Kenyans Bag Gold And Silver At The International Standards Olympiad

Two Kenyan teams emerged top winners at the concluded 15th International Standards Olympiad after winning gold and silver medals.

The two teams made up of three students each and one guidance teacher, from Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj School (SCLP Samaj School), were feted for developing the most creative international standard on the autonomous delivery robot – a mobile platform which transports a load from one place to another, without a human driver.

Team Viwango Vyetu comprised of all boys, Vishal Aggarwal, Ibrahim Kamal Ahmed, and Priyen Devraj Pindoria, and team Fembots comprised of all girls, Isha Shilen Jobanputra, Prajna Prakesh, and Vruti Hirani won the gold and silver medals, respectively.

“KEBS continues to support national and international competitions as they are useful platforms for young people in learning institutions to participate. The Olympiad creates a dynamic, exciting opportunity for numerous students from around the world, aged between 13 – 18 years to explore the world of standardization. The discussions, ideas, and solutions offered through standardization will help in solving common challenges not only affecting Kenya but the entire world,” said Lt Col (Rtd.) Bernard Njiraini, Managing Director, KEBS, handed the awards.

The Kenyan teams competed against 18 other teams in the high school category (age 16-18 years); from Singapore (2), Korea (11), China (1), and Indonesia (4) in a virtual event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Other participants included the middle school (age 13-15 years) category who were tasked to develop a standard for personal mobility – a class of compact and motorized vehicles for transporting individuals.

Organized jointly by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) and the Korean Standards Association (KSA) the competition not only tests the knowledge of standardization from a theoretical perspective, but also the creativity, scientific knowledge, and technology of the participants. The contest is also supported by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The competition is curated in three steps that are completed in five hours including the announcement of the project question, a brief introduction of the task, and development of the standard.  Thereafter, the teams are evaluated against the adequacy of international document format, English expression, feasibility, the specificity of the proposal, presentation materials, and skills.

Previously, Kenya won a silver medal in the High School category with an all-boys team and won the overall ISO Special award which was being introduced for the first time. The award is decided by the Evaluation Committee of the winning team or individuals in consideration of their enthusiasm and activeness.