| Syazwani Hj Rosli |
FOUR students from the Sengkurong Sixth Form Centre (PTES) left for Singapore yesterday, to take part in the STEP-NUS Sunburst Brain Camp 2016 from June 5 to 11.
The camp, organised by the Singapore Technologies Endowment Programme (STEP) and National University of Singapore (NUS), is currently being held at the NUS Department of Physiology, Centre for Life Sciences.
Awangku Abdul Hadi bin Pengiran Hamgillah, Muhammad Arif bin Kamal Hisham, Nor Izzatul Afiqah binti Yusof and Reisydah binti Haji Abdul Hamid were accompanied on their trip by Ilzam binti Haji Zainulabidin, an education officer from PTES.
In an interview, team leader Reisydah told the Bulletin that the students will be presenting a topic on the human brain, as well as conducting small group experiments and participating in talks at the National University of Singapore High and the NUS Centre of Life Sciences.
The week-long programme is also seeing the participation of students from Asean member countries, India, Japan and Sri Lanka, who have been assigned to conduct a research on Parkinson’s disease, a neuro-degenerative disorder of the brain.
The four students with an education officer in a group photo. -SYAZWANI HAJI ROSLI
When asked about the team’s preparation, Reisydah said that they had been gathering data, facts and information since March.
“The whole preparation was really difficult for all of us because it took us out of our comfort zone,” she said.
“Everything’s very new for all of us and what worries us the most is plagiarism. We thought the presentation would be easy, but it was hard for us too. The experiences of being part of this programme is quite overwhelming but overall, I think we did well both for our research paper and presentation.
“Before I joined this programme, I wasn’t interested in neuro-science. I was more interested in therapy, but I was told that being part of this programme would really open my eyes as to why neuro-science is a study that I should consider as well.”
Several activities will be conducted out throughout the programme, including a visit to the Flower Dome conservatory centre, a ‘Meet the experts’ session and attending key scientific lectures.
Following the programme, it is expected that the students will write a report on their observations for the Academic Unit at the Ministry of Education, and share their experiences with their school peers.
The Sunburst Brain Camp is organised in partnership with the NUS, in which the primary focus is providing youths with a passion for neuroscience, and an in-depth knowledge of the many facets of the brain and brain-related diseases.
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