(From third left) Nathylee, Nichelle and Addent after winning the Shell NXplorers Malaysia 2024 competition.
Their EcoSwitch to turn off devices beats five other schools
Three Sabah students made the state proud after emerging national champions in the Shell NXplorers Malaysia competition.
SM All Saints students Nathylee Faye Jaikol Udar, 15, Nichelle Essabelle James and Addent Aylwin Tan, both 14, who called their team “Xo_Leiune”, won when their invention EcoSwitch 2.0, beat five other schools from around the country in the finals.
Their invention acts as a “kill switch” for household electrical appliances, automatically turning off unused devices when all occupants leave a room.
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.
The trio said they were honoured to be named the grand champion, adding that they gathered invaluable experience in the competition.
“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,” they said in a statement issued by Shell Malaysia.
Shell Malaysia legal head Chua Siew Ching said she was impressed by the students in the Shell NXplorers programme taking on obstacles with determination and demonstrating resilience to overcome them.
“This is while leveraging innovation in designing solutions that will potentially address major global challenges the world faces,” she said.
“Their courage to challenge the norm and think critically about a sustainable tomorrow show that our youth are key towards shaping our future.”
Shell NXplorers is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) competition challenging students to collaboratively design and develop innovative solutions to real-world issues in the interconnected realms of food, water and energy.
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 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.
A special prize for the Best Presenter was awarded to Wong Sh Mayn, 14, a member of The Solvers from SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil, Selangor for her eloquence and detailed explanation on her team’s invention.
The panel of jury for the grand finals comprised the Education Ministry’s Sports, Co-curricular and Arts Division assistant director Dr Mohd Azly Zakaria, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation talent development director Nik Naharudin Mohd Nasir and Chua.
Also present were the ministry’s School Management and Student Development Division deputy director Jalaluddin Ismail and Shell Malaysia corporate relations general manager Cindy Lopez.
With the ministry’s support, Shell NXplorers Malaysia has worked with over 1,000 students from 26 secondary schools in the country, who 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 and become agents of change by providing them with the tools, methodologies and skills needed to tackle real-world problems, through collaboration, innovation and interdisciplinary approaches.
