The first step towards igniting interest in STEM education is to empower school communities by addressing school children. For four consecutive years, UiTM and Celcom Axiata Berhad have teamed up to organize the Celcom Young Digital Innovators Program (CYDIP 2022) from July to December 2022. As part of its mission to promote educational equity, CYDIP conducts various programs that target underprivileged children in Chow Kit and children from the B40 community.
Three programs are offered to these school children. As a result of their participation in CYDIP DRO-BOTICS, they gained experience with drones and robotics. 258 school children from five Pusat Ekonomi Digital Keluarga Malaysia (PEDi): PEDi Taman Wahyu 2, PEDi Salak Selatan, PEDi Kampung Desa Permai, PEDi Kerling, PEDi Kuala Kubu Bharu and Buku Jalanan Chow Kit participated in this program.
Additionally, 225 children participated in the CYDIP DESIGN-THON, where they learned design thinking, web development, product development, programming, and pitching ideas. “It was enjoyable. I learned some things about design thinking that I didn’t know before, so, thank you”, “This program really helped me to gain knowledge about web development from scratch, and many more”, “Thank you for guiding me for four days”, “Please organize more sessions”, are among of the enthusiastic children’s positive feedback.
A significant part of the programs offered is enhancing children’s capabilities as thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators through hands-on activities. They learn STEM in an engaging manner, resulting in a heightened interest in the field. To further strengthen their grasp of STEM and utilize their knowledge, they are encouraged to join the final CYDIP program, the International CYDIP Competition. This competition will be held on December 3, 2022.
All in all, it is imperative to create balanced opportunities in terms of exposure and experiential learning for the next generation. This is in facing the demands of IR4.0. All children deserve the opportunity and CYDIP can be the platform to unlock their potential in STEM education.