THE EDITOR – A student of SDN 1 Pesanggaran Banyuwangi, Felicia Dahayu, has made Indonesia proud on the world stage. Despite attending school far from the city center, at least 60 minutes from the center of Banyuwangi, Felicia won gold in The 9th World Innovative Technology (WIT) Challenge coding competition held at Chonnam National University, South Korea, on 2-3 November 2024.
The student, who lives in Krajan Village, Siliragung, is one of the students from the Smart Gasing math training facilitated by the Banyuwangi Regency Government since March 2023.
This math learning method was developed by Professor Yohanes Surya, an Indonesian physicist and advisor to the Indonesian Physics Olympiad Team/TOFI. Since last year, the Banyuwangi Regency Government has facilitated the training for village children in Banyuwangi with the aim of producing thousands of math champions.
On the anniversary of Banyuwangi in December 2023, Regent Ipuk Fiestiandani honored Felicia as an “Inspirational Citizen”. She was also asked to share her math knowledge at the Faculty of Engineering at Cendrawasih University.
“Very proud. Felicia has not only made Banyuwangi proud, but also Indonesia in the world. Congratulations to Felicia, keep achieving. I hope you can be an inspiration for other students. Coming from a village is not an obstacle to being able to excel worldwide,” said Acting Regent of Banyuwangi Sugirah, Monday (4/11/2024).
Felicia is one of thousands of village children in Banyuwangi who participated in the Smart Gasing training. Her potential has been apparent since the first training.
“She is a complete package. Apart from her good numerical skills, her artistic and cultural skills are also good,” said Dwi Septy Oktavina, coordinator of Smart Gasing Banyuwangi trainers.
Seeing her potential, Felicia was selected by Professor Surya’s team to participate in the Maths Olympiad in Bitung, Sulawesi, last November 2023. At that time, she managed to become a champion.
Since January 2024, Felicia has received special training from Prof. Yohanes Surya’s team to face the Asian Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary School (ASMOPSS).
In between the math training, Felicia was also trained in coding. During the 6-month training, she demonstrated her ability to create a good computer programme (coding).
Then, she was appointed by Professor Yohannes Surya’s team to represent Indonesia at The 9th World Innovative Technology (WIT) Challenge 2024 in Korea. She was dispatched with 5 other representatives to take part in the coding competition. As a result, she won gold in the Junior Coding Level category.
Now, Felicia is focusing on participating in the Asia Science and Mathematics Olympiad for Primary and Secondary School (ASMOPSS), which will be held this year. She was trained in advanced math up to a fairly high level.
Head of the Banyuwangi Education Office Suratno said the Gasing method has proven successful in improving the math skills of Banyuwangi children. Apart from Felicia, the regency also continues to produce and prepare new champions in the field of mathematics.
“Currently, three other Banyuwangi students are being prepared to participate in the Gasing Olympiad in November. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more young talents from Banyuwangi who have good numerical skills,” he said.
