APU team won 1st place in the Water Vanguards Challenge 2023

From left: Rajveen Kaur, Datin Daria Mathew (WWF-Malaysia Freshwater Team Leader), Dharshini Ramesh Kumar, Chung Wei Qi, and Keong Yan Qi.

Water is essential for life and nature conservation. However, water conservation is a complex problem because several potential causes/drivers can be a hindrance, such as unsustainable consumption patterns, pollution, loss of green cover, and so on.

As such, the WWF-Malaysia Freshwater Conservation organised the Water Vanguards Challenge 2023 to educate the future generation on the importance of water conservation through a study tour and treasure hunt, combined with the challenge held at Putrajaya Wetlands Park from 6th to 8th January 2023.

There was also an ice-breaker session, a visit to Pantai 2 Regional Sewage Treatment Plant, Kampung Kuantan Firefly Park, Sungai Congkak, and Semenyih 2 Water Treatment Plant, as well as the planting of a Berembang tree and learning about water quality monitoring.

(Picture above from left) Keong Yan Qi (studies Intelligent Systems), Chung Wei Qi (Software Engineering), Dharshini Ramesh Kumar (Cybersecurity), and Rajveen Kaur (Financial Technology) from APU emerged as champions at the finish line, taking home RM 800 Touch & Go e-wallet and bookstore voucher.

This is their first time participating in this challenge, and through it, they learned the importance of conserving water and keeping the river clean, as the amount of usable water in the world today is only around 3%, and it is difficult to maintain this percentage. For that reason, they took up this challenge to raise awareness of water conservation by reducing the water footprint.

"The Water Vanguards Challenge is a treasure hunt activity, that focuses solely on water and river conservation activities. Along with the answer sheets, we were given a passport that contained a map with tagged locations of the eight stations. We were tested with questions and activities primarily focusing on the types of botanical plants and their purpose in a wetland, phytoremediation process, types of wetland birds found, water cycle process, nature-based solutions purpose and importance, replication of water filtration process using raw materials, water footprint measures, and purpose of wetlands in achieving water and river conservation targets and goals", said Dharshini, who was the group leader for the APU team.

According to her, they enjoyed participating in this challenge even though the majority of them are in IT-related courses. Nevertheless, the modules they studied are somewhat relevant and applicable to the activities.

"We gained a wealth of knowledge and experience, as well as future career opportunities throughout the challenge. What we once thought was a loose connection between IT and environmental conservation is now clear: Building with Nature (BwN) is the future of technology", she added.

The team are eager to participate in and host future events, as well as to remain committed to combating climate change by collaborating with many other organisations while broadening their learning horizons and embracing sustainability and green practices that benefit our mother earth, as well as influence the youth and hope that future generations will do the same.

About Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU)

The Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) is among Malaysia’s Premier Private Universities. As the First Malaysian University to achieve an overall rating of 5 Stars Plus in the latest QS Stars Rating awards, APU was also announced as among the Highest Rated Emerging Universities in Malaysia, being rated 5-STAR (EXCELLENT Rating) under the latest SETARA Ratings.

APU offers a wide range of technology-focused degree programmes to nurture students into professionals and prepare them for challenging careers and roles in business and society globally. The multi-cultural student community over here comprises 13,000 students from over 130 countries with a 100% employability* rate upon graduation. APU has also established an excellent reputation as an award-winning university, having received over 400 distinguished accolades at both the local and international levels. For more information, please visit www.apu.edu.my.