Sabah students showcase ‘Access To Energy’ inventions
KOTA KINABALU: Five schools in Sabah were selected by Shell Malaysia to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) amongst lower secondary school students in Malaysia.
Prithipal Singh, Shell Malaysia senior representative, revealed: “Shell Malaysia introduced a STEM immersion programme known as #MyGeekMovement to 15 selected schools nationwide in August last year, including five schools in Sabah, namely Sekolah Menengah (SM) All Saints, SM La Salle and SMK Maktab Sabah in Kota Kinabalu; SM St. Michael's in Penampang; and SMK Sung Siew in Sandakan.”
Shell Malaysia has decided to focus on STEM to influence students to take an early interest in fields like engineering, information technology and automation.
This will increase the numbers of STEM graduates, thus helping to meet national targets and aspirations.
#MyGeekMovement provides learning content that complements the existing school co-curricular structure with a long-term goal to increase number of students opting for science stream in the selected schools, while boosting interests in science and technology amongst the young generation.
According to Prithipal: “Our industry needs talented people with relevant knowledge and skills in these areas.
“Through our STEM-related programmes, we actively shape and participate in the energy transition.”
With the support of the Ministry of Education, #MyGeekMovement Shell STEM Malaysia selected 225 secondary one students across 15 schools in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
These students will experience the opportunity to gain hands-on STEM learning, with a focus on technology. Peer to peer coaching is also implemented to widen knowledge beyond those directly involved in the participating schools.
During the showcase, Shell Malaysia presented the innovative inventions produced by the students involved in #MyGeekMovement. The students delved into an ‘Access to Energy' challenge and the five Sabah secondary school champion teams were engaged in a #MyGeek-athon showcase to vie for the title of #MyGeekMovement Sabah State Champion.
The team from Sekolah Menengah St. Michael's, Penampang was announced as Sabah champion yesterday. Their prototype invention combines wind and hydro turbines and a solar panel to convert wind, hydro and solar energy as renewable energy to produce electricity.
The team will represent Sabah in the #MyGeekMovement Malaysia Grand Finals, scheduled next week in Cyberjaya, Selangor, competing against the other state champions of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
#MyGeekMovement trains students to gain insights into the world of technology and innovation while learning to create, as opposed to just being consumers of technology.
Through #MyGeekMovement, students will continue to grow their critical thinking, creative and innovative skills whilst working on real-world problems.