KLESF: The Fair 2017

From left: Prof Chuah, Datuk Raduan, Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy, Datuk Hong, Datuk Mohd Yusoff, Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin and Dr Tan at the opening ceremony of the KLESF: The Fair 2017

With the goal to encourage school students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, the Kuala Lumpur Engineering and Science Fair (KLESF) staged another comeback at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC) from 3 to 5 November 2017.

The KLESF: The Fair 2017 is a significant initiative which encompasses various programmes and activities with the aim to promote interest in STEM particularly among primary and secondary school students. The fair was open to the public, with free admission.

Align with its objective, the fair was jointly organised by ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET), UTAR, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM).

Officiating the opening ceremony of the KLESF: The Fair 2017 was Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department-cum-the minister in charge of MIGHT Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy binti Haji Shukri. Also present at the opening ceremony were MIGHT Chairman Tan Sri Dr Ir Ahmad Tajuddin Ali; KLESF Steering Committee Chairman Ir Academician Datuk Hong Lee Pee; KLESF Steering Committee Co-Chairman and MIGHT Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman; AAET and UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik; IEM President Ir Dr Tan Yean Chin; National Council of Professors (MPN) President Prof Datuk Dr Raduan Che Rose; KLESF Organising Committee Chairman and UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei; invited guests, partners, sponsors, schools, universities, participants and the public.

Datuk Hong speaking about the purpose of KLESF

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Datuk Hong emphasised, “It is the KLESF’s aspiration to promote children’s interests in STEM education, to train the educators and to raise public awareness on the importance of STEM in socio-economic, well-being and sustainable development. We also believe the fair is a good learning platform for the students to explore new challenges and discoveries. The activities will provide networking opportunities for the schools, educators, industries as well as the public and private sectors to share information and experience on projects, extra-curriculum and good practices in the STEM field. I would also like to take this opportunity to urge the parents to join us in encouraging STEM learning to their children. It is crucial for all of us to realise the potential of STEM in leading our children to their future careers, particularly as we are about to enter the fourth industrial revolution.”

Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin emphasising on the importance of STEM education

Echoing Datuk Hong’s opening remark, Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin underlined the importance of promoting STEM education to match the needs and challenges of the future industry. He said, “KLESF is in line with the country’s aspiration to become a more competitive nation and to progress further in many aspects such as innovation, creativity and community development. It is important for everyone in the country to understand what the future holds for our children upon the arrival of the fourth industrial revolution. We will see the transformations that affect all sectors with the rise of more advanced technology such as robotics, artificial intelligence and Internet of things (IoT). Therefore, there are many challenges ahead and we need to equip our children with the necessary skills to cater to the future needs through this kind of educational platform with support from all parties.”

Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy addressing STEM’s roles in facing future challenges

Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri said in her keynote address, “STEM education creates critical thinkers, increases science literacy and enables the next generation of innovators. Innovation leads to new and improvised products and processes that sustain our economy. Innovation and science literacy highly depend on knowledge in the STEM areas. It is clear that the majority of the jobs in the future will require a basic understanding of maths and science. Now, the national transformation initiatives or TN50 are actively being implemented for long-term development of the country. Malaysia’s aspiration towards TN50 is comprehensive, encompassing economic performance, creativity, innovation and the well-being of the community. Therefore, Malaysia’s ability in the science, technology and innovation relies on our shoulders in order to overcome challenges of the future as well as to become a developed country.”

As KLESF: The Fair 2017 set its fourth comeback, it was more interactive and fun with more interesting activities for parents, students and the public to familiarise themselves with STEM and its related activities. This fair also received active participation, with booths from more than 50 STEM-related industry corporations, 40 universities, non-government organisations and government organisations, and about 298 school teams from various parts of the country. There were more than 40 science experiments and demonstrations and 23 STEM workshops conducted by the UTAR faculty academics, staff and students during the fair.

Some of the event highlights at the three-day fair included Second International Junior Chem-E Car Competition by IEM where students designed small-sized car that was fabricated from reusable or recyclable materials; the KLESF Challenge, a STEM international competition where students exhibit their original inventions and creations; Pertandingan Innovasi Sains, Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan Kebangsaan (PISTEK) 2017, an annual Science competition organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) for schools; and RAC'17 rero Annual Championship by Cytron Technologies Sdn Bhd.

