Camp challenges young innovators
MIRI: A two-day Young Innovators Challenge Miri Bootcamp was held last weekend at Curtin University Malaysia campus to instil an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among secondary school students.
Facilitated by student mentors from the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch of Curtin Malaysia, 134 students and 18 teachers from 14 secondary schools here attended the camp.
They had the opportunity to explore Arduino, an open-source electronic prototyping platform that enables users to create interactive electronic objects, as well as share their project ideas for the first- ever Curtin IEEE Digital Maker Expo, which will take place on May 12-13.
The annual Young Innovators Challenge Miri Bootcamp is a platform for youths to explore coding and problem solving using Arduino as an embedded system.
Participants work in teams of two or three to identify realworld challenges and come up with innovative solutions using their newly acquired technical and thinking skills.
This year’s boot camp presented various themes such as Food and Agriculture, Automotive/ Mobility, Healthcare, Home and Shelter, Heavy Equipment and Machinery, and Retailing.
Electrical and computer engineering senior lecturer and IEEE Student Branch advisor Dr Garenth Lim said 60 teams from 20 schools are expected to showcase their project prototypes at the Curtin IEEE Digital Maker Expo.
“Our student mentors have been trained to conduct the workshop and they are excited to work with the school teams,” said Lim in a press statement.
Meanwhile, Faculty of Engineering and Science dean Professor Dr Lau Hieng Ho said leadership skills are best gained through the act of giving.
“What better way to learn than to teach. I look forward to seeing the projects produced by the secondary school students and I hope to see more young people taking an interest in STEM,” said Lau.
At the upcoming Digital Maker Expo, teams will be judged on their problem definitions, designs and solution impact.
The top six teams will then pitch their projects to a panel of judges on May 13 to vie for the top 15 spots in the national finals of the Young Innovators Challenge 2017 hosted by Sime Darby Foundation, the national organiser.
Schools interested to be part of the Young Innovators Challenge can contact Chumbaka Miri under the All Aboard Young Leaders Centre on 013- 839 9857 or email haslina@ allaboardylc.org.