Great Mind: Be Part of Greatness

Participants at Multipurpose Hall of UTAR Sungai Long Campus

The Mind Competitions, jointly organised by Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM), UTAR and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), returned once more with more exciting activities this year.

Held annually at UTAR Sungai Long Campus, the competitions were open to all ages from pre-school children to university students and working professionals to retirees in their quest to hone memory, mind mapping and computational thinking skills. 

Participants from various backgrounds and age groups participated in the competition

The competitions this year saw the participation of more than 90 schools, colleges, universities, centres and kindergartens from various parts of the country. The number of registered participants for Memory Competition this year was 3,854; the number of registered participants for Mind Mapping Competition was 472; while the number of registered participants for Mental Calculation Competitionwas 439.

Mental Calculation Competition: A race against time

The participants were all eyes and ears at the STEM Exhibition

Parents had the chance to bond with their children during the STEM workshops

From left: Emma Yeo and Sybil making DIY slime at STEM workshop

Emma Yeo Fei Ern and Sybil Vathani Sivakumar, aged four and five respectively, had an amazing time learning how to make DIY slime at the STEM workshop. The duo also said that they met a lot of new friends during the workshop. They also exclaimed excitedly that they would join the workshop again next year.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)exhibition and workshops were also held in conjunction with Mind Competitions this year. It was jointly organised by MMLM, UTAR and TAR UC together with Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF) with the objectives to increase STEM literacy and provide authentic STEM learning experiences to students. Interesting activities included DIY Slime, Kinetic Sand, Electric Play Dough, Drone Cage and Salt Water Car.

Robotics Exhibition provided hands-on experience to the partakers

Participants had the opportunity to witness 3D printing of keychain and nameplate

SMK Bandar Tun Hussein Onn students trying their hands on Laser Tag

UTAR’s Makers Club facilitators helping children with their drones

SMK Bandar Baru Sentul student making “Salt Water Car”

The competitions consisted of three main categories, namely Memory Competition, Mind MappingCompetition and Mental Calculation Competition. The main categories also consisted of sub-categories, namely Random Words, Random Numbers, Dates & Events, Random Letters of the Alphabet, Note Making on given topics, Note taking from speech and text and Mental Calculation (Additions and Multiplications).

The total cash prize for the competitions was RM60,000, with the top three winners receiving RM5,000, RM2,000 and RM1,000 respectively. Besides, the competitions also offered different prizes for various categories, including five consolation prizes worth RM100, Best School Prize, Special Prize for Senior Citizens (age 60 and above), and Children (age 9 and below) worth RM500 each for all categories.

From left: Iyas, Shaun, Prevind and Muhammad Osama from Royal Military College

Iyas Izdiyad, G. Shaun Wyrennraj, Prevind Innocent B. Dromeo and Muhammad Osama Luqman bin Rozimi from Royal Military College enthused, “The event held today was a very challenging one. We believe it is good for teenagers to join and take part in this kind of event simply because it enhances their mental strength and problem-solving skills. It is very beneficial for students like us who are about to take SPM this year. It helped us to train our mental strength, especially in memorising facts and numbers.” They also added, “The competition challenged us to memorise 240 words in a short period of time. I find this useful for studying subjects like Sejarah. We also made a lot of new friends today. I hope more universities will participate and organise events like this in the future.”

Tai (middle) with his parents

Thirteen-year-old student Tai Weuy Liang from Tsun Jin High School, Kuala Lumpur said, “My interest is public speaking and poem recitation and I have previously taken part in some competitions such as Piala Perpaduan Perdana Menteri 2018, Peringkat Kebangsaan and Pertandingan Deklamasi Sajak bersempena Hari Kanak-kanak Sedunia Peringkat Kebangsaan. I won champion in these competitions. This is my first time taking part in the Mind Competitions and since I find it quite interesting and there is so much for me to learn, I will definitely come back for the next competition in the future. I got to know about this competition from my teacher. While I was preparing for this competition, I was exposed to lots of skills in memorising. This could help me in memorising dates and events for the history subject at school.”

Ain Adidah Mohd Kamal (back row, middle) with her classmates from SMAP Kajang

“We are from Sekolah Menengah Agama Persekutuan (SMAP) Kajang and we had a lot of fun today at the Mind Competitions. We learnt to memorise faster. It provided us with good mental training. Now, we will be able to apply it in our classroom at school. Through this competition, we also made a lot of new friends and we noticed that UTAR is a conducive, safe and nice place to further our tertiary studies in the future,” said 17-year-old Ain Adidah Mohd Kamal from SMAP Kajang.

