(From left) Curtin University dean of the faculty of engineering and science Professor Dr Tuong-Thuy Vu and one of the judges, poses with Nuradriana, Rayhana, Rayyan, Choong and Miri District Education Dept assistant director of planning sector Dr Ling Mei Teng another judge.
MIRI (Nov 26): Team Synex from SMK Kidurong is Sarawak’s champion of Shell NXplorers Malaysia 2022, which challenges students to work in teams and apply NXthinking to design and develop solutions to real-world problems within the nexus of food-water-energy.
IT Warriors from SMK Bintulu emerged first runner-up.
Both schools will represent Sarawak at the Shell NXplorers Malaysia 2022 national final, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, on Nov 30.
“Science and engineering is at the heart of our business and critical not just to economic and social progress, but also towards a sustainable future,” shared Choong Yen Li, general manager of Sarawak Gas, Shell Malaysia Upstream.
“We aim to contribute towards increasing the number of STEM graduates and see today’s Malaysian students discover solutions that will address the challenges the world faces. We believe that this begins in the classroom, which is why we are investing in our youths, equipping them with the right skills and tools, and developing future innovators and engineers via Shell NXplorers Malaysia,”
Team Synex which comprises twins Rayyan Razif, Rayhana Razif and Nuradriana Maisarah Mohamad Faizsal came up with an invention called T-Rec, which was inspired by the call to improve the use of natural resources within the fashion industry.
The T-Rec app helps to manage the interactions between those who want to recycle and the parties that can help manage used or old clothing. The App is also connected to and supported by a T-Rec Bin which is essentially a vending machine-like mechanism which rewards the users who send the recycled materials directly to the receivers.
Team Synex presents their project, T-Rec, to the panel of judges.
“We are truly thankful to have won the state challenge and want to thank Shell for providing us with a platform to learn on the integration of thinking, problem solving, planning and most importantly, practising the Theory of Change in helping address sustainability related issues,” said Team Synex when asked about being the state champion.
“We look forward to participating in the national challenge and hope to make our state proud.”
The first runner up, IT Warriors from SMK Bintulu has Yiek Siew Hao, Sean Lee Jia Roung and Christalyn Siaw Ern Qi in the team. Their invention, EZ Park, is an IoT-based smart parking system and app that helps drivers to find their indoor parking easier and faster.
EZ Park app allows drivers to know exactly where to park their car by receiving real-time data from sensors connected to embedded systems (Arduino) using Bluetooth. Drivers using this app will not only be able to save time but most importantly, minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
Team IT Warriors the runner-up with their project EZ Park.
Eight schools competed in Shell NXplorers Sarawak and this year’s participating schools were SMK Kidurong, SMK Riam, SMK Bintulu, SMK Pujut, SMK Baru Bintulu, SMK Lutong, SMK Singai and SMK Asyakirin.
With the support of the Ministry of Education, Shell NXplorers Malaysia worked with over 1,000 secondary school students from 26 schools across Malaysia. These students were given the opportunity to gain hands-on STEM learning, with a focus on technology.
In Sarawak, 700 students were selected, while a peer-to-peer coaching was also implemented to share the knowledge with the larger student community of about 12,000 students from all participating schools in Sarawak.
Shell NXplorers is a global education initiative that empowers young people to address complex challenges faced by the world today and become agents of change by providing them with the tools, methodologies and skills needed to tackle real-world problems, through collaboration, innovation and interdisciplinary approaches.