SHAH ALAM, Oct 17 — Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor (KPS Berhad), via the KPS Celik initiative, succeeded in attracting 20,000 secondary school students around Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Negeri Sembilan to participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
In support of the Federal government’s policy which aims to have a 60:40 ratio of science to arts students, the KPS Celik Initiative was introduced in July 2023.
KPS Berhad’s investor relations, sustainability, and communications director Zul Mawardi said KPS Celik is a community skill and capability-building programme which aims to educate the lower-secondary B40 students, particularly in Felda settlements, on how to apply STEM methods in their daily lives and studies.
“We selected 1,000 students from 20 schools to participate directly in this programme and another 20,000 students indirectly by creating a fun and engaging curriculum activity through interactive face-to-face workshops and hands-on applications,” he said in a statement today.
The main objective of the initiative is to promote STEM education among lower-secondary B40 school students through engaging school workshops and intellectually stimulating quizzes.
As a project-based learning programme, the students were given six weeks to develop their STEM-based innovation projects focusing on any of the five United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), which include good health and wellbeing, quality education, clean and water sanitation, affordable and clean energy, as well as climate action.
Zul added the students’ projects were showcased and competed in the school-level STEM carnival in these 20 schools, creating another spillover of STEM awareness among other students.
“A panel of professional judges assessed the projects showcased during the STEM carnival,” he said.
During the grand finale held on September 26 at Plaza Perangsang, SMK Tunku Besar Burhanuddin from Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, with their project entitled ‘UCIN’s Maths’, was crowned KPS Celik Initiative 2023 Champion.
— Bernama
