Industries urged to be ready for STEM graduates

KUALA LUMPUR: The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)related industries in Malaysia are urged to uphold the government’s aspiration of having 60 per cent of the country’s children and young people take up STEM education and career for a better future of the country.

National STEM Movement chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris said STEM-related industries in Malaysia were still far behind compared to those in other countries, especially Singapore, in terms of providing opportunities for STEM graduates and recognising their talents.

Agreeing to a suggestion that there are Malaysian STEM graduates who could not get the job they wanted and ended up stuck with a desk-bound job, she said: “(STEM) industries in Malaysia are still not ready. They must prepare themselves for the graduates, be in line with the governments aspiration and be more accepting of STEM.

She was speaking to Bernama after delivering a presentation on the ‘National STEM Movement Initiative to Inspire the Learning of Science and Mathematics’ at the STEM Forum on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, here, yesterday.

Noraini said STEM education and career were very important to better prepare Malaysia for the future, especially with the emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution, which had brought artificial intelligence, cloud computing and predictive analytics to the workplace.

Themed ‘Emergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on Education and Future Career Pathways’, the forum was organised by UTM’s Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology (RSEAT), National STEM Movement and the Malaysian Association of Creativity and Innovation (MACRI).

Noraini, who is also deputy vice-chancellor for Research and Innovation at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, said due to the slow progression of STEM, the National STEM Movement had initiated a mentor-mentee programme to expose secondary school students to STEM.

“The mentor-mentee programme is carried out under the National Blue Ocean Strategy between the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

“We started the programme early last year (2016) in Terengganu, whereby academicians (facilitators) and university students (mentors) are sent to secondary schools to guide the students through STEM education and career, to increase their awareness,” she added.

In 2014, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his speech when launching the Global STEM Alliance at the United Nations headquarters in New York, said Malaysia aimed for 60 per cent of its children and young people to take up STEM education and career for a better future of the country.

He said the country hoped to achieve the ratio of 60:40 of children interested in STEM, compared to non-STEM education and career. — Bernama

The mentor-mentee programme is carried out under the National Blue Ocean Strategy between the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. — Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris, National STEM Movement chairman