KUALA LUMPUR, 9 MAY 2022 — Exciting news for secondary school students across Malaysia. MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Bhd (“MR D.I.Y.”) in partnership with Universiti Malaya’s Community & Sustainability Centre (UMCares), is launching the 6th edition of its popular ‘DIY Made Simple’ annual competition.
This competition, supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE), aims to inspire students to understand and appreciate the positive impact a do-it-yourself (DIY) culture can have on a country and its communities. The competition provides students with a platform to express their creativity by exploring different DIY themes.
This year's theme, ‘Facing The New Normal: School Transformation’ calls for students to find ways to improve their school facilities whilst adapting to the new normal, by initiating do-it-yourself projects using recycled materials.
Announcing the launch of the competition, MR D.I.Y. Group Chairman, Dato’ Azlam Shah Alias said, “‘DIY Made Simple’ is more than simply a competition. It inspires the sharing of ideas on how to adopt more environment-friendly practices, promotes a strong culture of upgrading and upcycling, and ultimately results in sustainable, empowered communities who are well equipped for the future. It is one of the many ways MR D.I.Y. adds value to the communities in which we operate, and is very much in line with our sustainability goals.
“We would like to express our thanks to UMCares for once again partnering us on this journey, and to the Ministry of Education for their endorsement of the programme. Their support has enabled us to upskill 865 secondary school students from across the country since the competition was launched in 2017, and it gets bigger, better, and more exciting each year. With Malaysia now in the endemic phase and with schools having reopened, we look forward to seeing creative, out-of-the-box ideas that can turn waste into something useful and sustainable for the betterment of schools,” said Dato’ Azlam.
The 2022 edition of the ‘DIY Made Simple’ competition is currently accepting entries. Students interested in participating have until 20 May 2022 to submit their video entries. A panel of judges comprising representatives from Universiti Malaya (UM), MR D.I.Y., and the MOE will evaluate these submissions and shortlist 98 teams (7 schools from each state) for a proposal and prototype presentation between 31 May - 21 July 2022. Eighteen finalists will then be selected to work with lecturers from UM’s Faculty of Built Environment to transform their school ideas into reality for the Grand Finale. The final phase takes place between 22 July - 25 Sept 2022, with the winners announced in October.
Commenting on the competition, Universiti Malaya Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Professor Ir. Dr. Shaliza Ibrahim said that the ‘DIY Made Simple’ competition connects academia, industry, community, and government, while indirectly serving as a platform for knowledge sharing with school communities.
“We received positive feedback from school communities as they witnessed a remarkable impact after participating in this competition. What is more interesting is that this competition gives students opportunities to work together in a project environment. This event also proves that the cooperation between multiple organisations; universities, government, industry, and the communities can be implemented successfully with the full commitment from all the parties involved.
“It is aligned with UM’s mission to advance knowledge and learning through quality projects and education for the nation and humanity, and to achieve this, we intensify our efforts to enhance the university’s visibility through internationalisation, collaboration and partnerships with strategic industries and stakeholders,” she added.
In December 2021, MR D.I.Y. was admitted to the globally renowned FTSE4Good Index 2021, a reflection of the home improvement retailer’s efforts to continuously make a positive impact on the communities in which they operate. The DIY Made Simple competition is one of several initiatives MR D.I.Y. has launched as part of its sustainability efforts.
Others include #DIY4Sungai, a campaign designed to ensure that tourist areas adjacent to rivers and waterways are cleaned up, rehabilitated, and restored, ready to welcome tourists again, and #DIY4Universities that include #DIY4UM and #DIY4UTAR, a programme in partnership with local universities to help more than 15,000 students to prepare for the return to campus post-pandemic.
For more information on MR D.I.Y., visit its website, www.mrdiy.com , and social media, Facebook, and Instagram.
