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Four out of 3,930 Teams Emerge Champions and Runners-Up at the National Science Challenge 2017

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Aug 21, 2017

With a participation of almost 4,000 teams, four emerged victorious as some of Malaysia’s most brilliant students competed for the title of Champion in an intense series of challenges at the grand final of the National Science Challenge (NSC) 2017, a collaboration between ExxonMobil and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM).

The prize-giving ceremony was officiated by Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and witnessed by YM Tengku Datuk Dr Mohd Azzman Shariffadeen Tengku Ibrahim FASc Vice President, Academy of Sciences Malaysia and Edward Graham, chairman of ExxonMobil Subsidiaries in Malaysia.

The champions were presented with the grand prize of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, as well as an exclusive one-week study visit to Stockholm, Sweden which allows them and their mentor teacher a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend and observe the prestigious international Nobel Prize Awards ceremony and Nobel Lectures. Second, third and fourth-placed teams as well as the top individual scorer during the initial stage of the Challenge (online quiz) will participate in the by-invitation-only Sakura Science Programme in Tokyo, Japan, held annually in May. The programme invites young scientists in Asia to expand their knowledge of science and technology while encouraging the active exchange of ideas and opinions in a multi-lateral environment.

The annual National Science Challenge is currently in its 28th year, and has become one of the nation’s foremost significant Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competitions for Form 4 science stream students, with a collective participation from 3,930 teams from all over the country. This is closely aligned with ASM’s mission to promote national awareness, understanding and appreciation of the role of science, engineering and technology in human progress.

The Grand Final stage of the competition was held over a seven-day period as a residential science camp at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, culminating in the Grand Final Quiz. The residential camp programme also included a talk by one of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc.’s asset managers, Muhamad Syahril Hussin, who spoke about application of STEM and career opportunities in the oil and gas industry and shared his experiences working for a global oil and gas company; to motivate and inspire students to pursue STEM careers. In the Grand Final Quiz, the four top-scoring teams took part in an interactive quiz in the subjects of Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics, followed by a series of questions based on video clips to test their STEM knowledge application skills.

 

About ExxonMobil in Malaysia

The ExxonMobil subsidiaries in Malaysia are a group of companies which have business activities which include upstream production of oil and gas, business support services and marketing of chemical products. In the upstream, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. operates more than 30 platforms in 12 producing fields and has a working interest in two fields offshore Peninsular Malaysia.

About Academy Sciences Malaysia

The Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) came into force on 1 February 1995 and was established under the Academy of Sciences Act 1994. ASM strives to be the ‘Think Tank’ of the nation for matters related to science, technology and innovation (STI). ASM promotes and fosters the development of STI and provides a forum for the interchange of ideas among scientists, engineers and technologists.