FST UIN Maliki Malang - (14/11/2025) The student team of Informatics Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang recorded a proud achievement at the BRISA IMPACT Volume 1 - International Paper Competition. The international scientific competition held at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur, brought together the 10 best teams from various universities in the final round which took place on November 12, 2025.

This year's BRISA IMPACT was attended by 117 participants from a number of universities at home and abroad. Major universities such as UGM, ITB, ITS, Brawijaya University, and International Women University took part. From a long selection process - starting from submitting abstracts, preparing full manuscripts, determining the Top 30, to selecting the Top 10 UIN Malang team managed to qualify and was invited to present the results of their research in Malaysia.

The team consisted of Zulfa Ulinnuha (team leader), Muhammad Faqih, and Ridho Aulia Rahman, Informatics Engineering students class of 2022 who are now in semester 7. They were mentored by Dr. Cahyo Crysdian, M.Cs., and assisted by educators from SLB Autis Laboratorium State University of Malang, where the research trial process was carried out with ASD students.

In the competition, the team presented a paper entitled “Markerless Augmented Reality-Based AAC Application for Interactive Speech Therapy in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” This paper discusses the development of the AURA+ application, a speech therapy innovation based on markerless augmented reality technology, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), voice recognition, and facial mimic feedback.

The app is aimed at two categories of autistic children-verbal and nonverbal-so all features, from visual displays, animations, to voice commands, are designed with each child's sensory comfort and communication abilities in mind.

The research process is not free from challenges. In the midst of working on their thesis and comprehensive preparation, these three students still managed to find time to perfect the competition paper. They participated in various selection stages, practiced English presentations every day, and even had to stay up late before the final to ensure that the material presented was mature and accountable.

The experience of testing the app with ASD children was the most memorable part for the team. At the beginning of the meeting, some children seemed hesitant and unfamiliar with the app. But as the mentoring process progressed, they became more interested, tried to follow the instructions, and showed more positive responses from session to session. Although the results of therapy cannot be seen significantly in one meeting - considering that ASD children need gradual habituation - the progress that emerged illustrates that this application has great potential to be developed further.

“We did not expect to make it to the top three, let alone win second place. Seeing the quality of the other participants” research, this achievement was really unexpected,“ said one of the team members. ”AURA+ is an app that we built from the heart. We hope that this app can continue to be developed until it can finally be released on the Google Play Store, so that it can be used by parents, teachers, and therapists everywhere."

This achievement emphasizes the contribution of UIN Malang students in developing digital innovations for inclusion and sustainability issues. In addition to bringing home international awards, cross-country experiences and academic interactions in Malaysia are important notes in their research journey.