Kuala Lumpur: Three students from SM All Saints brought immense pride to Sabah by clinching the national championship at Shell NXplorers Malaysia 2024, Wednesday.
Their team, XO_LEIUNE, triumphed over five other teams from schools nationwide.
Shell NXplorers is a prestigious STEM competition by Shell, challenging students to collaboratively design and develop innovative solutions to real-world issues in the interconnected realms of food, water and energy.
XO_LEIUNE comprising Nathylee Faye Jaikol Udar, Nichelle Essabelle James and Addent Aylwin Tan are the innovative minds behind EcoSwitch 2.0.
This invention acts as a “kill switch” for household electrical appliances, automatically turning off unused devices when all occupants leave to improve energy efficiency.
It includes two primary sensors: a human presence sensor that detects occupancy and communicates with a mobile app, and a voice recognition sensor for appliance control.
The mobile app offers real-time updates on occupancy, appliance control options and metrics like total voltage, power consumption and the number of people in the room.
“We are deeply honoured to be named the grand champion of Shell NXplorers Malaysia 2024 and extend our gratitude to Shell for this invaluable experience.
“The lessons we’ve learned through this programme have empowered us to think beyond the ordinary and explore real-world problems more deeply, enabling us to develop solutions that we hope will positively impact our communities,” shared the proud members of XO_LEIUNE.
Shell Malaysia Head of Legal Siew-Ching Chua said:
“I’m truly impressed to witness our students in the Shell NXplorers programme taking on obstacles with determination and demonstrating resilience to overcome them, while leveraging innovation in designing solutions that will potentially address the major global challenges the world faces.
“Their courage to challenge the norm and think critically about a sustainable future shows that our youths are key towards shaping our future.”
A special prize for the Best Presenter was awarded to Wong Sh Mayn, a member of The Solvers from SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil, Selangor for her eloquence and detailed explanation on her team’s invention.
Six schools, two finalists each from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, participated in the national finals after emerging state winners and runners-up at the State-level of the Shell NXplorers Malaysia competition.
The finalist schools were SMK Pekan Telipok and SM All Saints from Sabah, SMK Bintulu and SMK Baru Bintulu from Sarawak and SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil and SMK Aminuddin Baki from Peninsular Malaysia.
The panel of jury for the grand finals comprised Assistant Director of Sports, Co-Curricular and Arts Division, Ministry of Education Dr Mohd Azly Zakaria, Director of Talent Development, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Nik Naharudin Mohd Nasir and Siew-Ching Chua, Head of Legal, Shell Malaysia.
Also present at the event were Deputy Director of School Management and Student Development Division, Ministry of Education Jalaluddin Bin Ismail, and General Manager of Corporate Relations, Shell Malaysia Cindy Lopez,
With the support of the Ministry of Education, Shell NXplorers Malaysia worked with over 1,000 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.
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.
