24 October 2024 - Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) proudly sponsored Hydrostar, a team comprising of 5 local talented students from various secondary schools in the FIRST Global Challenge held in Singapore from 7-10 October 2023. This sponsorship underscores the organisation’s commitment to support programmes that empowers the youths toward unlocking their potential in innovation within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field.
The Hydrostar team; Mumtazah Noha Umaimah Muhammad Nudin (team Captain, Human Player, Strategist), Aqilah Balqis Hj Asrul Hanafi (Team Spokesperson, Strategist), Mohammad Nazri Bin Hj Abd Rahman (Coder), Md Iz’zul Arman bin Faizan (Robot Driver 1) and Muhammad Zul Husmi bin Yunus (Robot Driver 2) along with their mentors and supervisors paid a visit to UNN HQ showcasing their innovation to UNN Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Steffen Oehler, UNN Chief Digital Officer Heiko Trost and Digital Exploration & Program Manager Vernon Yong.
The FIRST Global Challenge is an internationally recognised robotics competition, akin to an Olympic-style event that is hosted in a different country each year. The theme for this year is Hydrogen Horizons where participants are challenged to build a robot to navigate through a simulated environment to produce hydrogen and use it to store, transport and convert energy.
Teams from around the world are tasked with designing, building, and programming robots to compete in a series of challenges. The mission of this competition is to foster leadership and innovation among youth by providing a platform for collaborative competition and to nurture a cross-cultural community in hopes to tackle global challenges.
Hydrostar previously won 1st place in the National Robotic Coding Conquest 2023 organised by Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and Seria Energy Lab in July 2023. These young innovators have exhibited exceptional skills, dedication, and a passion for robotics. They envisioned a future for Brunei Darussalam where advanced robotics technology could play a pivotal role in actively reducing carbon footprints, optimizing resource allocation, and catalysing the realization of renewable energy as a widespread reality.
During their participation in the FIRST Global Challenge, Hydrostar achieved an impressive record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses in their 10 matches, earning them a ranking of 126 out of 191 countries.
The young innovators competing at the 2023 FIRST Global Challenge.
Aqilah Balqis Asrul Hanafi, Hydrostar's strategist and spokesperson, emphasized the team's shared goal, stating, "Even though we all come from different backgrounds and beliefs, we all have a common objective: to innovate solutions for a sustainable energy future."
"Besides competing with other nations," added Nazri Hj Abd Rahman, a coder for Hydrostar, "this competition provides a platform to educate youths about STEM and find solutions to global environmental issues through technology and science. It's a great opportunity to strengthen our confidence and communication skills while being exposed to various cultures."
Zul Husmi Yunus, Hydrostar’s robot driver, also highlighted the opportunity for learning from other nations, statin “Not only will we gained valuable knowledge and great experience, but we get to learn new things from the other nation’s perspectives too.”
As our technology continues to evolve rapidly, high-tech industries demand a skilled and innovative workforce to build a more sustainable and renewable energy solutions for the future. Through FIRST Global Challenge, it is hoped that these young talents gain knowledge and experience that will be beneficial to their development and upskill their capabilities to be our contributors and change makers for a brighter sustainable future.
“Thank you very much to UNN for sponsoring us to represent the nation, this support proves that Brunei has the capacity, and it is valuable for our future purposes,” said Hydrostar robot driver Iz’zul Arman Faizan.
This sentiment was also supported by Hydrostar team captain and strategist, Noha Umaimah Nudin who remarked, “This support promotes critical thinking, problem solving and analytical skills therefore, UNN’s encouragement and support played a key role in the success of our participation in the FIRST Global Challenge.”
The 5 young innovators had the opportunity to take a picture with the founder and president of FIRST Global Challenge.
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