Do you think you’d be able to explain your final year project in only 20 images? Oh, and also present it in an entertaining way in less than seven minutes while competing against peers from public and private universities?
Well, Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biotechnology student Fathima Zahraa Ozeer did all of that, and was promptly named champion of the Malaysian Society of Microbiology (MSM) Undergraduate PechaKucha Challenge 2021!
Zahraa’s video came out top in an incredibly competitive field, which included public institutions like Universiti Malaya, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and many more.
This was Zahraa’s second big win in less than a year, after she won the IUMW Biotech Talk competition last December. She’s definitely carving out a name for herself among biotech students in Malaysia!
The MSM Undergraduate PechaKucha Challenge is a new virtual competition sponsored by the Malaysian Society for Microbiology.
This challenge is initiated as an effort to recognise the quality of microbiology related research amongst undergraduates of Malaysian universities in light of the extensive digital transformation in teaching and learning in universities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
So what’s with the name?
Well, PechaKucha means “chit chat” in Japanese. It is a creative storytelling platform created by two renowned architects during night-time get-togethers in Tokyo in 2003.
Today, PechaKucha is used worldwide as a platform to create powerful, visually compelling stories that move audiences in less than 7 minutes. A PechaKucha or 20×20 presentation contains 20 slides, with each slide shown for 20 seconds, for a presentation of exactly 6 minutes, 40 seconds.
The challenge was open to all undergraduate students in Malaysia who have submitted their Final Year Project thesis related to microbiology in 2020 and 2021. A total of 24 students took part.
Zahraa’s winning presentation was titled “Molecular Identification of Anti-quorum Sensing Bacteria Isolated from Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve”.
Asked how she managed to pull it off, Zahraa said it all came down to persistence.
“In my opinion, I had an edge because I did my video in one take. That was hard to do though. Just like the other competition, this video took me 2 days again.”
“But I was really shocked and grateful to win, especially when I saw how strong my competitors were. I’m so thankful to my supervisor, QIU, and everyone who supported me!”
Well, we all thank you for winning yet another competition and putting us in the limelight again. Keep it going Zahraa!
