YBhg Dato' Ir Dr Gue See Sew, giving his opening speech.
Ms Srisetiowati Seiful, giving a speech about the objective of the competition.
YBhg Dato' Ir Dr Gue See Sew (4th from left) and Mr Allen Chan (2nd from left), each holding the ASMOPS and TAR University College banners taken from the lions' mouths, while Mr Yeoh Hock Seng (leftmost), Head of Division of Foundation in Arts, Centre for Pre-University Studies ('CPUS'), Ms Looi Li Chin (3rd from left), Head of CPUS, Ms Srisetiowati Seiful (3rd from right), Mr Chan Kum Wing (2nd from right), Vice President, TAR University College, and Mr Chong Ling Hai (rightmost), Head of Division of A Level Arts, CPUS, look on.
The contingent from Philippines.
The contingent from Thailand.
The contingent from Taiwan.
The contingent from Indonesia.
The Malaysian contingent.
The mixed cultural performance showcased during the opening ceremony.
The group of VIPs being shown an experiment by CPUS students at TAR University College booth.
The grand opening ceremony for the 5th Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary School ('ASMOPS') was held on 22 November 2015 at University College Hall, Kuala Lumpur Main Campus. The ceremony graced by YBhg Dato' Ir Dr Gue See Sew, Member of the Board of Governors, TAR University College, was also attended by Ms Srisetiowati Seiful, representing Prof Yohanes Surya, the founder of ASMOPS, and Mr Allen Chan, Chairman, Organising Committee, Olympic Edu Sdn Bhd. The event, held from 21 – 25 November 2015, is the first to be held outside Indonesia and in Malaysia.
This time, the Olympiad saw 88 participants of Form four students comprising 22 teams from 5 countries, namely Malaysia (8 teams), Taiwan (4 teams), Thailand (4 teams), Indonesia (4 teams) and the Philippines (2 teams). The competition was conducted in 2 rounds. Round 1 was for the theoretical examination on individuals and Round 2 was for the experiment/exploration examination on teams.
The goal of this annual competition is to encourage young students to embrace science and math from an early age, and to enhance the development of international contacts among Asian countries in the field of primary school education especially in science and mathematics education.
The opening ceremony saw a launch gambit with two lions prancing around on stage and finally unveiling two banners, one showing ASMOPS and another on TAR University College which were taken from their mouths and held by YBhg Dato' Ir Dr Gue See Sew and Mr Allen Chan to officiate the event. Mixed cultural performances were also showcased intermittently throughout the opening ceremony.
Ms Srisetiowati Seiful was delighted with the impressive turnout of students from each of the 5 countries. "The ASMOPS 2015 is done in such a way to create a fun environment where fun learning can take place. Students can gain experience competing at the international level, make new friends and cultivate skills in working as a team and at the end of it all, we will have more and more mathematicians and scientists in our midst," she said.
YBhg Dato' Ir Dr Gue See Sew, Member of the Board of Governors, TAR University College, in his speech said: "TAR UC fully supports the objectives of ASMOPS 2015 which are aligned towards the Ministry of Education's focus in strengthening the quality of STEM education to produce well-equipped and resourceful students who are able to succeed in a world shaped by the advancement in science. This is also in line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, which summarises that through quality education, Malaysia is committed to producing a workforce who will thrive in a STEM driven economy to pave the way for Malaysia to be a developed nation by 2020".
Besides the competition, an exhibition fair was also showcased. There were 10 booths altogether consisting of a variety of companies promoting educational books and items. TAR University College also set up a booth there to attend to visitors who would like to enquire about the institution and its programmes as well as showing some experiments conducted by students from CPUS.
