Albany Senior High School is proud to celebrate the outstanding achievement of 2025 graduate Yahya Hayat, who has been awarded an Outstanding Scholarship in Technology – placing him among the very top students in Aotearoa.
A deep thinker and natural problem solver, Yahya demonstrated exceptional commitment throughout his time at ASHS, completing his three years of senior high school in just two. His ability to think critically, work independently, and pursue meaningful challenges set him apart early on.
Over his two years at ASHS, Yahya studied Digital Technology with kaiako Dusung Jueng, where he consistently showed strong curiosity and analytical thinking. In 2025, he undertook a highly ambitious Scholarship project focused on improving the efficiency of goal-setting conversations in high schools.
Through his research, Yahya identified a common challenge faced by teachers – managing multiple demands during student meetings, including transcribing conversations, entering information into systems, and coaching students at the same time. In response, he designed an innovative AI-based application to support this process, enabling conversations to be captured, key information organised, and documentation supported in real time.
Yahya worked closely with his stakeholder, Hamish Chalmers – his tutor teacher and a Deputy Principal at ASHS – throughout the project. Hamish provided extensive mentoring, feedback, and guidance across the year, including acting as a critical reviewer of Yahya’s technical scholarship report.
“Yahya produced an incredible piece of work for his Digital Technology Scholarship project. At times, I found myself wondering if I was reading a legitimate report written for a software development company. His thinking and approach to developing his AI solution, evident in our many discussions both within and beyond the project, felt years beyond that of a typical secondary school student. He’s also a really humble, all-round great person”, says Hamish.
What makes this achievement particularly special is the way Yahya brought together learning from across his Specialist Subject, Tutorial, and Impact Project experiences. His work reflects the kind of interdisciplinary thinking and real-world problem solving that sits at the heart of learning at ASHS.
Each year, around 12,000 students across Aotearoa study Technology subjects. Yahya’s Outstanding Scholarship places him among just nine students nationwide to receive this top award – and among the very top students in Digital Technology and Computer Science.
Yahya is now studying Computer Science at the University of Auckland, where we are confident he will continue to explore innovative ideas and create meaningful solutions for the future.
