Team UCSI wins Chem-E-Car Competition 2018

UCSI University has won the grand prize in the 13th Malaysia Chem-E Car Competition 2018 for the first time, besting 72 teams in a grueling competition.

Coming up with a game-changing chemical reaction, team UCSI - comprising Engineering students Koh Wee Siang, Thi Shiki, Chandra Wijaya and Neoh Yu Xiang – did enough to edge out Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia in a nail-biting final.

All the teams worked hard to prove that their own shoebox-sized car, which was to be powered by a chemical energy source, was the best but team UCSI outdid all the others.

“It was a close final seeing that the team from Indonesia managed to hit the ball into the side goal post. However, our car was the only one able to move with greater impact and was well-aligned to hit the ball into the middle goal post which is around two times smaller than the side goal posts,”said Thi Shiki, one of team UCSI’s members.

“Moreover, it was a tough challenge as the competition has been going on continuously for 13 years and as such, our competitors who may have joined at an earlier stage would have had more experience on how to win. It was not an easy feat at all to beat them,”she added.

Team UCSI conducted extensive research the previous year as well as conducted trial and error experiments in preparation for the competition to justify which chemical reaction was most suitable for their design.

But it was more than just a display of skills and creativity. The USCI team showed that determination and persistence truly pay off.

“Our strategy was to use the steadiest and a more conventional method as opposed to being innovative as we wanted to control the performance of the car confidently. We were slightly nervous when we saw other groups with innovative power mechanisms and great car designs. But we faced our fears and focused on winning,” she said.

“We truly felt an overwhelming sense of happiness about our achievement,” said Thi Shiki.  

“We are extremely thankful for the guidance from our UCSI advisor Mohd Fauzi Zanil who helped us build our research skills through rigorous assignments in class,” she said.

Team UCSI spoke of how in class, also, they were given the freedom to choose their methods and challenge themselves. Instead of being spoon-fed, they had to do their part in contributing to existing knowledge.

Thi Shiki was also one of the UCSI students chosen to pursue research in DNA nanotechnology at Tsinghua University, widely regarded as the best university in mainland China.