Cultivating STEM interest in Kampung Bali

With the aim to cultivate a strong interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education among school students in the community, which is in line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) organised a STEM workshop and a community engagement programme from 3 to 4 September 2022 at Kampung Bali, Tronoh, Perak.

The programme was also an initiative to prepare the students with skills to meet the Science and Technology challenges and ensure that Malaysia has sufficient qualified STEM graduates. The programme was fully sponsored through the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Pre-University STEM Portal Grant, which the organising team won for the implementation of an IEEE pre-university STEM outreach programme. FEGT was among the 146 applications submitted to IEEE.

The team conducted three workshops, namely Arduino, Importance of Recycling, and Elephant toothpaste with Yeast Balloon, and an Ecobot Competition 3.0, which received support from 100 participants of SJK (C) Kampung Bali and the community. The workshops conducted imparted knowledge on the importance of recycling as well as the importance of understanding the science behind each activity. It also enabled the participants to relate the lessons learnt to the school’s teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the Ecobot Competition enabled the participants to learn ways on incorporating the recycling concept with robotics. The activities conducted were also related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 13: Climate Action.