JAZRO Cup 2025 unites rural students in robotics competition
The JAZRO Cup 2025 has concluded, recognising young talent in robotics and highlighting participation from a majority of rural schools across Malaysia.
The competition brought together 1,200 students from 143 schools, with 61.5% of those schools located in rural areas. The event invited students to take part in coding and robotics challenges, and culminated in a national final hosted in Cyberjaya, where 319 students from over 70 schools competed. The JAZRO Cup aims to provide a national platform that bridges the gap in STEM education between urban and rural communities.
National reach
Students from six regional zones – Sabah, Sarawak, East Coast, North, South, and Central – participated in the two-month-long competition. Both primary and secondary school teams competed across coding and no-code categories, demonstrating technical ability and creative problem-solving across a range of backgrounds.
The high participation from rural teams was described by organisers as a significant milestone in providing equal opportunity in STEM. The event sought to show that, given the platform, students from differing regions could perform equally in science and technology challenges. The collaboration was supported by partnerships with the Ministry of Education and several industry organisations.
A platform for equal opportunity
Ir. Dzulfarqeish Zainuddin, Chief Executive Officer of JAZRO, reflected on the competition's role in nurturing future talent from all parts of Malaysia:
"The JAZRO Cup is not just a competition; it is a platform of equal opportunity. When rural and urban students are on the same platform, competing with the same passion and creativity, we can feel that we are building the future generation of Malaysia's innovative ecosystem. That's our experience!"
Award highlights
The national finals included a series of special awards. The Coding Genius Award was presented to the rural school team from SM Islam Hira' & Maahad Tahfiz Al-Quran Hira', Kuala Selangor, for their exceptional programming skills and efficient problem-solving abilities. Their performance was recognised with a cash prize.
The Gobi Innovator Award was awarded to SMK Seksyen 5 Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, a team that demonstrated an ability to program complex robots while clearly explaining the rationale behind their design choices. Both award-winning teams received a prize of MYR RM500 each.
Alongside these recognitions, top prizes were awarded in each main competition category: Roboblitz, Blazebot, Robot Combat, Byte Droid, Storm Code, and Game of Drone Mission. These awards served to acknowledge a broad array of skills, from technical execution to creative problem-solving and teamwork.
Industry and institutional support
The JAZRO Cup received support from the Ministry of Education and several organisational partners, including Muslim Pro/Bitsmedia, Spritzer, MyDigital, Petrosains, and Yayasan MR DIY. These collaborations were designed to expand STEM engagement and to enhance future opportunities for participating students across Malaysia.
The event organisers have stated that this initiative is part of an ongoing movement to inspire and support Malaysia's future technology leaders by eliminating barriers that separate rural and urban educational experiences in science and technology.
