20th Toyota Eco Youth Competition Kicks Off With New Format
The 20th Toyota Eco Youth (TEY) has kicked off with a new format this year. Organised and managed by UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) for the past 20 years, TEY has been a leading programme to cultivate environment consciousness and innovation among youths. This competition style programme has involved 258 schools, 1,910 secondary school students and 762 teachers from around Malaysia.
Various themes have been introduced with one common goal: molding an environmentally conscious society of the future.
“The Toyota Eco Youth has been running continuously for 20 years and we hope that those who have participated continue to grow their creativity help propagate a greener future for all of us,” said Akio Takeyama, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor.
The 20th edition of TEY sees UMWT once again collaborating with the Ministry of Education for the state and national level competitions. In addition for this year, the Leaderonomics Community also joins as a working partner.
The competition is open to secondary school students aged 13 – 16 years old, and there is no limit to schools’ participation. For this year, 283 team registrations from 177 schools were received. However, unlike previous years’ competitions which were completed within a year, the concept for this year’s TEY programme will span three years.
For the 20th TEY, the winners will return as facilitator in the 2nd year to mentor the new batch and establish a TEY Apprentice Online Club. The winners will then continue with proof of concept and Intensive Prototype Development.
In view of the current pandemic situation, the official launch of TEY was held online, following the invitation for registrations which was announced in November 2019. A maximum of 16 teams from schools around the
country was planned.
The teams for the national-level competition announced by UMWT Executive Director of Sales, Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zain, are:
- SMK Taman Rinting 2, Masai, JOHOR
- SMK Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, KELANTAN
- Maktab Tentera DiRaja (MTD), KUALA LUMPUR
- SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, KUALA LUMPUR
- SMK Mutiara, WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN LABUAN
- SMK Tinggi St. David, Bukit Baru, MELAKA
- SMA Persekutuan Labu, Seremban, NEGERI SEMBILAN
- SMK Air Putih, Kuantan, PAHANG
- SMK Paya Besar, Kuantan, PAHANG
- SMK Berapit, Bukit Mertajam, PULAU PINANG
- SMK Majakir, Papar, SABAH
- Vision Secondary School, Tawau, SABAH
- SMK Chung Hua, Miri, SARAWAK
- SMK St. Anthony, Sarikei, SARAWAK
- SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya, SELANGOR
- SMK Saujana Utama, Sg. Buloh, SELANGOR
Encik Mohd Shamsor also introduced Agent M (Mobility), consisting of 3 – 4 members per team. Each Agent M has to select a C.A.S.E. (Clothing, Apps, Smart Tools or Eco-Friendly Vehicles) and present solutions to environmental issues. Their solutions would be presented in video format for judging and public viewing.
The format of this programme will be completely online, and the 16 teams for TEY will be equipped and trained with project management skills that incorporate Toyota’s Problem Solving Methodology. The teams will be required to build a prototype solution based on the theme of ‘Reimagining Mobility’. This theme depicts the creation of safe and eco-friendly mobility solutions for the nation with a dual-pronged approach to ensure that they are both theoretically and practically comprehensive which includes the interactive e-learning lessons and workshops.
The final judging phase will require the team to showcase their progress through social media and livestream channels. Incidentally, the prize money has been doubled with the total pool of cash prizes increased to RM64,000.
“Since the inception of Toyota Eco Youth, UMW Toyota Motor has spent over RM7 million on the program,” said Ravindran K., President of UMW Toyota Motor. “In spite of pandemic, we will not diminish our support for such programs as they are an important part of our Corporate Social Responsibility.”
For further information on the 2020/2021 Toyota Eco Youth Program and updates, you can visit www.toyota.com.my/toyotaecoyouth.
