OVER the years, students at Kolej GENIUS@Pintar Negara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (KGPN UKM) have won acclaim at the international level. Here are some of their recent success stories.
World Scholar’s Cup (WSC) 2022
Every year, students at KGPN UKM sign up for the competition, aimed at improving English proficiency among students from around the world, as well as testing students’ knowledge of various subjects.
This year, a dozen students took part in the WSC Global Round 2022 held in Bangkok, Thailand, from Sept 2 to 7. They won 73 gold medals, 49 silver medals and 11 trophies in four events, namely, Writing, Debate, Scholar’s Challenge and Scholar’s Bowl.
At the Regional Round held in Penang in July, the students, who were divided into four teams comprising one junior team and three senior teams, won 99 gold medals, 34 silver medals and 13 trophies.
Junior student Nur Alya Maisarah and senior student Goh Yi Wei won the Asimov Award for being the best overall participants in the Scholar’s Challenge. The junior team and one of the senior teams were crowned overall champions.
Among the subjects that the students need to master for the competition are Science & Technology, History, Literature & Media, Art and Music, Social Studies, and Special Area (Mistakes & Recoveries).
With their outstanding performance at the Global Round, all 12 students will represent Malaysia at the Tournament of Champions, which will be held at Yale University in the United States this November.
63rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2022
A team of six Malaysian students from local secondary schools, a college and KGPN UKM took home the top prizes at the 63rd IMO 2022 in Oslo, Norway, held from July 9 to 16.Leia Mayssa Masyerin from KGPN UKM received an honourable mention, along with Tan Min Heng from SMJK Chung Ling, Butterworth, and Goh Wei Jie from SM Hin Hua, Klang.The other Malaysian students who did well were gold medallist Wong Jer Ren from SMJK Chung Ling; and silver medallists Loh Kwong Weng from SMK (L) Methodist, Kuala Lumpur, and Chaang Tze Shen Tristan from Sunway College.
The IMO is a mathematical Olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest International Science Olympiad in the world. It tests participants from all over the world on their mathematical skills and mastery level at a high level. The content ranges from very difficult algebraic and pre-calculus problems to problems on branches of mathematics that are not usually discussed in middle or secondary school, and often not at the university level either. These topics include projective and complex geometry, functional equations, combinatorics and solid foundations, and number theory – all of which requires extensive knowledge of theorems.
The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. Since then, it has been held every year, except for 1980. More than 100 countries, representing over 90% of the world’s population, have sent participating teams of up to six students, plus one team leader, one deputy leader, and an observer, to take part in the IMO.
F1 in Schools World Finals 2022
Team Bitara took home the Innovative Thinking Award, the Top Three Verbal Presentation Award, and the 15/53 Fastest Car Ranking award at the competition.
The competition, held from July 10 to 14, tested multidisciplinary skills, covering the fields of STEM, design and management.The journey began for Team Meliora comprising KGPN UKM students when they won overall third place at the F1 in Schools Malaysia Virtual National Finals 2021 (Professional Category). They also won the Verbal Presentation Award.
They then collaborated with the team that won the Development Class category – KVS Cyclone from Sepang Vocational College (KVS).
The KGPN UKM students were group leader and graphic designer Nuratikah Aqilah Awg Morni, manufacturing engineer Khairul Haziqshafiq Khairulnizam, design engineer Aliah Maisarah Ismail, and resource manager Nur Aleyah Mardhiyah Mohd Zaki.
From KVS were marketing manager Muhammad Aidil Imran Rafik Anuar and technical engineer Muhammad Akmal Md Johar.
F1 in Schools participants get to mirror the real lives of Formula 1 teams where they are required to design, test and race a mini F1 car. The car is designed using three-dimensional computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software, and constructed according to detailed rules and specifications set by the organisers. It will then be moved by the air pressure produced by compressed air tubes along a 20-metre track.
Participants are also required to think about the marketing strategy, sponsorship and branding of the team and the car, as well as present their work to a panel of professional judges made up of experts from over 45 industries related to Formula 1 and educational institutions.
