e-KLESF 2020 promotes STEM education virtually

Group photo of participants of e-KLESF 2020

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic and the standard of procedures by the government, this year's Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF) goes virtual for the first time. The opening ceremony of e-KLESF 2020 took place on 12 December 2020, hosted at Zoom and shared at Facebook saw more than 2,600 views.

The engineering science fair which takes place from 12 until 20 December 2020 is an initiative with various programmes and activities that aims to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among primary and secondary school students. e-KLESF hopes to generate an interest in and excitement about STEM for students, the general public and parents as well as participants from other economies.

The e-KLESF 2020 was organised by AAET, UTAR, MIGHT, IEM, MCMC and TAR UC, and supported by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia, the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM) and Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM).

Prof Lee delivering his speech

At the opening ceremony, KLESF Steering Committee Co-Chairman-cum-TAR UC President Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei said, “KLESF started in 2013. This year we are doing things differently because of the Covid-19. Nevertheless, we managed to organise and promote the interest in STEM among younger generation through the virtual platform. Over the past 10 months, the general public and fellow students are aware of the importance of science. This pandemic is a challenge where we would not be able to overcome without science. The way we adopt the safety measures at a higher level to minimise the spread of the virus are based on scientific knowledge and data. With the good news of vaccine coming soon to overcome the pandemic is also based on scientific knowledge and research. This is the time I believe that the interest in science would be more intense among youngsters to find solutions to problems in life. I encourage all students to think more about how science can help society and improve their lives. I hope you will benefit from the range of activities and keep safe and keep healthy.”

Datuk Yusoff urging students to increase their knowledge and skills

KLESF Steering Committee Co-Chairman-cum-MIGHT President and CEO Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman added, “Although we are not able to meet face to face, it doesn’t mean it would be less fun or educational. In fact, we would be able to connect to more STEM group around the world. Through KLESF we have shown that STEM is not only fun and interesting but is the answer to many issues and problems faced in the world today. The Covid-19 pandemic has left many of us unable to attend schools, go to work and travel to places that we only dream of. STEM provides the answer but we have to work together and collectively to deliver solutions for the betterment of people and nature. Let’s use this platform to increase our knowledge and sharing, work together closely and pull resources together for a better future for ourselves and the future generation.”

Ir Ong delivering his speech

IEM President Ir Ong Ching Loon mentioned, “KLESF is an initiative with various programme that aims to promote interest in STEM. Today’s event sets a significant milestone as this the first time a virtual event is being hosted for KLESF. We at IEM believe that this science fair is an important factor to motivate the students towards science in engineering. The science fair project is a great learning experience as it involves more than just science; it involves conceptualisation of idea, execution of plan, problem-solving, meeting timeline and dynamic of teamwork. Students also got the opportunity to enhance their presentation skill during the judging stages. KLESF has come a long way since 2014. Students from schools and institution of higher learning around the country are inspired to expand the frontiers of human knowledge and go further in scientific research. There might be many talents out there who just need some opportunities to kickstart their experiments and to turn their idea into a successful invention which might benefit people.”

Tan Sri Chuah hoping participants would enjoy the e-KLESF programmes

“We’ve conducted KLESF for the past few years with the aim to promote STEM education and to spark STEM interest among young students. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are unable to have a physical KLESF so we are now doing the e-KLESF with a lot of webinars, workshops, quizzes and demonstrations. We hope more students whether primary or secondary students and the general public can visit e-KLESF and participate in all the activities. We also hope to see participation from the ASEAN counterparts, China and other economies. We hope you enjoy e-KLESF. Let us all play our role in promoting STEM education,” said AAET President Ir Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik as he welcomes the participants to e-KLESF 2020.

Prof Ewe congratulating the winners in the competitions held in e-KLESF

UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat continued, “I would like to offer my warmest welcome to all participants to the e-KLESF 2020. We are virtually gathered here today due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Conditional Movement Control Order. However, it does not stop us from creating opportunities for students to continue learning about STEM. KLESF is an initiative with various programmes and activities that aims to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among primary and secondary school students. e-KLESF hopes to generate an interest in and excitement about STEM for students, general public and parents as well as participants from other economies. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to MIGHT, MCMC, AAET, IEM, TAR UC and supporters including the Ministry of Education Malaysia, Academy of Sciences Malaysia, The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Malaysian Institute of Physics for making this event happen. I would also like to congratulate all winners of the KLESF International Challenge 2020 and the 3-minute video (3MV) Competition on "Innovative Young Educator". Keep up the good spirit and enjoy STEM education as STEM is everywhere; it is all around us in our everyday lives.”

