departing from Malaysia, carefully balancing these rigorous technical requirements while finishing the paperwork.
During the Event
Once the hackathon started, the challenges shifted toward team dynamics, technical execution and presentation strategy. While the mixed-team formed was ultimately highly rewarding, the initial hours of Day 1 required overcoming immediate language barriers and differing communication styles within the newly formed multinational groups. Establishing a unified vision and delegating technical tasks equitably necessitated strong leadership and compromise. Later, Day 2 introduced the hardest technical challenge, the immense pressure of rapid prototyping. Throughout the process of integrating unfamiliar multi-GNSS modules with IoT platforms under a strict time constraint, this inevitably led to hardware bugs and software interfacing issues. To ensure a working demonstration for Day 3, the teams had to rely heavily on rapid troubleshooting, agile methodologies and the vital mentorship of industry experts. Finally, pitch preparation required a significant shift in mindset. The translation of deeply technical prototype specifications into a compelling narrative focused on “Social Impact and Value Creation” required the students to carefully balance complex technical jargon with accessible business and social value propositions for the judging panel.
After the Event
Following the successful conclusion of the challenge, the focus has shifted to maximising the event’s long-term impact and ensuring project continuity. A primary post-event challenge is ensuring that the knowledge, technical insights and international connections gained by group members are effectively shared with the broader UTM student body to inspire future participation. Furthermore, the team is actively exploring avenues to further develop their award-winning designs into fully realised final-year projects (FYP) or commercially viable startup ideas. This involves navigating the complex transition from initial breadboard prototypes to custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) and preparing the systems for larger-scale real-world deployments.
The participation of the MJIIT-UTM delegation in the Rapid Prototype Development Challenge Multi-GNSS 2026 was a resounding success. Securing the 1st Prize not only highlights the exceptional talent and resilience of our engineering students but also solidifies UTM’s reputation as an institution capable of producing globally competitive innovators.
We extend our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the management of Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) and UTMXCITE for their unwavering financial and administrative support. Empowering students to step out of their comfort zones is vital for their professional growth, and this achievement would not have been possible without institutional backing. We look forward to applying the technical and cultural lessons learned in Tokyo to our future academic endeavours and continuing to represent the university with excellence on the global stage.