The Materials Lecture Competition (MLC) 2018 was successfully hosted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), marking it as the fourth university selected by the IMM Council to organize this prestigious event. The competition was jointly organized by IMM, UTM Kuala Lumpur, and UTM Johor Bahru. Due to its strategic location, the UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus was chosen as the venue.

The MLC 2018 Organizing Committee was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Astuty Amrin (UTM Kuala Lumpur), with Dr. Nor Akmal Fadil and Dr. Nor Hasrul Akhmal Ngadiman (UTM Johor Bahru) serving as Co-Chairpersons. Both Dr. Nor Akmal and Dr. Nor Hasrul also represented UTM in the MLC Committee 2018–2020. The event received generous sponsorship from Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and Insititute of Materials Malaysia.

Winners of MLC 2018 were Andrew Ng Kay Lup from Universiti Malaya (UM), who clinched First Place, followed by Norkhalizatul Akmal Jamil from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Second Place, and Raffaella Pian Cheau Mei from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) in Third Place.

First Place Winner, Andrew Ng Kay Lup from Universiti Malaya (UM), proudly represented Malaysia at the Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition (YPWLC) 2018, held on 11 October 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. His participation was fully sponsored by IOM3, UK.

Andrew Ng achieved an impressive Third Place at the YPWLC 2018, earning international recognition for Malaysia. He was accompanied by Dr. Nazatul Liana Sukiman (UM-MLC Committee), who attended on behalf of the MLC 2018 Chairperson, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Astuty Amrin. The trip was partly sponsored by IMM.