KLESF Mentorship Programme

Some 180 students participated in the nine-week KLESF Mentorship Programme (KMP) at Kuen Cheng High School (KCHS) under the guidance of 42 student mentors from UTAR.

As one of the core components of the annual Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF), the programme is held throughout the year to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and raise interest in innovation and creativity among school students.

Held from February to April 2016, this KMP focused on one of the STEM tracks — Biology. Students learned through hands-on experiments such as starch and DNA extraction, cheese making, and several biochemical tests.

Present at the KMP closing ceremony at KCHS on 23 April 2016 were ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET) President Ir Academician Datuk Hong Lee Pee, UTAR Vice-President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, KCHS Principal Madam Gooi Swee Gaik, as well as the KMP participants and mentors.

Datuk Hong remarked, “STEM is at the heart of this era of big data. Majoring in STEM fields doesn’t mean one must become a scientist or an engineer. Studying STEM enables us to pick up analytical and logical thinking skills through the understanding of science. More importantly, innovation is the key to optimising both personal and national development.”

Madam Gooi said, “I am grateful to be part of the KMP. KCHS truly appreciates UTAR for providing such an enriching learning experience to our students through a variety of interesting STEM activities together with the efforts of many UTAR lecturers, trainers, and student mentors. Our students love the KMP and we look forward to more meaningful learning programmes in the future.”

“Besides training the KCHS students to better understand STEM subjects, this KMP is also a precious learning opportunity for the fellow student mentors from UTAR,” said Prof Lee. He added that the KMP project outcomes will be exhibited in KLESF: The Fair 2016 from 4 to 6 November 2016 at the MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC).

Browse http://www.klengsc.net/klesf/index.jsp?fcatid=24915 for more information on KLESF: The Fair 2016.

Students making cheese under their mentors’ guidance

Students explaining the Magic Balloon experiment to Prof Lee and Madam Gooi

From left: Madam Gooi, Datuk Hong, and Prof Lee at the KCHS KMP closing ceremony