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Kota Kinabalu: Team Lovelies from SM St Michael was awarded the state champion of Shell NXplorers Sabah, Shell’s STEM related competition which challenges school students to work in teams to design and develop solutions to real-world problems within the nexus of food-water-energy. Team Zxuara from SM All Saints emerged first runner up in this state challenge. 

Both these schools will represent Sabah at the national Shell NXplorers Malaysia challenge, which will take place in Kuala Lumpur, on 30 November, 2022.

“Today’s young generation is naturally tech savvy. We at Shell, aim to further cultivate this generation and grow them towards becoming thinkers, innovators and problem solvers who can lead the world towards a cleaner and more sustainable path. For that, we all need to play a part in nurturing our young talent and equipping them with the needed tools and skills towards becoming the next group of dynamic leaders,” shared Prithipal Singh, General Manager of Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd.

Team Zxuara with their invention

Team Lovelies which comprise Charlize Hope Ensingan Garai, Ahuvia Rinai Clerance and Waverly Rhys Tann came up with an invention called The Wiver. The Wiver is a flood alert system that keeps residents living in flood-prone areas aware of increasing water levels in nearby monsoon drains or rivers The life-saving solution is equipped with a siren, LED lights and a mobile app notification with three levels of warning to ensure residents are able to take proactive measures to safeguard their family and property.

“We are truly thankful to have won the state challenge and want to thank Shell for providing us with a platform to learn on the integration of thinking, problem solving, planning and most importantly, practicing the Theory of Change in helping address sustainability related issues. We look forwards to participating in the national challenge and hope to make our state proud,” shared the Team Lovelies teammates who stood tall together when asked about being the state champion.

The first runner up, Team Zxuara from SM All Saints has Ryan Ng Jun Lei, Aisha Loh Xiau Wei and Azana Asha Binti Nordin in the team. Their invention, Smart H2O is an intelligent watering system that has the ability to detect humidity and temperature in the environment. Equipped with a sensor to detect soil moisture, the solution also waters plants automatically which helps enhance the growth of plants and prevents them from dehydration.

Nine schools competed in Shell NXplorers Sabah and this year’s participating schools were SMK Badin, SMK St Joseph, SM St Michael, SM La Salle, SM Sung Siew, SMK Pekan Telipok, SMK St John (M), SMK Bandaraya KK and SM All Saints.

Team Lovelies explaining their invention to the judges.

With support from the Ministry of Education, Shell NXplorers Malaysia worked with over 1000 secondary school students from 26 schools across Malaysia. These students were given the opportunity to gain hands-on STEM learning, with a focus on technology. In Sabah, 700 students were selected, while a peer-to-peer coaching was also implemented to share the knowledge with the larger student community of about 12,000 students from all participating schools in Sabah.

Shell NXplorers is a global education initiative that empowers young people to address complex challenges faced by the world today and become agent of change by providing them with the tools, methodologies and skills needed to tackle real-world problems, through collaboration, innovation and interdisciplinary approaches.

To learn more on Shell NXplorers Malaysia, click here.