More fun hands-on activities were prepared at the MCMC Pavilion where exhibitions and workshops related to MyMakers, IoT, digital lifestyle, virtual reality (VR), electronic design and drones were made available for the public. Besides that, there were UTAR hands-on experiments and the 13th Malaysia Festival of The Mind by the Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement, and many more offering the practical experience and applications of science and technology. The fair also encompassed STEM exhibitions and workshops by the industry and universities, school STEM projects and Science of Magic performances.

Hands-on activities such as science experiment for visitors from all walks of life

School students and children enjoying the activities and learning about STEM at the workshops

KLESF: The Fair 2017 saw growing participation inside and outside the country. Moreover, there were more than 300 entrees consisting of school teams that were participating in the KLESF Challenge, most of them consisting of students’ own STEM inventions and creations. Besides participants from local schools, universities and organisations, the fair also received international participants from ASEAN and other Asian economies including Mainland China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Indonesian students Nafiladiniaulia and Radita Pramestic Utami said, “We are very grateful to visit Malaysia again for the fair. We have met new friends and learnt new things from peers from other countries by sharing our experience in creating STEM inventions.” Besides, school teacher Ng Ho Lo from Hong Kong commented, “We are impressed with the Malaysian government, schools as well as the fair organisers as they are taking STEM education very seriously by putting in much emphasis on STEM education through various initiatives. My students and I are also happy to meet teachers and students from different backgrounds and cultures.”

On the other hand, Managing Director of Bayer Malaysia Jennifer Yong remarked, "We are happy to participate in a fun platform that allows our employees to volunteer themselves for this kind of activity that encourages the interaction with children.” MCMC Director of Digital Lifestyle and Society John Tay said, “STEM is very critical to the younger generation. We offer various hands-on activities at the fair such as soldering and VR games to give children an early exposure to STEM so that they will look further into STEM in the future.” Rolls-Royce Production Support Lead Liu Yang said, “Besides sharing our experience in the industry with the students, we also relate the displays and projects at our booth to the concepts they learn in school to help them develop a more comprehensive idea on the knowledge that they have learnt.”

UTAR Faculty of Information Communication and Technology’s lecturers Ooi Joo On and Saw Seow Hui mentioned, “We teach the visitors basic programming skills through simple games instead of lectures so that people from all walks of life will be able to learn more about programming while having fun. It is also an opportunity for our faculty members and students to impart their knowledge to the public through edutainment.” A medical student from UTAR Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Melissa Ann Vannan who is also a helper at the fair said, “I have the opportunity to share what I have learnt in the university and to play a part in raising the awareness about daily healthcare.”

Wong Hieng Jiing, a teacher from Tunku Putra School, Kuching said, “KLESF is a good move to attract more students to learn about STEM. My students and their parents have been very excited about the fair as they are able to learn science outside of the books particularly through science projects.” School teacher Jayanthi Balakrishnan from SJK(T) Jalan Yahya Awal, Johor Bahru commented, “My students enjoyed the fair and the competitions very much. I am happy to see them gaining more interests and knowledge on STEM, and it is certainly a great experience for me and my students. We will come again next year.”

Cheng Suik Yieng said, “This is our third time joining the fair. My seven-year-old and nine-year-old like the hands-on workshops here very much, and ask me to come with them every year. It is all free, and more importantly, the majority of the activities here are conducted by young experts from different fields who also patiently guided my children in the activities and experiments.” Besides, father of a primary school child, Abdul Kudus Putra B. Manap shared, “The fair is an eye-opener for me especially to see my child showing interests in learning and taking the initiative to participate in STEM-related competitions. This a good platform for parents to discover and appreciate our children’s talents that we are yet to realise.”

