Secondary school students invited to join DIY competition

27 February 2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The annual DIY Made Simple competition is back for its ninth edition. Open to secondary schools across Malaysia, this nationwide contest encourages students to showcase their creativity and problem-solving skills while addressing real-world sustainability challenges.

This year's theme, "Waste to Energy: Innovate for a Greener Future," invites students to find innovative ways to convert solid waste into usable energy sources. As Malaysia grapples with an increasing waste issue, the waste-to-energy (WTE) approach presents a sustainable solution that helps reduce pressure on landfills and supports green energy initiatives. This effort aligns with national energy and environmental policies and contributes to the country's goal of achieving a 40% recycling rate by 2025.

Some examples of innovations around this theme include creating solar panels from electronic waste, electric generators from plastic waste, LED lights powered by bio-batteries, mini turbines using wastewater, batteries made from metal waste, and hydrogen production from wastewater. Through creativity and innovation, the DIY Made Simple competition inspires students to help shape a greener, more sustainable future.

As always, the competition offers exciting prizes. The team taking home the championship wins RM4,000 in cash, followed by RM3,000 for second place, RM2,000 for third, RM1,000 for fourth, and RM500 for fifth. All finalists will receive RM300 in MR D.I.Y. cash vouchers, a digital certificate, and a trophy. Special awards of RM500 in cash will be given to teams with the most-liked competition videos on YouTube.

Schools interested in participating have until 8 May 2025 to submit their entries. A panel of judges, comprising representatives from Universiti Malaya (UM), Yayasan MR D.I.Y., and the Ministry of Education (MOE), will evaluate the submissions and shortlist sixteen schools. The shortlisted schools will collaborate with lecturers from UM’s Faculty of Built Environment to transform their ideas into reality to be presented during the final judging expected in August at Universiti Malaya.

The ‘DIY Made Simple’ competition is jointly organised by Yayasan MR D.I.Y., the philanthropic arm of Malaysians’ favourite home improvement retailer, MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd [MR D.I.Y.], with Universiti Malaya's Community Engagement Centre [UMCares] and Faculty of Built Environment, with the support of the Ministry of Education's [MOE] Sports, Co-Curriculum, and Arts Division.