PETALING JAYA: A school in Pahang made history when three of its students emerged champions in the Junior Creative category (Technic) at the 26th International Robot Olympiad (IRO) at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre in South Korea.
The global competition aims to empower young innovators to collaborate and solve real-world problems through robotics, shaping the next generation of industry leaders.
"Through the workshop and programme, I have learned to build and control robots, which has been fun as the experience makes me feel proud and I want to be a teacher in the future to inspire others in robotics," said Matthew Jambal from SK Permatang Keledang in Pekan.
The project was a collaboration with Petrosains Tech4All, designed to introduce indigenous students to robotics and STEM learning through hands-on, skill-building activities.
"The competition also saw participation from two other Malaysian teams representing SK Kampung Layau (Johor) and SK Sri Permai (Kelantan)," Petrosains said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 22).
Eleven-year-old Muhammad Fahrin Ammar of SK Kampung Layau, from a family of fisherfolk, said the experience had been transformative.
"At first I wasn't interested in robotics, but grew to love it after taking part in the Petrosains Tech4All workshop and programmes.
"Representing Malaysia is a dream come true," he was quoted as saying in the statement.
For Suzie Kidiee, 11, from SK Sri Permai, her robotics journey began with her teacher's encouragement to join the Tech4All programme.
"Initially finding coding challenging, she gradually mastered it through the workshop and the Petrosains RBTX Challenge 2024, which helped her unlock her potential," the statement read.
Petrosains Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Ezarisma Azni Mohamad said as the social impact arm of PETRONAS, it was entrusted with a mission to democratise science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education within communities.
"(Through) programmes such as Petrosains RBTX Challenge and Petrosains Tech4All, we want to inspire a deeper love for STEM, encourage our communities to explore and embrace the transformation opportunities that it can offer," he added.
