SST Science Talent Development Programme: Engineering Innovation Challenge @ National Engineering Day 2019 (18-20 July 2019)

The EIC was first initiated in 2015 and after four successive runs and many interesting student projects showcased, the competition entered its 5th run with a focus on engineering and a refreshed theme of “Radiation is Everywhere”. Participants will set to explore ways to debunk the myths surrounding radiation and its uses and discover its ubiquitous presence and influence in our world. The EIC is part of the National Engineers Day (NED) 2019 program.

This year’s challenge presents students in Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges, ITEs, Polytechnics, and Universities a unique opportunity to not only participate in an engineering competition, but also to partake on an insightful learning journey to discover the spirit of innovation, build new technical skills in prototyping and product development, and develop their presentation and collaboration skills while working alongside practicing engineers.

The competition will take place over the months of March to July 2019 culminating in the week of the 2019 National Engineers Day (NED) in late July 2019. Schools can field individuals or teams of up to four students to take part in one of the following categories:

Cat 1: Secondary Schools or IP Year 1 to 4

Cat 2: Junior College or IP Year 5 to 6Cat 3: Polytechnics & ITE
Cat 4: Universities

SST submitted a total of 5 teams of Sec 2 students and the following are the results of the competition:

1st place

Ng Shi Yu, Naythan Yeo Zhenxi (S2-05), Thangaraja Prasanna (S2-06)

Merit Award

Aiman Bin Mohd Sufian, Tay Yu Jie, Waiz Zul’Mateen Bin Mohamad Yusri, Wu Wanghong (S2-04)

Certificate of participation

Leong Li Jet (S2-02), Kavin Arun Prasad (S2-01)

Tan Seh Guan Kinnon Luke, Tan Zng Hiong, Chong Yu Lin (S2-02)

Gabriel Chia Chun Onn, Chong Kai Yang (S2-05)

The following are the reflections of some students:

As this being one of the final competitions for my "coral project" journey, we went there with an extremely developed project. Comprising of over 6 months of hard work and 3 times of project modifications/continuations. The project was coming to an end and I have learned and benefited from this project more than I would have dreamed of. During these 6 months, I have reflected and improved myself. So, when the MC called our group up onto the stage, I truly felt a mix of shock and accomplishment (Ng Shi Yu, S2-05).

This project has been a special one for me. Not only did this project bring me to many competitions, but it also gave me a lot of exposure. I learned many things from this project. One of the most important things I have learned is the engineering design process. One of the key section of the engineering design process is testing. If it fails we must keep trying until the prototype works. My groupmates and I not only kept on trying until our prototype worked but also we kept on trying until we won the championship. The first competition we went to we got nothing, the second competition we won the Best Video Award, for the third competition we went until the third round and finally in this competition we won the championship. In this journey of nothing to something, we learned the many things on engineering and marine biology and it also shaped our attitude (Prasana, S2-06).

This competition has taught me how failure is truly the mother of success. This project that we have done, has been into multiple competitions. However, not all were successful. We have come back defeated a few times, but never once were these experiences wasted. Every failure we had, was an opportunity for us to learn, and to improve. We never gave up, an always sought to strive for the better. After 6 months of hard work, refinement, we finally won this competition. When that happened, I truly felt a deep sense of pride and satisfaction! (Naythan Yeo, S2-05).