#CodingLabStudents: Ng Zhi Qing Yownah, 12, Gold Award Winner, HCIC 2025
Meet Yownah, Gold Award winner at HCIC 2025, poetry lover, and coder!
At just 12 years old, Ng Zhi Qing Yownah from Nan Hua Primary School has already made remarkable strides in his coding journey. His curiosity, creativity, and determination recently led him to win the Gold Award at the Hwa Chong Infocomm Challenge 2025. Whether it’s building games, solving challenging problems, or simply exploring new ideas, Yownah is always ready to take on the next challenge. His dedication shows that coding is not just about skill but also about heart and resilience.
One of three students from his school to embrace the challenge, Yownah poured in hours of preparation. Earning the Gold award reflected not just his skill, but his dedication.
“I learned that working hard at something will more often than not benefit myself one way or another.”
Congratulations on winning an award at the HCIC! How did you feel about your achievement?
I am happy to have achieved the Gold Award as I worked very hard for it!
How was your HCIC experience? What have you learnt? What was the best part of it?
I learned that working hard at something will more often than not benefit myself one way or another. As one of only three pupils from my primary school to have taken part, my willingness to step out of my comfort zone and try something new is what led me to new insights into what I could achieve if I only tried.
What is the biggest challenge you had during HCIC, and how did you overcome it?
When asked about his biggest challenge during HCIC, Yownah didn’t mention the questions or the programming. Instead, he candidly shared: “My brain kept making me nervous and made me queasy before, during, and after the competition. But I realised that since I have put in so much hard work and my teachers have helped me so much, I must make something out of all that effort.”
It’s not easy for anyone, let alone a young student, to push through such nerves — but Yownah did. In doing so, he learned that “working hard at something will more often than not benefit myself one way or another.” This ability to face not just technical hurdles, but also personal ones, is what truly defines his achievement!
Yownah’s creativity shone through as he achieved the Judges’ Choice (Most Creative) Award in the Scratch Category when he was 8, and he has made many more achievements ever since!
Tell me about yourself:
Outside of the digital world, Yownah is a multi-talented creative. When asked about hobby, he excitedly shared: “Coding, reading across various genres, playing video games, writing poetry and literature, debating with AI and writing joke SCP entries.”
How did you start coding? What do you like about coding? How has coding made a difference in your life?
My coding journey started when my cousin introduced Scratch to me when I was in Primary 1. I then started learning more about coding by myself. Coding kills the boredom for me. I like being able to create games and apps.
How did you get started at Coding Lab?
From the spark of curiosity when his cousin introduced him to Scratch, he credits: “My parents brought me there and excellent teachers like Ms. Thinzar and Ms. Vaishnavi really helped me a lot in my journey.”
Yownah explored mathematics and infinity at the National Taiwan Science Education Centre.
What are your future coding aspirations?
I have a detailed plan of creating a certain interactive map and analysis of my primary school, which is only accessible to students. This is a way of giving back to the school which has nurtured and developed me, allowing me to build my dreams for the past 6 years. I have not decided on my future occupation, but I'm thinking of being a software engineer.
Lastly, what advice would you give to young coders who want to participate in HCIC?
If you want to get Platinum, they are looking for full marks or very close to full marks. Don't bank on that last part. More often than not, if you do not get full marks, you are not getting Platinum. It may be difficult, but as long as you do your best to prepare, you have a good chance!
At Coding Lab, we’re honoured to be part of Yownah’s journey. From a curious Primary 1 student to an HCIC Gold Award winner, his growth reflects the creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills we aim to nurture in every young coder. Stories like his inspire us to continue nurturing the next generation of tech leaders. Our mission is to empower children to reach their fullest potential through code—and we hope that Yownah’s journey will motivate you to invest in your child’s future through coding education!
Yownah started attending P202 - App Inventor 2 class at Coding Lab when he was barely 10 years old and advanced his way to our DSA - Direct School Admission by the time he was 12. He was awarded the Gold Award at the Hwa Chong Infocomm Challenge (HCIC) 2025.
Our #CodingLabStudents blogs feature our ambitious students and their ongoing coding journeys – be it the budding coder or advanced Python Pro, we appreciate each and every single one’s efforts as they progress to greater heights. 🌱
Coding Lab offers an award-winning curriculum specially for ages 5 to 18 – check out our courses to begin your own coding journey today!
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