''Wittaya Subphayuth'' (also spelled ''Vittaya'', , , ) is a Thai educational

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

initiated and sponsored by the

Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology The Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) is a Thai state agency, founded in 1972. Its responsibilities include the development of national science and mathematics curricula, and sponsorship of science education, as ...

(IPST) and produced by

Workpoint Entertainment Workpoint Entertainment Public Company Limited is a Thai media company. The company and its subsidiaries do business in television production, film making, event management, animation, publishing, event marketing and recording. The company was fo ...

under the vision and direction of IPST. The programme features competitions between upper-secondary school students to create a machine to perform various tasks. It was broadcast weekly on Channel 5, for two seasons, from 2011 to 2013.

Production

''Wittaya Subphayuth'' is produced by Workpoint Entertainment in cooperation with its main sponsor, the Thai Ministry of Education's

(IPST). The programme's stated objectives include to promote science education and to publicize the scientific potential of Thai students. It was broadcast weekly on Saturdays at 18:00 on Channel 5, beginning on 5 March 2011. It was shown for two seasons, the last episode being broadcast on 23 February 2013.

Format

The programme features upper-secondary student representatives from forty-eight schools countrywide, in teams of three, competing in

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

s. Each episode consists of a match between two schools, whose teams are assigned to design and build a

machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

to complete a specific task, sometimes in

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), better known as Rube Goldberg (), was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated ...

fashion. For example, the problem for the episode broadcast on 27 August 2011 was to determine the weight of a

tuk-tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

using a regular market weighing scale. The programme is presented by Nattee Kosolpisit. Each episode consists of four sections: two showing each team's construction of the machine, one showing the competitors' presentations of their machines' concepts, and one showing actual application of the machines. The teams are scored depending on their success in completing the task, as well as by audience votes and by a panel of three or four judges, depending on the round. The two regular judges are Surachate Limkumnerd and Worawarong Rakreungdet, physicists at

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, respectively.

Reception and results

''Wittaya Subphayuth'' won the Best Game or Quiz Programme category in the 2011

Asian Television Awards The Asian Television Awards, founded in 1996, is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, it comprises 56 categories across news, documentaries and curre ...

, beating ''India Minute to Win It'' Season 1 (Episode 2) and Workpoint's other nominee ''Ratcharod Ma Koey''. It also won Thailand's Golden Television Award in the general educational programme category. The first season, which concluded on 10 March 2012, was won by students from the

Prince Royal's College The Prince Royal's College () is a private Christian school serving the education needs of over 6,000 students per year in grades kindergarten through 12th grade in Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. History Source: The beginning Durin ...

, Chiang Mai.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

Programme page at Workpoint Entertainment website
including videos Thai game shows Television series by Workpoint Entertainment 2011 Thai television series debuts 2013 Thai television series endings Channel 5 (Thailand) original programming Thai-language television shows