KTJ students emerge victorious at the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
Eight of our #KTJSixthForm students (Amzhar, Anthony, Anuj, Jayden, Naeem, Russell, Teng Siang and Zarief) recently emerged victorious at the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Malaysia (GYEC) out of 67 teams and 381 participants!
By coming first, the students secured the opportunity to represent Team Malaysia in the GYEC International Competition on 25 May. Not only that, but the second KTJ Team secured an impressive 7th place, too!
In the preliminary round, the students were tasked with a problem statement to conceive a product that solves a contemporary sustainability issue in Malaysia. The 12-hour competition was a real test of their critical thinking, creativity and communication skills as they brainstormed and designed a 3D model of an industrial machine that transforms palm oil waste into cellulose fiber—a versatile, cost-effective material that can be used to strengthen building materials and improve the nutritional value of foods, addressing rural housing and urban malnutrition problems.
Their business, financial plans and 3-minute video were well-appreciated, a testament to the holistic mindset of our students; the team consisted of aspiring engineers, policy-makers, economists, mathematicians and financial experts who all want to make a positive global impact.
In the international segment, there were nearly 55 qualifying teams from 30 countries competing to pitch the best idea to promote peace and mutual understanding as the challenge called for an education game/training program that reduces conflicts. To address this intriguing problem, the team designed an app for global citizens that gamified awareness of current affairs and provided an interactive insight into the interconnectedness of today’s globalised world. As global citizens, they intended to promote mutual understanding by showing people how countries are economically, culturally and politically reliant on each other, potentially reducing conflicts.
Accompanying this was an Artificial Intelligence model that would detect early signs of conflict between nations and alert government leaders, providing them with pathways for peace by recommending different policies they can take to prevent costly conflicts. In essence, this would become a new tool for diplomacy and open dialogue. Their optimism for a new era of peace was evident in their proposal.
The result of the international competition will be announced on 12 June. The team is hopeful but is truly grateful for this amazing opportunity to represent KTJ and Malaysia internationally. Regardless of the outcome, we are confident that they will continue to make us proud by pursuing their passion to shape a better world for all.
- Written by Anuj, Lower Sixth
