From the Present, to the Future
by Jeyasankar Shanmugapriya Vasubbratha, Chen Tailin, Huang Zixuan
After all the participants took a day to quietly recharge from the constant buzz of activity, today, the air was tinged with anticipation and enthusiasm as the participants of the Explore track returned with rekindled energy. All of them had one mission in mind: Finish coding their robots and get them running smoothly.
What did this mean for the Student Programme Liaisons and Participants? Coding and debugging. A lot of debugging. For the participants who were trying coding for the first time, the constant issues were discouraging — if this is the true essence of coding, is the never-ending trial and error worth it?
Despite the hardships and struggles they have faced, a number of them firmly believed that the feeling of their robots finally working was worth the trouble. Ishani, the Student Programme Liaison tagged to Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School, said “I’m so happy and proud that we finally managed to resolve most of the issues we initially faced; it really makes you more optimistic for what the future holds.”
As we near the end of SIMC2.0, we think of not just the presentations tomorrow, but the future iterations of SIMC2.0 too. What is in store for the next few generations of participants in SIMC2.0, and is there anything that the current participants might want to offer as advice for their juniors?
“SIMC2.0 was an experience that was very unique, so I’d recommend that my juniors give it a shot. It’s very laid-back, and the way nothing is out of the question and help is always available from trainers is amazing… It really opened my eyes to coding.” Renee from Punggol Secondary School recounted. She also added that participants should also consider their commitment levels over the week before joining.
Kaung Khant Hein, a student from Fuhua Secondary School encouraged others to participate in SIMC2.0 in the future and stated, “Some advice I would give is that this event is very worthwhile, and allows others to develop their interests in computer science, and you can also meet adults who are very proficient in their fields of computer science.”
With their seniors rooting for them, prospective participants for the next iteration of SIMC2.0 have nothing to worry about, even though SIMC may seem daunting. And with all the trainers, Student Programme Liaisons, staff and Epigraph rooting for the current participants of SIMC2.0, they have nothing to worry about either — we wish you all the best for the final day!