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KUCHING, 28 AUGUST 2018, TUESDAY:  The two-day SCIENCE or Sarawak Community Invention Engineering Competition & Exhibition by Sarawak Energy culminated in a prize giving ceremony yesterday.

Dr Chen Shiun (郑勲), Sarawak Energy’s Vice President for Research and Development, presented the prizes to the winners of the competition as well as for best SCIENCE project before officially closing the event.

Joining him were Polycarp Wong, Sarawak Energy Vice President for Hydro, Peing Tajang, Sarawak Energy General Manager for Corporate Communication, Kenneth Chai (蔡鸿锐) co-founder of The Learning Curve and Aaron Chew, Digital Economy Hub Chief Operating Officer.

Organised by The Learning Curve (TLC) and sponsored by Sarawak Energy, the 2018 event is supported by the State Government, Digital Economy Hub and CityONE Megamall.  

Themed Renewable and Sustainable Energy with the tagline Powering Young Minds, SCIENCE aims to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) which Sarawak Energy is supportive of in line with its other ongoing efforts in regards to youth development and education.  The programme aims to support and encourage the revolution of innovative ideas in the state.

The event brought together curious and inventive young minds to compete on inventiveness and presentation skills as well as test collaborative skills when three teams were formed to work on energy related projects.

It also featured creations from the student teams namely models of a hydroelectric dam, a solar powered charging station and an electric vehicle (EV) as well as talks including introduction to robotics and careers in STEM especially for women. Side events include flight simulations, interactive games and arts and craft sessions for children.

SMK Arang Road proved that it has what it takes in the field of robotics through strategic coordination and manoeuvring of their invention of their modified soccerbot, clinching them top spot at the Robot Cup Competition.  They beat 11 teams to reach the finals in an intense round of qualifying soccer matches which required skillful navigation of the team’s soccerbot and robotic arm to score the winning goals. Second place went to SMK Kuching High while coming in third was Chung Hua Middle School No 3.

Prizes were also given out to teams for the best SCIENCE project. For the lower secondary category, first place went to SMK St Teresa for its project ‘Magic Light’ followed by SMK St Thomas for its ‘Eco Compressor’ in second and SMK St Teresa again for ‘The Magic Box’.

Whereas for the upper secondary category, first place went to SMK Kuching High for its project ‘Sunflower’ followed by SMK Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Gapor for its ‘Smart Container Reminder’ in second place and SMK Kuching High again for ‘Aquaponics’.

In his speech, Dr Chen said new inventions could only be achieved with creative and curious minds, combined with hard work and discipline.  

“Through ‘Science by Sarawak Energy’, we hope to play a significant role in advancing education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics amongst secondary school children in Sarawak. I understand that this event was well-participated.  We hope that we have achieved our objective to enhance the love of science, through this platform that encourages the sharing of new ideas and discoveries,” he said.

Dr Chen added that the nature of this event was somewhat similar to Sarawak Energy’s annual Technology Day, which showcased the utility’s initiatives in advancing the use of electric vehicles, drones, smart grids, amongst others.

“Platforms such as these are especially important in increasing awareness on technology advancement.  An example of this is – ten to fifteen years ago, many people still did not believe that we can have electric cars on our roads.  Today, it is very possible.”

High level energy from participants continued on even at the closing of SCIENCE.

Sarawak Energy VP for Research and Development Dr Chen Shiun (standing right), The Learning Curve cofounder Kenneth Chai (left) and Digital Economy Hub Chief Operating Officer Aaron Chew (second left) along with the winning team of the Robot Cup Competition.

One of the intense matches taking place at the Robot Cup Competition.

Sarawak Energy VP for Research and Development Dr Chen Shiun (left) and The Learning Curve cofounder Kenneth Chai (right) with winning team SMK Kuching High for their SCIENCE project ‘Sunflower’ in the Higher Secondary category.

Sarawak Energy GM for Corporate Communication Peing Tajang (second left), Sarawak Energy VP for Research and Development Dr Chen Shiun (third left) and The Learning Curve cofounder Kenneth Chai (sixth left) with the team from SMK St Teresa.