KUCHING: SM Lodge, Sarawak once again proved their superiority at the RHB – the Star’s ‘Mighty Minds National Grand Finals 2014’, held at a hotel in Selangor recently.
The proud champions with their prizes. From left, Brandon, Jerry, Dillon and Anita Martin.
The reigning Sarawak champion team consisted of Brandon Teo Boon Leong, Dillion Fong Xinyen and Jerry Tan Hai Kok accompanied by their mentor, teacher and coach, Anita Martin.
Prior to the national challenge, the Lodge School team battled it out with more than 80 teams from across Sarawak in the Upper Secondary Category to emerge the state champions.
For the national competition, the team had spent the past few weeks researching, planning and reading up for the ICBAS (Innovation, Creativity, Business and Sustainability) Challenge and the General Knowledge Quiz.
Guided by their teacher, the boys interpreted the ICBAS challenge of ‘Creative and Innovative Solutions for Maintaining Sustainability’ as a river filtration system inspired by Sarawak’s wetlands entitled ‘Clearwater Gardens’.
The project integrated friendly bacteria, aquatic plants, rock filters and ultra-violet rays from the sun to clear our polluted rivers and return them to their original crystal-clear state.
The model features a self-sustaining garden that not only kept rivers clean, but also functioned as an aesthetically-pleasing recreational park.
The ICBAS challenge was a race against time for both SM Lodge and 13 competitors as the teams struggled to purchase their materials at a chosen store in Mid Valley Megamall on a limited budget and timeframe, construct the model in one and a half hours and give a three-minute oral presentation before a panel of judges from some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions.
The team then had to prove the might of their minds against the teams from the other states in a twenty questions timed quiz.
In a thrilling finale, the boys from the Land of Hornbill emerged champions, bringing back RM10,000 and the challenge plaque.