Lee from Rafflesia International School

“Today I had the chance to experience the challenges of Mind Competitions at UTAR. It’s my first time being here at UTAR. I didn’t know so many people would be here. There were thousands of people in the hall. I participated in the memory competition and mind mapping competition. Although the mind mapping competition was hard and challenging, I still had lots of fun doing it. I also received two certificates from UTAR. Next time, I’m going to come back for more,” said Lee Syin Yee, nine years old.

Lakshaana from SMK Infant Jesus Convent, Johor Bahru

A sixteen-year-old student named Lakshaana Kannan said, “This is my first time participating in the Mind Competitions. I really enjoyed it even though it was tough and challenging. I think this competition can really shape a better future generation. It can help them in terms of increasing their mental speed and focus on education. Moreover, I also believe that Mind Competitions would help students like me to grow fond of science and mathematics subjects. Upon growing up, I think, it will also help us in terms of increasing our work speed and productivity. I’m glad I joined this competition.” Lakshaana is currently studying at SMK Infant Jesus Convent, Johor Bahru.

Puteri Zubaidah (second from right) with her students

“The amazing thing about this competition is it is not exam oriented. It does not require the students to answer questions like the way they do at school. It focuses more on the mental aspects which are very pertinent. Even the Ministry of Education encourages this at schools. Mind Competitions enable students to apply what they have learnt at school only with more involvement in the mental aspect. This is our first time participating in this competition. I hope to bring more students to participate next year,” said Puteri Zubaidah binti Megat Ahmad Zulkifli, a mathematics teacher at SK Jalan 3, Bandar Baru Bangi.

Nicki Coombs (middle) the Principal of Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School

“A competition like this is a very important aspect of learning for children. So, it is great for UTAR to organise an event such as this. It is open to all to participate, hence anyone can just walk in. The children learnt a lot while having fun and they learnt more about different aspects of using their brain and using their mind, in ways they don’t really practise at schools. They also had the opportunity to see different science experiments and different fun activities that just extended their learning and made them think out of the box,” said Nicki Coombs the Principal of Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School. She added, “For somebody like me who is in school every day but in a completely different role, it is terrifying to come back and sit behind the desk [participate in the competition]. But, it takes you back to how the children feel and what they are going through. I think this is a great event.”

Lee explaining how the competition helps younger generations with their studies

“I came to know about this competition from my son’s teacher. So, I encouraged him to participate in the memory competition and I took the chance to participate as well. Personally, I think it created a healthy competition between me and my son. It also challenged us to grow. For the younger generation, competition such as this would help them a lot to excel in their studies, especially when it comes to memorising facts and figures. Besides, it also encourages them to practise and train their mental skills which indirectly guides them to spend their time wisely. I think it is very good for UTAR to organise events like this and I hope they will continue to organise this competition in the future,” said 53-year-old memory competition participant, Lee Moey Chin.

Parents, from left: Kalaivani, Kavitha, Shamundiswari and Hemavathy

“We brought our children to this competition to give them a different exposure. We came to know about this competition from our children’s school teachers. We believe this competition will benefit them in lots of ways, especially in revising some of their school subjects. It also gave them exposure to the university environment. Now they know what a university looks like and what to do in order to get here [university],” said R. Kalaivani, M. Kavitha, M. Shamundiswari and K. Hemavathy, parents.

Moreover, MMLM in collaboration with WBS Dynamic Workshop and Kids Station Marketing Sdn Bhd held its first ever Speed Reading Competition which aimed to promote the interest of reading among the younger generation.

 

Ravynasriy Prabu (middle) with Judge Dr Justin Woo (left) and Centre for Extension Education Director Lim Guat Yen

“Basically, the English teacher of my school hosted a few trials at school and I was chosen to represent year seven. I have always loved reading. I am very happy to have won this Speed Reading Competition,” said the 11-year-old Champion of Speed Reading Competition for category B, Ravynasriy Prabu.

The winning result for the Mind Competitions 2019 will be posted on www.utar.edu.my/mmlm on 2 August 2019, where the participants can view their results online until 8 November 2019. Winners will be notified via email and invited to attend the award ceremony at the 15th Malaysia Festival of the Mind, which will be held in conjunction with Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair 2019 from 1 to 3 November 2019 at the MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC).

The competitions saw the participation of more than 90 schools, colleges, universities, centres and kindergartens from various parts of the country