Um Radio Astronomer Crowned National Champion At Famelab 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Universiti Malaya (UM) radio astronomer, Afiq Abdul Hamid was recently crowned as Malaysia’s National Champion for one of the world’s biggest science communication competitions, Famelab 2023.

The competition held at Sunway University, Selangor, on Oct 20 saw Afiq emerged victorious against 10 other contestants nationwide in a remarkable display of astrophysical knowledge and captivating stage presence with his presentation, ‘Making Sense of The Universe Through Multimessenger Astronomy’.

According to a statement released by Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Afiq won a cash prize of RM5,000 and the honour of representing Malaysia in the online FameLab International competition.

“Participants are challenged to deliver a three-minute presentation to convey complex scientific concepts to a diverse audience through innovative and creative means,” it said.

FameLab was started by the Cheltenham Science Festival in the United Kingdom in 2005 which seeks to find and nurture the best young science communicators.

Each participant must present their science topic in just three minutes, captivating audiences and engagingly conveying complex ideas, and every presentation is judged according to the golden rules of the Three Cs: content, clarity and charisma.

Organised by MIGHT and supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and Sunway University as the venue partner, FameLab has been running for eight successful years in Malaysia.

It was brought to Malaysia in 2015 to address the communication gap between scientists and the public and inspire future scientists while increasing public understanding of complex scientific information concerning their daily lives.

-- BERNAMA