Students constructing small-sized car using recyclable materials

Winners of the Second Junior Chem-E Car Competition 2017

MyMaker Soccerbotz Competition

Winners of the rero Annual Championship RAC’17 at KLESF

A total of 34 teams from 14 primary schools competed in the Second International Junior Chem-E Car Competition which was hosted by Sekolah Kebangsaan Putrajaya Presint 18(1). The prize-giving ceremony was held on the second day of the fair with the presence of Deputy Minister of Education Dato’ P. Kamalanathan representing the Minister of Education, IEM Vice President Ir Prof Dr Jeffrey Chiang Choong Luin, Datuk Hong and the competition’s Organising Chairman Ir Dr Noor Yusmiza Yusoff. Dato’ Kamalanathan spoke at the ceremony, “The competition gauges the students’ interests towards STEM subjects and emphasis should be given to students at all levels to further encourage them to enrol in the science stream in school.”

On the other hand, the prize giving ceremony for other competitions were held in conjunction with the closing ceremony of the KLESF: The Fair 2017. Present at the closing ceremony were Dato’ Kamalanathan, MIGHT Senior Vice President Dr Raslan Ahmad, Datuk Hong, MoE Curriculum Development Division Deputy Director Datin Dr Ng Soo Boon, Prof Lee and MoE Educational Planning and Research Division Programme Evaluation Unit Head Dr Ihsan Ismail.

Prof Lee (left) and Dr Raslan Ahmad thanking all the guests, organisers, sponsors, industrial partners, supporters, schools, higher learning institutions and visitors for making the fair a success

In his closing remark, Prof Lee on behalf of KLESF thanked all parties for their support and effort in making the fair a successful event. He also announced, “I am glad to inform that KLESF: the Fair 2017 has received more than 60,000 visitors throughout the three days.”

Dr Raslan Ahmad said at the ceremony, “The fair and the competitions held here have shown us how to deliver STEM to people from all walks of life from the rural and urban areas. This will help to ensure our country is progressively becoming a more STEM-oriented society.”

Dato’ Kamalanathan calling upon more industry players and prospective collaborators to join the initiative in promoting STEM education

At the closing ceremony, Dato’ Kamalanathan applauded KLESF for organising the fair annually which complements the government’s effort in promoting STEM among school students. He said, “STEM is an important key to creating a much more intelligent society, not only academically but also a skill-based community in Malaysia. The competitions are also great platform for the students to apply their STEM knowledge in addressing challenges and use the existing resources in creating new inventions.”

He added, “These hands-on activities are critical in complementing formal education in schools, whereas informal learning platforms involve the utilisation of new approaches to developing evidence-based understanding and alternative methods to enhance student participation to create a more meaningful STEM learning experience. Furthermore, there will be one million STEM-related job vacancies by 2020, which 50% are professional workers. Therefore, it is crucial to prepare our children with sufficient knowledge and strong foundation in STEM to match the future needs that require the high-end skills. I would like to also urge more participation from the industry, agencies and sponsors to provide more input as well as to avoid mismatch between the academia and industry.”

KLESF is an initiative in support of Science To Action (S2A) initiative announced by the Prime Minister in 2013 to mainstream the usage and understanding of science to the society and promote innovation and technology as one of the strategic reform initiatives for national development.

Under KLESF, other programmes such as the KLESF Mentorship Programme (KMP), KLESF Mentor Development Programme (KMD), and Symposium on Science Education (SoSE), have groomed educators to be more effective and efficient in teaching STEM to children. This year, the KLESF also hosted the Asian Science Camp 2017 for the first time in Malaysia at the UTAR Kampar Campus from 20 to 26 August 2017.

The sponsors of KLESF: The Fair 2017 included Silverlake, HEAD Foundation Ltd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Kuok Foundation, Intel, Bayer, Little Rain Children Trust, Rolls-Royce, Institute Fizik Malaysia (IFM), Grand Kampar Hotel, RedONE, LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort, Combiz (M) Sdn Bhd, Corpacer Malaysia Sdn Bhd, DOS Fortified Sdn Bhd, TM, and Edasu Hiromori Sdn Bhd.

The KLESF Fair is supported by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), MoE Malaysia, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM), IFM and MPN.

For more information, browse KLESF official website here.

Click here for more photos of the booths and activities at the KLESF.