SMK Lutong is #MyGeekMovement national champ
MIRI: SMK Lutong, Miri emerged national champion with their dust detector prototype, beating out Sabah state champion – SM St Michael and Peninsula state champion – SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil during # MyGeekMovement Grand Finals 2018, held recently at Wisma Shell in Cyberjaya, Selangor.
The national final organised by Shell Malaysia involved students presenting innovative inventions and prototypes under the theme ‘Access to Energy’ challenge. SMK Lutong’s air- conditioner dust prototype won due to their invention’s ability to conserve energy.
On top of being crowned the # MyGeekMovement national champion, the team members – Tan Wei Shuen, Liew Jia Wen and Debbie Heu earned a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to be part of Shell’s Make the Future ( MTF) event in London. There, they will have the opportunity to experience hands- on science experiments, test and contribute bright energy ideas around alternative energy.
MTF London is an annual event that showcases hands- on science experiments, energy panel debates and the latest in virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) experiences, driving bright ideas towards a lower- carbon energy future.
Under # MyGeekMovement, 15 schools nationwide were selected to be part of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM) immersive programme by Shell. With the support of the Ministry of Education, # MyGeekMovement Shell STEM Malaysia selected 225 secondary students across fifteen schools in Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular.
“These students will experience the opportunity to gain hands- on STEM learning, with a focus on technology. The programme is not limited to just 225 students. A peer to peer coaching is also implemented to widen the knowledge to the student community in the participating schools,” said Simon Durkin, vice president of Shell Malaysia Upstream at Media Exclusive Chat held at Sarawak Shell Berhad, Miri here yesterday.
Durkin said apart from Ministry of Education, Shell Malaysia also collaborated with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC) in pursuing STEM education programme, including monitoring and evaluation of its effectiveness as well as strategising its sustainability planning.
Shell Malaysia has aligned its # MyGeekMovement to ensure the programme contributes towards meeting targets and aspirations to increase the number of STEM graduates.
“The initiatives focuses on providing an early exposure to STEM to spark an early interest in fields like engineering, information technology and automation.
“This initiative was forthcoming in support of the government’s Transformasi Negara 50 ( TN50) vision priorities for a knowledge economy with greater focus on science and technology disciplines.
“STEM are subjects at the very heart of Shell. The industry needs talented people with knowledge and skills in these areas and through Shell STEM-related programmes, we aim to contribute to future pipeline of talents and capabilities crucial for the industries as they actively shape and participate in the energy transition,” Durkin added.
Meanwhile, Wong Chung Keong, senior officer from Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak said #MyGeekMovement provides learning contents that complement the existing school co- curricular structure with a long-term goal to increase number of students opting for science stream in selected schools, while boosting interest in science and technology amongst the young generation.
“The national goal is to achieve a 60: 40 ratio in science and arts stream at high school level and this has resulted in a strong call at state and national level to grow students’ interest in STEM subjects to meet Malaysia’s future human capital need,” said Wong.
Wong said # MyGeekMovement trains students to gain insights into the world of technology and innovation while learning to create, as opposed just being consumers of technology. Through the programme, students will continue to grow their technological, critical, creative and innovative skill sets; be challenged to work in teams to design and innovate solutions to real-world problems, thus developing their skills holistically, he added.