CSNano Making Science Fun and Interactive through Virtual STEM Course for Secondary Students

Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials (CSNano)

Prepared by: Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lee Siew Ling, Siti Nur Sakinah Ahmad, Atieya Abdul Hadi & Chen Man Ching

Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials (CSNano), Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (ISI-SIR), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) had organized a virtual STEM course, Wonder Lab at Home: Video Making by Junior Scientists on 11 September 2021 (Saturday) from 8.30 am till 1.00 pm. This program was part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) by CSNano to embark secondary school students’ interest in science subjects and to improve their ability in creating an interactive video for science experiment presentations.

This event was led by Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lee Siew Ling and executed by the university committee comprised CSNano academic and support staff as well as postgraduate students from the Faculty of Science (FS), UTM. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kangkar Pulai was the co-organizer of the program and Allied Chemists Laboratory Sdn. Bhd., Bashob Analytical PLT and Santa Industries Supply were the sponsor of the program.

The involved UTM committee were Assoc. Prof. Ts. ChM. Dr. Nik Ahmad Nizam Nik Malek (Programme Advisor), Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lee Siew Ling (Programme Director), Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. See Hong Heng (Vice Programme Director), Ms. Siti Nur Sakinah Ahmad (Secretary I), Dr. Fatin Sulaiman (Secretary II), Ms. Evayusni Ahmad Yusuf (Vice-Secretary), Ms. Nani Sazana Hamdan (Treasurer), Ms. Sabariah Ajis (Head of Publicity Unit), Ms. Nur Hidayah Azmi (Publicity Unit), Ms. Nurul Adhah Saini (Publicity Unit), Mr. Noranizam Hj Demin (Head of Technical) and Mr. Shahrum Nizam Mahmod (Technical Unit).

Meanwhile, the involved postgraduate student committee and facilitators were Leong Cheng Yee (Chairperson), Muhammad Hariz Asraf Hassan (Vice-Chairperson), Chen Man Ching (Secretary), Atieya Abdul Hadi (Vice-Secretary), Shahrulnizahana Mohammad Din (Treasurer), Ling Chui Min (Head of External Relations), Ibrahirul Qamil Ismail (Head of Technical), Muhammad Ramziuddin Zakaria (Workshop Speaker and Facilitator), Karen Tay Sze Jie (Workshop Speaker and Facilitator), Tey Hui Yin (Workshop Speaker), Chew Yi Bin (Workshop Facilitator), and Nur Syuhada Ibrahim (Workshop Facilitator).

There were 150 Form Four and Form Five students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kangkar Pulai, Johor who participated in the virtual course. The knowledge transfer program consisted of two parts, talks and a workshop which were facilitated by the postgraduate students of FS, UTM. The secondary school students were exposed to the tips and methods of producing science experiment videos in the fields of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

During the workshop session, the students had the chance to practically apply their learnings on video making in a small group. A video presentation competition was held for all the participants after the virtual course where the students were required to submit a 3-minute video for a science experiment by 26 September 2021.

There were prizes for the most active participants, the best video presentations and the most popular video awards for the participants of the program.
Both school and committee teams were satisfied with the work and agreed that the presentation skills and techniques in video presentation are necessary for the science students. The program also motivated the students in learning science and further their study in university.