AJAYRAO Chandran stands at attention each time a visitor approaches his booth – his face brims with anticipation and excitement as he begins to introduce his invention.
"This is green paper. They are made from cornhusk, banana trunk and sugar cane," he says pointing to the three sheets on the table. The 11-year-old is with two of his schoolmates Guhanraj Krishnakumar, 11 and Suriyamoorti Sivan, 10. The boys take turns explaining how the raw materials were transformed into paper, and the experiment to test the strength of the paper. "Please watch this video for more information," they say in closing.
The three boys, smartly dressed in ties and pressed white shirts, are pupils at SJK (T) Ladang Buluh Akar, Parit in Perak. They presented their invention at the Science and Engineering Design Exhibition (SEDEX) held at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) last September. The exhibition, its 41st since it was first organised in 1997, showcases inventions and innovations of UTP employees and students as well as students from primary and secondary schools and university students from the surrounding community.
Making SEDEX more meaningful
UTP Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib says SEDEX offers participants a platform to show their creativity and cultivate innovativeness. Although SEDEX was first organised for UTP undergraduates to hone their communication and presentation skills – the attributes of a well-rounded graduate that UTP seeks to produce – over the years the event has evolved into a platform to encourage the young to take an interest in science.
"In 2008, we looked at how we could enrich SEDEX through corporate social responsibility activities. We brought school children from the community to UTP, especially the poorly funded schools, and conducted programmes to give them an exposure to science, technology, engineering and maths or STEM subjects. We took them around the campus and introduced them to the facilities here to motivate them to love science.
"We also went to schools, focusing on less accessible schools such as within the Orang Asli community, to bring science to them. It made SEDEX more meaningful," says Mohamed Ibrahim.
"When we opened up participation, we received students from as far away as Parit Buntar and even Butterworth. The school children are especially excited to showcase their products in the Young Inventor's Challenge," he adds.
Mahadevi Murugaya, a teacher at SJK (T) Ladang Buluh Akar, says the school has been participating since 2013. "The students really look forward to this event, and they enjoy using science and technology to come up with new things. Their world revolves around science and technology, and they mostly focus on recycled materials because of the lack of funds," she says.
The rural school may be underfunded, and it may be under-enrolled (the school only has 20 students in total) but that has not deterred the students from applying the knowledge gained from school and educational programmes to come up with some nifty inventions.
Take last year's team for instance. They not only took the bronze medal at the Young Inventor's Challenge for their invention – a three-in-one eco-hand washer that washes, rinses and dries – but also went on to win a gold medal and a Special Award at the International Young Inventors Award 2016 in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Undoubtedly for the school children, the highlight of the many weeks spent tinkering around with their inventions isn't just having the chance to showcase it at UTP, but also getting the acknowledgement and recognition for a job well done. This year SJK (T) Ladang Buluh Akar emerged silver medal winners at the Young Inventor's Challenge this year.
Equally enthusiastic about their invention were members of the team from the MARA Junior Science College in Parit, who came up with an eco-friendly detergent that's made from lemon, vinegar and toothpaste. The team emerged gold medal winners for the secondary school category. All aspire to pursue careers in the medical and science fields.
That, many of the school students participating at SEDEX have ambitions in science. This is heartening to note, especially given the declining interest in STEM fields among Malaysian youths.
Revolutionise the teaching of science and maths
According to the Science and Technology Human Capital Report and Science Outlook 2015 by Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM), only about 90,000 science students sit for the Sijl Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination annually. This falls short of the 270,000 students needed if the country is to meet its human capital needs.
What's more, of those taking STEM-based programmes in school, 12% migrated to non-STEM programmes at the tertiary level.
Among ASM's recommendations to curb the declining the interest in STEM are raising student interest through new learning approaches and an enhanced curriculum, as well as raising public and student awareness. Mohamed Ibrahim agrees.
"Perhaps there is a need to revolutionise the ways science and maths are taught in schools…teachers especially need to be innovative in the way they present science and maths to students," he says, pointing out that rote learning is failing science students. "In university you're required not to learn at a faster rate but also to think critically."
Teachers can encourage students to be excited about science through the use of multimedia, he adds.
"Videos that show the practical applications of the principles of science can be useful… you have to create that interest. For example, we say that engineering is exciting because you're creating things from nothing," he says.
It's also important to portray more successful role models in the field of science and technology, he says pointing to Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin of PETRONAS. The chemical engineer is the current national oil corporation's President and Group CEO. "Former CEO of GE, Jack Welch was also a chemical engineer… so we need to highlight these successes," says Mohamed Ibrahim.
Parents too play a vital role. By taking children to exhibitions, science fairs and science centres, parents can plant that first seed, and encourage that interest over the years, he adds.
"From a very young age I was always interested in ancient civilisations and how science and technology contributed to these civilisations," says the 20-year-old.
Melvinder, a second year Electrical and Electronic Engineering student at UTP, recalls Maths and Science being his favourite subjects in school. His father, a Physics lecturer at UTP, also encouraged this interest.
In 2013, when he was in Secondary Four at SMK Seri Iskandar, Melvinder's Physics teacher mentioned that UTP was organising the Science and Engineering Design Exhibition (SEDEX). Excited at the prospect of inventing something and presenting it at the university, he roped in his younger brother and a friend for the project.
"At the time, I was following the talks and works of Elon Musk (inventor and engineer synonymous with automaker Tesla, among others), and Musk said that the best invention is one that solves the problems of the world. He talked about two key areas – green energy and overall sustainability. So we brainstormed along these lines, and with the help of my father, refined our ideas."
The end result was a mobile solar electricity generator. "We went to Ipoh to get materials such as solar panels, voltage stabiliser and inverter among others. We looked up the Internet and with some help from my father built it." The team took the silver medal at the Young Inventor's Challenge, but more than the win, the experience was something that Melvinder treasures to this day.
"I made new friends from other schools who were just as interested in science, and teachers who were happy to share their knowledge. They gave me suggestions on how I could improve my invention," he says, adding that the experience at SEDEX cemented his aspirations to pursue a career in science."
