Malaysia wins FameLab International Final 2018
SITI Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah, or Kye, a 33-year old biological science lecturer from Malaysia, was crowned the 2018 FameLab International Champion at the recent Cheltenham Science Festival. She successfully competed against 27 science communicators from across the world.
Kye represented Malaysia, where she works as a lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her winning talk focused on tuberculosis control and she convinced the judges through her calm engaging presence on stage, her fine story-telling skills and her clarity of content. She is the second Malaysian FameLab International Champion after Professor Dr Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam won the title in 2016.
The final was held in front of a live audience of hundreds at the Arena in Cheltenham, United Kingdom. The judges included Vivienne Parry (science writer and broadcaster), Clifford Johnson (Professor in Physics and Astronomy, author and science communicator) and Farrah Nazir (Acting Creative and Partnerships Lead, Wellcome Trust).
Kye said afterwards: “When I get on the stage and I am about to speak and have dropped all of that anxiety and nerves and just commit to that moment, it is really quite magical. Being able to have that connection with the audience is great.”
International final judge Parry said: “People think that being a good science communicator is about being extrovert. But actually what Kye showed us was that quiet authority and stunning clarity of content is the thing that really communicates best to a very wide audience.”
Ali Mawle, director of education for Cheltenham Festivals, said: “FameLab unites the world through a passion for science and for sharing it with the public. Kye embodied the 3 Cs — content, clarity and charisma; she and the other finalists demonstrated how much FameLab has raised the bar for science communication since it began in 2015.”
In Malaysia, FameLab is co-organised by the British Council and The Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology.
The video of Kye’s winning talk is available on the FameLab YouTube channel: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMBfeevRIyw