Moulding innovative mindsets
I REFER to the article “Trade war – be ready to respond ( The Star, July 16) on the need for Malaysia to be ready to face the consequences of the trade war between the United States and China.
The giants are clashing and we may be trampled in their fight since we are exporting electronic components to these countries. There might be short-term economic strategies that could protect our economy from this but I think we should also have a long-term plan.
To start off, we need to change our position from being users to being producers of electronic devices. Inculcate the culture of building and exporting electronic gadgets instead of just supplying their components.
Of course, this is easier said than done but we can begin by exposing children to the basics of electronic gadgets as early as possible. This could be done in the same way children are exposed to the Lego game ( pic). If they learn these basics when young, they may grow up with creative mindsets and the tendency to invent stuff.
I never had any training on electronics but I have been building mini gadgets such as range-sensing devices as a hobby. I was exposed to the adruino microcontroller at a young age. One of the devices I made detects the distance of an object and is similar to the reverse sensing system in cars. It’s cheap to build as the parts required, such as sensors, are sold very cheaply online.
To me, the basics of electronics are “fixing and latching the sensors, breadboard, wires or modules to each other”,which is like playing Lego. Like Lego, the electronic device can be broken into four main components, requiring a few wires, light bulbs, sensors and integrated circuits. The total cost is only about RM50.
Children in kindergarten are being given things to “fix and latch”, so I think we can give basic electronics equipment to pupils in school. Take note that young minds are clean slates. Scientists call this the “critical period”, so let children play with electronics at this stage. This early exposure could change their way of seeing electronic gadgets and be the springboard to the creation of an inventive/ innovative mindset.
Scientifically, the critical period is the phase when a living thing’s nervous system responds effectively to stimuli. Hence, I think we should take advantage of this critical period in children’s learning to set the foundation of innovation in them.
My English lecturer told me that in language learning, if a child is placed in an English speaking community at an early age, he or she would be able to speak English better than those who are not. This made me think that the critical period may exist in other areas of learning too.
We can inculcate a culture of innovating by letting our primary pupils play with sim- ple electronic stuff like fixing sensors, breadboard, wires or an adruino microcontroller.
Next, we can introduce basic reverse engineering, which means disassembling objects, for instance a gadget, in order to know its components and how it works. A lot can be learnt from disassembling gadgets. In this case, pupils should be given old gadgets to dismantle and to examine their components.
Most of us think it is difficult to build a computer but it’s actually very easy. There are only six basic components involved. At times, I feel it is easier to put together the basics of a computer than the Lego pieces as the main component of a computer, the motherboard, already has slots to fit in the other parts.
The next move would be to encourage pupils to produce little DIY projects that should be accorded proper certification. This certification is important to show that they have produced something and would boost their confidence in building other electronic stuff.
We do not need to wait until students are in university to train them to produce innovative stuff. In fact, the university should be the stage where they learn how to mass-produce their creations. At university, students should also be guided to shift their mentality from only memorising theories or passing examinations to inventing and being business owners.
I had already invented something before I entered university but I could not go further with my invention. It was not easy to sell my product and I didn’t have the money to build the prototype as I am not from a rich family.
As bringing products to market needs strategies and experience, universities should have a body that supports the marketing of students’ inventions, no matter how small. University students should also be trained on how to approach manufacturers to sell their inventions.
As I built my microcontroller and other gadgets, I found many online tutorials on producing little inventions. Other than the basic parts being sold cheaply online (some for less than RM10 each), programming samples and tutorials are offered too. We only need to cut and paste them to run the gadgets. So if our young are introduced to electronics early, they might have the ability to tweak this programming to create new technology.
By creating, we can stop ourselves from depending on imported technologies. The nation will spend less and the unemployment rate would be reduced.
Standing on the shoulders of giants will advance us, so if we create our own giants and stand on them, we would be much better off.