We started the year with a thankful heart, where we reflected on the past year and shared with each other what we are thankful for. We are thankful for our partners for rallying together amidst a pandemic and for tirelessly engaging our young learners.

Most of all, we are thankful for you. For educators in schools who find ways to reach out to their students. For parents who has to juggle with work and their children. For students who delight us with their creations and innovations.

This newsletter is dedicated to teachers and their schools. Across Malaysia, schools sent teams to participate in our national competitions (Junior Innovate and Young Innovators Challenge) and trusted us with their students for our courses. On our part, Chumbaka complemented schools with an online coding camp and a mobile apps hackathon for our student creators.

SIME DARBY YOUNG INNOVATORS CHALLENGE 2020

Sime Darby Young Innovators Challenge (SDYIC) 2020 has come to an end. We are elated to celebrate the 15 National Finalists with their ingenious inventions!

A total 610 teams from 406 schools nationwide took part in the competition. Our heartfelt congratulations to the following recipients:

• Team Brightastic from SMK Kubang Kerian, Kelantan ➜ 

• Team Star TEK from SMK Aminuddin Baki, KL ➜
• Team TES v3.0 from SMJK Jit Sin, Pulau Pinang➜

• Team Aces from SMK Tiong Hin, Sarawak ➜
• Team Brain Circuit from SMK Mulong, Kelantan ➜
• Team Indahpura 1 from SMK Indahpura 1, Johor ➜

NATIONAL FINALS OF JUNIOR INNOVATE 2020

We have successfully concluded Junior Innovate 2020!

What a year it has been. Despite the multiple disruptions due to COVID-19, we managed to pull through and received over 300 videos submissions from all over Malaysia for the preliminary round and shortlisted 30 teams for the national finals!

For the first time ever, we conducted the nationals finals fully online. The finalists definitely did not disappoint. They rose to the occasion and pitched their projects skillfully, wooing the judges and audience.

We awarded 15 Gold Medals and 15 Silver Medals. Ultimately, DT Girls from Melaka emerged as the national champion! You can refer to the full list of winners here.

The Closing and Prize Giving Ceremony was held virtually and was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Education, YB Senator Dato Dr Mah Hang Soon via a pre-recorded video message. In his address, he commended the participants for their resilience and encouraged them to never stop learning.

You can rewatch the Finals as well the the Closing and Prize Giving Ceremony on our Facebook page.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our national sponsors, The Royal Academy of Engineering UK and our national hosts, Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (TEGAS), the Ministry of Education, and Science and Technological Research Sarawak (MESTERs).

Also, we like to thank our state sponsors, Ministry of Education Science and Technological Research Sarawak, Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (TEGAS), Sarawak Convention Bureau, Hap Seng Group, Vitrox, and Nation Gate.

INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE:
RIAM ROAD SECONDARY SCHOOL

With the world fast changing and learning taking many different turns especially in recent times, Riam Road Secondary School (RRSS) saw this as an opportunity to innovate the way young people learn. From the addition of Global Perspectives subject last year, they have moved on to add yet another new dimension to the curriculum, Physical Computing. These new learning opportunities will pave the way for their students to engage in critical and creative thinking and grow life-long learning skills.

Dr Pauline Ho, the CEO of RRSS, believes in preparing today’s learner for tomorrow.

She believes that Chumbaka curriculum and training for teachers will pave a new learning opportunity for their school community.

MOBILE APPS HACKATHON

Nothing can stand in the way of innovation, and certainly not even a pandemic! This rang true when 82 Sarawak teams participated in the fully online Mobile Apps Hackathon in December 2020. This hackathon was a joint collaboration between the Chumbaka centres located in Kuching, Miri, and Sibu.

The first of its kind in Sarawak, over 200 primary and secondary school students rose up to the challenge to create mobile app solutions that could help alleviate challenges faced by the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a week and a half of intensive online learning and project-building, the students’ projects were judged based on their innovativeness and practicality. In the end, the top eight teams with the best projects walked away with a lucrative prize money totaling RM7,000. The champions from the Junior and Senior categories were team LydiaNPhelia (SJKC Sacred Heart) and Brogrammers (SMK Bintulu), respectively. The entire event was made possible with the support and funding from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak (MESTR), Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), and Sarawak Development and Economic Board (SDEC).

For more details, check out the final live pitch and results announcements on the following Facebook pages:

• Junior category
• Senior category

NATIONAL ONLINE CODING CAMP

We had our National Online Coding Camp from 4 to 15 January 2021. What happened during our 10-day camp? Here are some memorable projects from our students.

• Collaborate with friends to create Scratch story projects including their favourite characters (many even made their own original ones!)
• Design creative pixel art and pivot-based animations
• Produce interactive Scratch projects that include scientific facts

More importantly, what else did they learn? When asked what makes a good project, 11 year old Z has this to say:

Can’t wait for more programs? Check out our forthcoming intakes from www.chumbaka.asia.