The RMC team’s Water Efficient Sea Intelligent Trash (WE-SEA-IT) tank that collects and separates microplastics by electrocoagulation to solve microplastics pollution in water sources won the first prize of RM20, 000 at TEY 2020/21.
MICROPLASTICS are small plastic particles less than 5mm-long that come from larger plastic objects which have disintegrated in the water.
Seeing that such unseen litter can be harmful to marine ecosystems, a team of students from the Royal Military College (RMC) created a special tank that collects and separates microplastics by electrocoagulation to solve microplastics pollution in water sources.
The RMC students named their project the Water Efficient Sea Intelligent Trash (WE-SEA-IT) tank which won them the first prize of RM20, 000 cash at the Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) 2020/21 programme.
Sixteen teams from secondary schools in Malaysia took part in the 20th edition of TEY which concluded recently, and shared the RM64, 000 prize money which has been doubled to further reward ingenuity among the youth.
The top five winners are:
First: Royal Military College, KL (WE-SEA-IT) – RM20, 000 prize money
Second: Sek Men Agama Persekutuan Labu, Negri Sembilan (UCOnverter machine that makes soaps out of used cooking oil) – RM15, 000
Third: SMK Kubang Kerian, Kelantan (Recybin, a mobile app that connects to a smart recycling bin which sends a notification when it is full and ready for pick-up) – RM10, 000
Fourth: SMK Chung Hua, Miri, Sarawak (Recyclo, a smart tool that sorts recyclable items before they are sent to recycling centres) – RM7, 000
Fifth: Catholic High School PJ, Selangor (MOSS AFV air cleaner that uses the concept of photosynthesis by mosses) – RM5, 000
Noor Liyana Shamsudin from RMC was adjudged the Most Supportive Teacher (RM3, 000 cash prize).
SMK Saujana Utama in Selangor won the Best Community Engagement award (RM1, 000).
Three Top Agent M students – Hani Nabila Muhammad Hilal from SMAP Labu, Lim Bo Jing from Catholic High School PJ and Muhammad Uwais Darwish Muhammad Parid from SMK Majakir in Papar, Sabah – each received RM1, 000.
The theme of TEY 2020/21 was “Reimagining Mobility”. The spirit of inclusivity and freedom of ideas was the foundation to this theme which depicts the creation of safe and eco-friendly mobility.
This year’s TEY underwent a change in format due to pandemic restrictions. All activities were conducted online such as interactive e-learning lessons and workshops, and participants were trained on project management skills that incorporate Toyota’s problem solving methodology.
The closing ceremony was conducted live via a virtual platform with Education Ministry deputy director-general (school operations sector) Datuk Adzman Talib as special guest and attended by UMW Toyota Motor director of marketing Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zain, among others.
Adzman commended UMW Toyota Motor for organising TEY annually since 2001.
“I would like to express my sincere appreciation to UMW Toyota Motor for their initiative to carry on this meaningful programme in educating youths every year, and for the relentless effort to create awareness on the importance of conserving the environment and our habitat, ” he said.
Mohd Shamsor said: “This year’s Toyota Eco Youth programme reflected the adaptability of the new generation to embrace technological advancements and take on an innovative approach in solving environmental problems.
“The fundamental training which is the Toyota problem solving methodology was done virtually and I’m proud to say that all students were extremely receptive towards it.
“Throughout the programme, with the guidance of teachers and mentors, the participants learnt team spirit, confidence, communication, presentation skills – all of which encompass a more holistic learning experience, ” he said.
The 16 teams’ proposals for TEY 2020/21 have been posted on social media channels for public viewing. Each team developed a podcast episode which is presented on Leaderonomics FM and the Toyota Eco Youth channel on Spotify
Unlike previous editions, TEY 2020/21 will be a three-year programme and the winners will continue as facilitators for the following year’s batch.
Over two decades, Toyota Eco Youth staged in collaboration with the Education Ministry has seen the participation of 258 schools, 1, 910 secondary school students and 762 teachers.
