THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE STEM FUTURE-PROOFING (SFP) INITIATIVE
SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW, THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE STEM FUTURE-PROOFING (SFP) INITIATIVE
13TH MAY 2023
UOW BATU KAWAN
YB Puan Zabidah binti Safar
State Financial Officer & PENANG STEM Board Member
YB Satees a/l Muniandy
Bagan Dalam State Assembly Member & PENANG STEM Board Member
Mr Richard Chung
General Manager of PENANG STEM
Dato' Seri Wong Siew Hai
Chairman of Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA)
Dato' S. Selvakumar
CEO of Shan Poornam Metals Sdn Bhd
Dato' Goh Guek Eng
Managing Director of Hotayi Electronic (M) Sdn Bhd
Mr. Ramu Iyer
Vice President of MICRON MEMORY
Mr. Chuah Choon Bin
CEO of Pentamaster Corporation
Distinguished guests
Member of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
A very good morning to everyone, and thank you for gracing us with your presence on this significant occasion today.
As we bask in the celebration of the unprecedented inflow of both foreign and domestic direct investments into Penang, it is indeed true that the Penang State Government remains acutely aware of the challenges posed by the corresponding spiralling demand for engineering and technical talents.
Accordingly, many of the state agencies, including the Penang STEM Group, which includes the Penang Skills Development Centre, Penang Science Cluster, Tech Dome Penang, Penang Math Platform and also the Penang Digital Library, has been diligently working with Invest Penang to address the talent supply situation.
In 2022, Penang STEM kickstarted the TVET-in-Schools, or also known as the TECH Start programme, with approximately 400 upper secondary school students from 13 schools participating in the basic skills learning programme. The participating students are now in year 2 of the programme.
I must say that this programme, which is managed by the Penang Science Cluster, has received an overwhelming positive response from students, with about 250 individuals targeted to continue onto work-study options as trainee technicians upon completion of the programme at the end of the current academic year.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, in conjunction with the 2-day STEM Showcase held here at UOW Batu Kawan, we are delighted to introduce another talent development pipeline initiative named STEM FUTURE-PROOFING (SFP) under the Penang STEM umbrella. This initiative involves the participation of three centres namely, Tech Dome Penang, Penang Math Platform, and Penang Skills Development Centre.
The SFP initiative, designed for academically inclined students, will offer selected Form 4 students from chosen schools an incredible opportunity to undergo two years of foundation learning in either Engineering or Computer Science. This invaluable preparation will serve as a head start and pave the way for their future tertiary education, with the ultimate goal of nurturing talented engineers in these fields.
To ensure the success of this initiative, we are collaborating with corporate organizations that will adopt schools and provide sponsorship of RM30,000 per cohort per annum. I am pleased to announce that seven organizations have stepped forward as Pioneer Sponsors, pledging their support to sponsor 10 cohorts. These organizations are:
- Inari Amertron Bhd (2 schools)
- Pentamaster Corp Bhd (2 schools)
- Analog Devices Sdn Bhd (1 school)
- Greatech Technology Bhd (1 school)
- Hotayi Electronic (M) Sdn Bhd (1 school)
- Plexus Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (1 school)
- Shan Poornam Metals (1 school & 1 community class)
With an average student participation target of 25 students per cohort, we anticipate the participation of approximately 250 to 300 students in this pilot programme.
The extra-curricular programmes will be conducted in schools by qualified trainers from established Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) using their existing modules. This approach aims to ensure a seamless transition for students as they progress into their post-SPM diploma or degree studies. I am pleased to share with you that the participating IHLs are:
- Penang Skills Development Centre
- Inti International College
- University Of Wollongong, Malaysia (KDU)
- Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management & Technology
- Kolej Disted
- Methodist College Pykett
Ladies and gentlemen,
The SFP sponsorship will also include funding for fun-learning STEM programmes targeting lower secondary students in the adopted schools. This aims to spark interest in STEM learning among younger students and inspire more of them to choose the science stream as they progress to upper secondary schools.
In addition to that, I am pleased to announce that another Multinational Corporation, Micron Memory, has also stepped forward with a generous sponsorship of RM110,000 for Penang Math Platform to fund a related programme, called Inspire – Basic Computer Science for 10 secondary schools across different districts in Penang. This programme, a subsidiary of the SFP initiative, aims to engage an average of 25 students per school.
Thus, in addition to the 250 - 300 students targeted by SFP, a total of 20 schools with more than 500 students will benefit from both the STEM FUTURE-PROOFING (SFP) and Inspire - Basic Computer Science pilot programmes when they begin in June of this year.
Both of these programmes have been approved by the Penang State Education Department (JPN) and also received endorsements from the following professional bodies:
- Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA)
- Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM)
- Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Institution of Engineering & Technology Malaysia (IET)
- Technological Association of Malaysia (TAM)
On behalf of the Penang State Government, I would like to thank all sponsors, partners, JPN, professional bodies, and Penang STEM for banding together to champion this meaningful mission, which truly exemplifies the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative that Penang has long advocated.
I certainly hope that all of you will continue to work together to propel STEM education and Penang as a whole to greater heights, in line with the state's vision of a 'Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation'.
With that said, I am delighted to officially launch the STEM FUTURE-PROOFING (SFP) initiative.
Thank you.