Promoting mental literacy and STEM at 13th MFotM

Datuk Hong drawing the connection between the promotion of mental literacy and STEM education

Following the success of the 13th Malaysia Festival of the Mind (MFotM) held at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) from 8 to 9 July 2017, the annual empowerment festival made another wave and shed light on the connection between mental literacy and STEM learning at UTAR Kampar Campus from 15 to 16 July 2017.

Invited to launch the festival were Guest of Honour Datuk Ir Hong Lee Pee, UTAR Chancellor Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik. Also present at the launching ceremony were Datin Lim Miau Yong, Toh Puan Ena Ling, UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, UTAR Council Member Hew Fen Yee, UTAR Planning and Development Committee Advisor Tan Sri Hew See Tong and the Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM) committee members.

In his welcome speech, Tun Ling said, “It is indeed heartening to see UTAR and TAR UC join hands with MMLM once again to hold the MFotM to raise the awareness of developing mental literacy. Over the years, MMLM has been actively advocating for mental literacy awareness through various activities, such as events, competitions, talks and workshops. The MFotM is one of the ongoing efforts to encourage the public to engage and optimise their mind’s unlimited potential. Since its inaugural launch in 2007, hundreds and thousands of visitors and participants have benefitted from the various activities, enriching talks and workshops.” He added, “To excel in life, one needs to adapt oneself and face new challenges intelligently and positively. The new challenges require one to find new and creative ways of problem solving.”

Currently the Honorary President of the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET), Datuk Hong expressed his concern over Malaysian students’ declining interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the last decade. “We’re deeply concerned over our school students’ waning interest in learning sciences, particularly on the subjects of maths and physics. Students taking pure science classes are now less than 21 percent compared with 50 percent in the past. We do need more people in STEM fields as they are the future innovators and inventors and such deficiency in talent can be counterproductive,” he said, while stressing STEM learning significantly helps in developing one’s analytical capability and capacity as well as enhancing the logical thinking skills and imaginative power. “These three skills are important attributes to ensure the success of a business or a career either in science or non-science fields. More importantly, these three skills are the essential characteristics of a creator, an inventor and innovator.”

Commending MMLM’s ongoing efforts in promoting mental literacy amongst Malaysians, Datuk Hong also connected the dots between STEM education and mental literacy, “As the Joint Chairman of the Steering Committee for Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF), I’m extremely glad that the MFotM has also become a part of KLESF since 2016. The festival is indeed a platform for the students to learn about their mind and it will also help to enrich the fair’s array of activities to promote students’ interest in STEM.” He also expressed his hope that the engagement with MMLM’s various programmes and activities will allow students to see how versatile the mind can be and acquire sciences learning techniques to grapple with the concepts of maths and physics with ease.

UTAR students staging a grand opening performance

Jointly organised by MMLM, UTAR and TAR UC for the 11th consecutive year, the ‘Great Mind’ - themed 13th MFotM aimed to imprint the importance of mental literacy among the general public and to create greater awareness about the human mind and ways of tapping into and developing one’s brainpower. It also aimed to introduce and to promote various techniques and skills pertaining to the improvement of mental literacy, such as memory skill, thinking skills, creativity, personality profiling, mind mapping, emotional intelligence, brainpower, mind power and other memory management tools.

Tun Ling highlighting the significance of healthy and creative mind 

From left: Prof Chuah, Tun Ling and Datuk Hong launching the 13th MFotM with the “Genetron” created by UTAR Architecture students

Renowned memory-athlete Huang in action

The highlight of the launch was the demonstration of amazing mental feats by China’s famed memory-athlete Huang Shenghua. Huang competed at the World Memory Championship 2014 and emerged as an International Master of Memory (IMM). He subsequently joined China’s popular scientific reality and talent show “The Brain” in the third season and was shot to fame after he continued to impress the judges as well as the audience with his remarkable memory and observation skills.

