PENANG Team – comprising Ang Yi Jin, Loh Hong Sheng and Lim Wen Hao – came out tops in the 2020 Virtual National Science Challenge (VSNC), an annual competition which saw a participation of 1,027 teams.
They walked away with the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, an ASM-NSC Educational Award of RM6,000 each, a laptop and a certificate of achievement each.
In this year’s challenge themed “Towards a Pandemic-resilient Community Through Science”, the teenage trio from SMJK Jit Sin wowed the panel of judges with a pitch for their prototype: the Temperature Distance Awareness Badge.
The team had 10 minutes to present their prototype – which is able to detect social distance and body temperature and store the data on mobile phones – as well as answer questions from the judging panel as part of the final challenge to the competition.
In addition to the Prototype Pitching session, the 16-year-olds also had to participate in a challenging online quiz.
The team was excited to have won the competition held on Nov 9.
Team leader Ang Yi Jin, said it has always been their dream to be named champions of this challenge.
“When Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin called out our names, we were on cloud nine!
“We have developed a deeper appreciation for the sciences through this competition and learnt that it is nothing like how it’s portrayed – a tough yet boring subject.
“We hope that more of our peers nationwide will take part next year because it is truly a wonderful competition, ” said Ang, who also thanked their school and teachers for the support and guidance.
Khairy congratulated the secondary school students on their achievement, praising them for a fantastic presentation.
“I’d like to congratulate all the finalists for the wonderful ideas they pitched in the final round. I’m proud that you were able to answer the policy questions and develop your prototype.
“You were able to look at not just the science but also how the science affects the community.
“I believe that science is important as it allows for decisions to be made based on evidence.
“Based on the 2017 Science Outlook report and feedback that we’ve been getting about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses, the ministry is reviewing how STEM courses are positioned and working hard to level the playing field to ensure that graduates are able to move into careers that provide attractive remuneration upon graduation.
“We would like to see more youths progress into careers founded on STEM, ” he said.
Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) president Prof Datuk Dr Asma Ismail said now more than ever, efforts to inculcate STEM awareness need to be increased, with the endgame being for them to pursue an education and career in STEM.
“The pandemic has proven that industries that have thrived and survived are driven by science, technology and innovation.
“It is imperative that we must not only inspire the interest of the youth in STEM, but reignite minds to see the wonder, excitement and relevance of science, engineering and technology in producing solutions for everyday problems to complicated ones while infusing the process with creativity and innovation.
“Students today can no longer sit back and rely on their textbooks to retrieve knowledge. They need to acquire knowledge through experience.
“Experiential learning is important in order to heighten the understanding of the problem that needs to be solved for solutions to be more dynamic and holistic, which is the focus of the Virtual National Science Challenge, ” said Prof Asma.
ASM has been organising the National Science Challenge or NSC since 1999.
This year, the annual event is organised in conjunction with Minggu Sains Negara 2020.
It serves as a platform to nurture scientific minds and interest in STEM among the youth in order to develop future high-skilled talents and leaders.
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