| Danial Norjidi |
WINNERS of second National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and Innovative Design Challenge were presented their prizes yesterday.
The prize presentation took place during the closing ceremony of the competition at the Multipurpose Hall of Universiti Teknologi Brunei, and saw the attendance of Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education.
The annual competition exposes students to basic skills such as problem-solving as a group, carrying out research, presenting a business plan, marketing products and others.
This year’s edition of the competition saw the participation of teams from 11 secondary schools and one from the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE).
The competition saw teams design and build a miniature Formula 1 car. They were judged on car speed, verbal presentation, their marketing or ‘pit display’ and how the cars were engineered.
The National STEM and Innovative Design Challenge is an initiative by the Ministry of Education (MoE), and this second iteration of the competition was organised by its Curriculum Development Department though the Technology Studies Unit with the cooperation of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB).
Prizes were awarded in various categories. The winners of Best Sportsmanship were the Rimba II Speedster team from Rimba II Secondary School, who also won Best Pit Booth Display and Best Dressed Team.
The prize for Best Attendance (Punctuality) went to Berakas Secondary School’s Super Legerra team, while Best Engineered Car went to team Speed Crown from Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School, Mentiri.
Tanjong Maya Secondary School saw its Falcon Team win awards for Fastest Car and Best Reaction Time, while Rimba Secondary School’s Elysian Vibe team won Best Verbal Presentation.
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education, speaking to one of the teams during the event.
The Minister of Education and Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, Deputy Minister of Education testing out miniature F1 cars in a race. – PHOTOS: DANIAL NORJIDI
Some of the other participating teams during the event.
The Minister of Education in a group photo with the winners from Tanjong Maya Secondary School.
After the prizes were awarded for these categories, the top three teams and overall winner were announced.
The Falcon Team from Tanjong Maya Secondary School were named not only the Champions but also the Overall Winners of the competition. First runner-up went to Super Legerra from Berakas Secondary School while the 2nd runner-up was the Speed Crown team from Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School, Mentiri.
The guest of honour presented the prizes to the recipients.
As Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Nawi, the Director of the Curriculum Development Department shared in his welcoming remarks at the event, “The cooperation between the Curriculum Development Department and Universiti Teknologi Brunei is one of the strategies to enhance the quality and relevance in carrying out competitions such as this and as a step forward in enhancing innovation among students.”
He shared that the cooperation between the two is not solely for organising the STEM challenge, but also for UTB to be a training centre for teachers. “This cooperation is hoped to enhance teachers’ skills in using and leveraging tools and resources provided by the MoE to help students attain the necessary skills.”
“To strengthen further this field of cooperation, Insya Allah the Curriculum Development Department and Universiti Teknologi Brunei are planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to encourage and support the enhancement of the already established cooperation on an ongoing basis.”
He also said in his speech, “Twenty-eight government schools and two vocational and technical institutions as well as a higher learning institution have been and will be supplied with high-performance Denford machines to enable their students to create a number of products, including F1 model cars.”
Speaking on the National STEM and Innovation Design Challenge itself, he said, “Through this project, students can attain skills in a number of fields, including research & development, analysis, decision-making, test runs, sponsorship, promotion and marketing as well as teamwork.”
The competition carries the aim to enhance creativity, mental development, problem-solving and student innovation. It also has the aims of providing exposure and experience to students to compete with each other, as well as to expose them to careers in fields such as engineering and marketing.
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