KUALA LUMPUR — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today awarded RM57,000 in cash prizes to outstanding student teams for their innovative climate adaptation solutions at the conclusion of the River Flooding Adaptation and Resilience (RIFAR) University Challenge Showcase.
SC said the showcase highlighted the growing urgency of climate adaptation in Malaysia while demonstrating the important role of youth-led innovation in developing practical, scalable and financially viable solutions to address flood risks.
About 250 participants attended the event, including representatives from government agencies, financial institutions, academia, climate experts and university students.
SC chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi said the capital market must serve as a bridge to channel financing towards strengthening resilience for the nation, businesses, communities and individuals.
“Achieving this requires not only regulators and financiers, but also the innovation and leadership of the next generation.
“I commend the enthusiasm and creativity demonstrated by the students in this challenge, and I hope they will continue advancing the conversation on climate adaptation and financing,” he said.
Launched in April, the RIFAR Challenge attracted about 400 students from 46 universities in Malaysia and abroad, who competed in two categories — the Marathon and Sprint tracks.
In the Marathon category, participants developed financially viable flood mitigation solutions for Taman Sri Muda, a flood-prone area with significant socio-economic vulnerability. Over two months, students attended expert-led webinars and conducted site visits to study fluvial, pluvial and tidal flood risks.
Team BDR, comprising students from Universiti Malaya and Monash University Malaysia, emerged champion, while Team Blues Bond from Monash University Malaysia and Team Anak Sungai, representing Sunway University, the National University of Singapore and the University of Hong Kong, were named first and second runners-up, respectively.
For the Sprint category, students produced social media videos promoting river health in Selangor. Team Ban Banjir, made up of students from Sunway College, the University of Nottingham Malaysia and Monash University Malaysia, won the championship from 21 submissions.
Mohammad Faiz expressed hope that the RIFAR initiative would generate more innovative and practical solutions, building on the success of last year’s Coastal Flooding Adaptation and Resilience (COFAR) Challenge, which fostered collaboration among industry players, policymakers and academia to address coastal flooding.
The showcase also featured discussions on climate resilience, highlighting the need to mobilise private capital for climate adaptation financing in line with Malaysia’s adaptation priorities, while strengthening climate literacy among young people.
The RIFAR initiative is conducted in partnership with ICAEW Malaysia, Lembaga Urus Air Selangor, Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd and the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development. It supports the sustainability pillar of the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030, which aims to strengthen the capital market’s role in financing climate transition, adaptation and resilience.
