KUCHING – Student members from Swinburne Sarawak IET (SSIET) On Campus succeeded in organising the first ever state level IET Faraday Challenge in Sarawak recently.
The Faraday Challenge is a competition developed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). The engineering-based competition is held around the world for secondary and primary school students, with SSIET On Campus being the first in Sarawak to pull off the event. The main objective of the competition is to promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education among students.
Students busy developing their projects with the help of Faraday Consultants.
Twenty teams of secondary schools from different regions of Sarawak participated in the event held at the university’s Auditorium. The theme for this year’s challenge as proposed by IET Malaysia was ‘Smart Building – Smarter Home, Smarter Living’.
The event began with a welcoming speech by the chairperson and SSIET On Campus’ advisor Dr Chua Hong Siang. Subsequently, the participants were briefed on the competition’s official rules before they were taught how to use Arduino Maker Uno, an educational system that simplifies electronics and coding. The participants were then given three hours to build their own prototype based on the given theme.
Ling, the man behind the Faraday Pay application.
Among the highlights of the event was the Faraday Pay application which was developed by SSIET On Campus President, Peter Ling Ting Rang for the competition. The android application was designed to ease the participants’ transactions for their purchases of the Arduino Maker Uno hardware.
The participants’ projects were evaluated by a panel of six judges consisting of Swinburne lecturers and three industry representatives from the engineering sectors of Sarawak Energy Berhad, X-FAB Sarawak, and Sarawak Information Systems (SAINS).
SMK Batu Lintang, Kuching was hailed as the overall champion, while SMK Bako, Kuching and SMK Chung Hua, Miri brought home the first and second runner-up titles respectively. Eligible participants were invited to join the IET Faraday Challenge Malaysia Finale on 17 August which will be held at the Honeywell Asean HQ, Kuala Lumpur. For the top three winning teams, their flight tickets and accommodation will be partially sponsored by Honeywell.
Yang Berbahagia Datu William giving words of advice to the students.
Delivering a few words of encouragement at the event closing ceremony was Yang Berbahagia Datu William Patrick Nyigor, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak. In his speech, Datu William encouraged the students to pursue their professions in STEM, especially careers as STEM sector entrepreneurs to create more jobs for Sarawakians.
Also present at the closing ceremony were Assistant Director of Pusat STEM Negara Yang Berbahagia Datin Kasmah binti Abu Bakar, Head of Academic Management Sector of Sarawak State Education Department Dr Les Met, Assistant Director of Academic Management Sector Sarawak STEM Coordinator Raymond Maurice anak Stephan Bujang, and Swinburne’s Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science Professor Su Hieng Tiong.
Run by student members, IET On Campus is an initiative supported and funded by IET, a United Kingdom-based engineering institution. The initiative was introduced to deliver the best professional resources and knowledge into the hands of engineering and technology students across 150 countries.
The SSIET On Campus group was established in 2009 and has since received various awards, including being recognised recently as the world’s number one group for the IET On Campus Group of the Year Award 2019. For more details about SSIET On Campus, visit www.ssiet.tk or to find out more about the IET Faraday Challenge, visit www.ietfaradaymalaysia.com.
For more information about Swinburne, visit its website www.swinburne.edu.my, Facebook (@swinburnesarawak), Instagram (@swinburnesarawak), Twitter (@Swinburne_Swk) or YouTube channel (Swinburne Sarawak).