Dr Ahmad advocating on the importance of STEM education

Deputy Director General of Education Malaysia Teacher Professional Development Dr Ahmad Rafee Bin Che Kassim emphasised, “On behalf of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, I wish to congratulate the organising team, sponsors, founders and the industry of KLESF for the continuous effort in promoting interest in STEM education. KLESF resonates the aspiration of the country in developing high skills talents to push the country further in the high technology area. Considering the long-term advantages of STEM education, the young generation needs to be given opportunities at an early age to be involved in STEM subjects and to be aware of its relationship in many things revolving their daily lives. This connection would hopefully spark their curiosity in STEM subjects and to pursue further leading in STEM career later especially in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. STEM education initiative started to collaborate with KLESF in 2017 by promoting to all teachers and students all over Malaysia through the school lab competition in KLESF 2018 and Intel International Science Engineering Fair competition which created interest among students towards STEM. KLESF has demonstrated an exemplary collaborative model in out-of-the-box STEM education for all. Kudos to KLESF for this journey digitally and congratulation to all the schools that have participated in the programmes under e-KLESF 2020. It is a new experience for all and the ministry would like to encourage all teachers and parents to participate in KLESF in the coming years to reap the far-fetching benefits. We also hope that KLESF would continue to support the ministry in our effort to prepare students with the skills to meet the challenges of science and technology in this era of the fourth industrial revolution and to ensure that Malaysia has sufficient qualified STEM graduates.”

Tan Sri Datuk Ter highlighting the importance of inculcating innovation and creativity

The National Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) and The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) President-cum-Sunsuria Berhad Executive Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Ter Leong Yap said, “I’m delighted to see KLESF continues to promote interest in STEM among primary and secondary students over the years. This remarkable event has gained such recognition and is now in its seventh year. It is great to see so many incredible young talented people getting involve and demonstrating their abilities as well as enthusiasm for STEM. Through all the webinars, workshops and quizzes in KLESF, it is in this pursuit, talents are discovered and the future scientist, engineers and entrepreneurs are born. The importance of tapping this potential is the reason why we are here. However, such mission is not going to be achieved just by relying on the government; we need all hands on that, not only teachers and parents but the broader community including industry, businesses and non-profit organisations. ACCCIM is duty-bound to be part of it via ACCCIM’s Science Technology and Innovation Competition which is organised with a similar objective as KLESF to inculcate the spirit of innovation and creativity among young generation. STEM could change the way we work and learn particularly in the current pandemic. It shows us the vital contribution of science and technology in addressing healthcare challenges, supporting society and economy in the time of a major turmoil. STEM change our lives and it is the hands of inspiring people like you to make big changes to the world.”

Tan (left) and Leong (right) addressing the need to acquire digital skills

The opening ceremony also witnessed some sharing from the industry players. “Every individual and organisation are facing challenges in our daily lives. However, we human are brave and tough to face this problem, we adapt to the new normal and do not give up. KLESF and our company continue to carry on our objective to spark the interest of science and technology in our young generation and to provide opportunity for them to learn the new digital skills such as robotic and coding as it is important, we know the future job requires them to have these digital skills. We would like to see the future generation become the tech inventor instead of tech consumer. I strongly believe we can make it if we stay focus and continue to provide more opportunity and access for the younger generation. I hope the students will make full use of the programmes prepared by KLESF to learn some new skills during the holiday. Stay safe together,” advised Cytron Technologies Sdn Bhd Co-Founder Tan Eng Tong.

Bayer Co (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Managing Director Leong Sook Fun said, “We find KLESF an excellent platform not only for children but for people of all age group to spark their interest and learn about STEM. Children cannot learn effectively by just theoretical thinking, they learn best when they see, touch and feel to absorb new knowledge which is what KLSEF aims to achieve through this fair. Bayers is pleased to contribute to these efforts through fun, interactive and hands-on science experiments at KLESF. The Covid-19 crisis has reduced accessibility to hands-on learning opportunities for families with school-age children. It is great the KLESF is held as an online event to amidst the challenges surrounding us. On this note, I would like to applaud and congratulate KLESF for their efforts in creating new ways for children to connect with STEM in the absence of physical interaction. I believe they will continue to benefit from online and virtual activities planned for them at the e-KLESF.”

Variety of activities were held throughout the science fair such as webinars, workshops, quizzes that focused on areas such as pollution, climate change, future habitat, human anatomy, heritage and culture preservation through virtual reality, Jupyter Notebook in Anaconda, principles of cheese making, the usage of Microsoft Publisher and many more. These programmes are part of our effort to promote children’s interests in STEM education and to raise the awareness of the public on the importance of STEM in socio-economic well-being and sustainable development. For more information, click here.

Webinars

•  Where is our future habitat?
•  Immersive technology for heritage and culture preservation
•  How to make your own cheese

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) webinars

•  Remote Learning STEM Resources for Teachers
•  STEM Career Role Models for Young Women

Workshops

HEART: Anatomy × Art
•  Python and Pandas for Beginners
•  Composting Food Waste into Fertilizer for Home Gardening
•  Creating Professional Brochures Using Microsoft Publisher in a Few Clicks
•  Interactive Exposure to Spreadsheet Applications Through Microsoft Excel

Lecture

•  ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (AAET) Distinguished Lecture

Symposium

•  Virtual Symposium on Science Education 2020 (SoSE 2020)

Quiz & Competition



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