Within a few minutes, Huang was able to memorise ten rows of 12 binary digits and correctly recite them in sequence. While proving that it was possible to do so, Huang pointed out that the mind could achieve anything it set out to do. “The human brain is more capable than a computer. Only humans can invent while computers, despite their advanced technology, could only replicate what we do. It is also a human invention. Humans are innovative and they can come up with a lot of things. We are also imaginative and there are a lot of possibilities. We need to train our mind. I believe the usage of our mind can be expanded further. I trained my mind daily using different objects. I practice memorising using a deck of cards or random numbers. After these training sessions, my mind will usually have better clarity,” explained Huang, who also delivered a talk titled “Easy Learning, Happy Memory” at the festival to share his tips on memory training.

Tun Ling (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Datuk Hong; while Prof Chuah (right) looks on

Crowd thronging the booths at the two-day festival 

An uplifting flash mob performance by UTAR students

Interaction with virtual reality through direct brain stimulation

The annual two-day empowerment festival also saw the presence of mental arithmetic expert West Wong Woon Chieng, Malaysia Memory Sports Council founder Teo Kim Foo as well as other prolific experts such as Dr Justin Woo, Lau Jin Woon, Kenneth Ch’ng, S. Jeyaraman, Kaygarn Tan, SK Tan, Teoh Poh Yew, Jimmy Yeoh, T. Elanggovan and many more to shed light on the benefits and importance of mental literacy.

Dubbed as Malaysia’s “Human Calculator”, Wong, also a UTAR alumnus, delivered a talk “Building a Smart Brain in the 21st Century” which focused on students solving real world problems instead of being exam-oriented. This can be done by understanding the power of the brain, further using creativity, innovation and the convenience of internet in one’s studies.

As the first Malaysian titleholder of IMM, Teo’s workshop titled “Drive Your Memory, Let It Work for You” (in Mandarin) demystified the myths of having a strong memory. The internationally-acclaimed memory master from Ipoh, Perak guided the participants to enhance their memory for data storage, thus allowing data to be recalled easily for easier learning purpose.

Apart from talks and workshops the exhibition also showcased mind games, magic of science, MENSA admission test and other mental literacy related products. One of the most popular events at the festival was the Green Glade Corner where various types of hands-on activities took place hourly. Some of the activities were the magic show, cup stacking, word puzzles, visual language, board games, riddles and brain teasers, word juxtapoz – mind puzzles, colouring therapy and paper plane workshop.

The puzzle graphic drills the brain

 UTAR Traditional Chinese Medicine students exhibiting best brain foods for brain function, health and memory  

 School students trying some quick mind games

Among the other mind-related talks that were covered during the festivals were “Raising Positive Child with Brain-in-Mind” by SK Tan, “Power Up Your Memory” by Jeyaraman, “Brain Balancing, Exam Go Easy!” by Dr Woo, “Your Finger Prints, Your Destiny” by David Cher, “Mind Map Your Way to Success” by Jeyaraman, “How Memory and Creativity Can Work Better for You” (Mandarin) by Wong Wan Jiun, “The 7 Secrets Rhythm Rewiring The Brain” by Elanggovan, “Business Start-up: The Entrepreneurs Journey” by Yeoh, and “Unleash the Power of the Subconscious Mind” by SK Tan.

  (Clockwise, from top left): Woon Chieng, Huang, Jeyaraman, Wan Jiun, SK Tan, Elanggovan, Cher, Tan, Yeoh, Teo and Woo

The 13th MFotM in Kampar which featured as many as 15 talks and nine workshops along with an exhibition of 38 booths attracted over 2,000 visitors which comprised students, families, teachers, staff and many others. Admission to talks, workshops and exhibition of the festival which ran from 15 to 16 July 2017, was free. Goodie bags and lucky draws with special prizes such as Yokohama tyres and rims were given to the visitors.

The 13th MFotM was proudly sponsored and supported by the LBS Bina Group, YHI (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd - the sole distributor of Yokohama tyres, Bayer Co. (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Top Glove Foundation, Melpac Sdn Bhd, Maju Tmas Sdn Bhd, The Star, Grand Kampar Hotel, Hock Seng Food (M) Sdn Bhd and Aktifotak.

The final leg of this festival will be held from 3 to 5 November 2017 at the MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre in conjunction with KLESF 2017 to intensify the promotion of mental literacy and STEM education.  

To view the video of the 13th MFotM reported by The Star Online, please click here.