KUCHING: Collaborative efforts between public and private entities are crucial for shaping the educational landscape and equipping young minds with essential digital skills.
Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Francis Harden Hollis stressed that such collaborations are vital to ensure the younger generations are well-prepared to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
“We must acknowledge the critical importance of preparing our students for the future job market, which will increasingly demand digital skills such as digital literacy, creativity and adaptability.
“Therefore, the organisation of the Junior Innovate 2023 Sarawak (Southern Zone) State Maker Fair aligns with the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, which encourages public-private partnership.
“This platform not only promotes teamwork and collaboration but also enhances the communication skills of primary school students, which is a crucial aspect of their development,” he said.
His remarks were delivered on behalf of Minister Datuk Roland Sagah during the closing ceremony of the Junior Innovate 2023 Sarawak (Southern Zone) State Maker Fair at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) on Saturday (Sept 23).
The event, jointly organised by Chumbaka, Unimas, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and State Education Department (JPN), saw participation from 164 students representing 43 primary schools from seven districts, namely Sri Aman, Samarahan, Kuching, Padawan, Simunjan, Bau,and Serian.
“We take pride in our unified efforts in Sarawak, working toward the common objective of fostering a STEM-literate community, with the hopeful aim of achieving a 40 per cent enrolment rate in the Science stream in secondary schools,” he said.
“As each participant embarks on this journey with a shared belief that creativity and digital skills have the power to transform lives and communities, the youths represent the digital heroes of tomorrow, and their innovative spirit gives us hope for a brighter future,” he added.
This year’s theme, ‘A Role-Playing Game – My Hero,’ was a part of the annual ‘Junior Innovate’ competition, which aims to inspire a digital creator mindset and life skills among primary school students in preparation for future jobs.
The theme allowed students to design a role-playing game to tell the story of their chosen hero, encouraging young talents to express their creativity and storytelling skills through the innovative use of microcontroller’s input and output.
During the event, Francis also presented the gold medals to winners namely Team SS Innovators and Wonder Girls from SJK (C) Chung Hua No 4; Omnipotent team from SJK(C) Chung Hua Sungai Lubak and the Beezkids team from SK Tabuan.
Also present at the event were the ministry’s Principal Assistant Secretary (Innovation) Asha Devi Kaushal; SDEC chief executive officer Sudarnoto Osman; Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Prof Dr Siti Noor Linda Taib; State Education Department (Student Development Sector) assistant director Marjolyn Michael; and Association of Boards of Management of Aided Primary Schools in Kuching, Samarahan and Seraian president Datuk Jonathan Chai Voon Tok.
