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and to communicate and work independently, as a main factor in hiring entry-level graduates. (News
Straits Times, 24 June, 2014) Recently the industry's clients, designers and society as a whole, have
begun to accept that innovation can offer key benefits in the form of financial growth and increased
profits. Therefore, it is apparent that the development of a culture of innovation is of utmost importance
if a business is to become universally proactive, entrepreneurial and remain successful.
Politeknik Merlimau train manpower in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and
Training (TVET) which includes formal, non-formal and informal learning. Thus, PMM has taken steps
to strengthen the approach available through the programs offered. This helps in the formation of
workers who not only understand the terms of creativity and innovation but also were able to apply that
knowledge. Creativity and innovation can be a culture to drive progress and prosperity in the future.
This is in line with the view of many researchers that stressed the importance of creativity in education
as the foundation of economic development and daily living skills [5]. Students should be given the
knowledge and exposure to enable their potential generated to contribute in the production of ideas and
creative and innovative products to the country. Thus contributing to the formation of workers who not
only understand the terms of creativity and innovation, even were able to apply that knowledge.
Hence, in this study the approaches that has been and is being implemented through the Final Semester
Project are hoped to foster the creative and innovative culture among Politeknik Merlimau Melaka
students.

Research Objectives
The objectives of the study are;
1. To determine the students understanding of the process involved in producing innovation project.
2. To measure the students embedded value of creative and innovative in their final project
3. To analyze the culture of creativity and innovation of students’ final project

Literature Review
Innovation & creativity are the valuable intangible assets which play a vital role in the transformation of
business, society and organization [6]. To improve the quality of undergraduate education, students need
to be involved in research and creative activities [7]. The culture of an organization affects the creativity
of its members; particularly, a culture that encourages risk taking and accepts failure will encourage its
members to be creative and innovative [8]. Students’ creativity is not less important than traditional
academic achievement. Amabile [9], defines creativity as the generation of ideas that are new and
relevant for every area of life, while innovation is how organizations can implement these ideas for the
benefit of the organization and whether public.
Culture consists of the values, beliefs, and norms that are exhibited in the way that people in the
organization accomplish their work, relate to one another, and solve the problems that confront them on a
daily basis. An innovation culture is one that supports the creation and implementation of new ideas.
Innovation is the act or process of building on existing research, knowledge and practice through the
introduction or application of new ideas, devices or methods to solve problems or create opportunities
where none existed before. Culture is the way of thinking, behaving and working that exists in an
organization, such as universities and community colleges. Culture of innovation is nurturing an
environment that continually introduces new ideas or ways of thinking, then translates them into action to
solve specific problems or seize new opportunities [10]. It appears that recently most educational policies
take into account the inclusion of creativity. Some institutions go beyond that by initiating creative
partnership projects with external organizations and individuals to provide creative experiences to their
learners [11]. Thus, nurturing the creative and innovative culture in higher institutions. A positive
innovation culture will lead to positive innovative behavior in students.
Final semester project is also a platform for students to showcase their innovative products to the
citizens of polytechnics, community, government agencies and related industries. Innovation and
research allows students and stakeholders to be aware of and sensitive to recent changes. Even through
research and innovation competition is capable of making the minds of students PMM more open, move
forward and not confined to the old ideas. There are two competition categories, namely Technical
category and Social Sciences category. Final semester project is a requirement to qualify for a student to
be awarded a diploma by the program studied at Polytechnic. At the end of each semester final semester
students are required to present their final project in groups under the supervision of lecturers appointed.