It all began for him at the age of 13 when he became one of the youngest ever winners at the IMO, taking home the bronze medal. And the 21-year-old has his father to thank for introducing him to the IMO as it had led him to meet like-minded friends, some of whom are currently studying with him at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
It had also led him to venture into informatics and linguistics, he told StarEdu.
To prepare for the Olympiads, he recalled allocating a large amount of time in doing exercises and taking tests.
“It was common for us to work on problems for hours every day,” he shared, adding that in preparing for the IOI, he actively took part in “every online contest possible”.
Constantly competing with participants from all over the world kept his skills in tip-top shape, he said.
“In some sense, this is a combination of research and competitive sports. You keep in shape by joining live contests, but also have to constantly learn the latest techniques to stay competitive,” he added.
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Likening preparing for the Olympiads to “building a library of knowledge which can serve you for a lifetime”, he pointed out that some new knowledge might not be relevant immediately, but became useful a few years down the line.
Yeoh, whose academic interests centre on mathematics and computer science at the MIT, said without his exposure to the Olympiads, his tertiary options might have turned out differently.
Having benefited from the International Science Olympiads (ISO) – an umbrella term for a group of annual worldwide competitions in the formal sciences, natural sciences and social sciences – Yeoh expressed his hope that more students will be able to reap the same rewards.
Like Yeoh, Chooi Je Qin is equally passionate about introducing the Olympiads to a wider audience.
He recently co-founded the Association of the Malaysian Alumni of the International Science Olympiads (AMISO) which is in the process of being registered.
One of the six Malaysian students who have recently been accepted into Harvard College in the US as part of its Class of 2026, Chooi has medalled in five Olympiads, the most recent of which was the 2021 International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics where he won gold.
The 20-year-old said AMISO’s objective is to create a platform that unites all Malaysian Olympiad representatives, and to inspire and support Malaysian youths in their ISO journey.
To achieve this, AMISO actively organises talks on its YouTube channel and Instagram account.
Its amiso.my website, updated by a community of alumni members from every ISO available to Malaysians, provides comprehensive information on the competitions and past experiences from the participants.
“We are currently developing outreach programmes to make more Malaysian students aware of Olympiad opportunities,” said Chooi, who is pursuing the A-Levels at Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar in Negri Sembilan.
In addition, AMISO aims to make the Olympiads accessible to all students regardless of socio-economic differences.
Presently, all Olympiad national selections are either free of charge or offer a fee waiver. Students in the national team also have most of their participation fees sponsored.
For those facing financial worries, AMISO has offered to help students by seeking additional sponsorships.
Chooi believes these efforts would elevate Malaysia’s performance in the Olympiads in the future. He urged more youths to delve deeper into the sciences, adding that his Olympiad participation had been a transformative experience for him.“I hope that AMISO will inspire more Malaysian youths to join the Olympiads while providing the support they need to fulfil their potential,” he said.
Yeoh reminded students aspiring to take part in the Olympiads to not treat it as the end of their learning journey.
“Even if you don’t do as well as expected in the Olympiads, everything you learnt during your journey can still be useful in the future. Conversely, doing well in the Olympiads doesn’t mean that learning should stop there either.
“There are many things to learn and explore. I hope you will get the most out of your experience,” he said.
Amelia, 18, a Malaysian student in Singapore, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team.
1. Look in today’s copy of the Sunday Star newspaper for adjectives that you can use to describe Yeoh Zi Song.
Cut the words out and paste them in your Star-NiE scrapbook in the form of a word cloud.
How many of these adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
2. Imagine that your friend has no knowledge of the Olympiads.
What are three things you would convey to your friend based on the information provided in this article? With an activity partner, role-play a telephone conversation.
Since 1997, The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme has supported English language teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools nationwide. Through Star-NiE’s teacher and student workshops, annual contests and monthly English language resources for classroom use, participants of the programme reportedly showed marked interest in the language and progress in their proficiency. Now in its 25th year, Star-NiE is continuing its role of promoting the use of English language through a weekly activity page in StarEdu. These activities are suitable for use individually and in groups, at home and in the classroom, across varied proficiency levels. Parents and teachers are encouraged to work on the activities with their children and students. In addition, Star-NiE’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme will continue to be a platform for participants to hone and showcase their English language skills, as well as develop their journalistic interests and instincts. Follow our updates at facebook.com/niebrats. For Star-NiE enquiries, email starnie@thestar.com.my.
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