STEM Talk at SMJK Nan Hwa, Sitiawan

UTAR Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) of Kampar Campus held a talk for Form 4 students from SMJK Nan Hwa, Sitiawan with regards to STEM-related topics on the 13^th January 2021. The talk which was held virtually was carried out in English and an extension of the first talk that was conducted in Mandarin. The two-hour talk was conducted on the Zoom platform.

There were 3 speakers altogether who were actually lecturers from the Department of Science and Engineering, UTAR CFS- Kampar. These speakers had the honour to share their expertise on their respective fields. They were Mr. Lee Chee Heong who talked about Artificial Intelligence, Mr. Sree Amertharaj who shared about Pocket Chemistry and last but not least, Mr. Chong Fook Seng who spoke about traditional and modern mathematics.

The first talk that was on Artificial Intelligence (AI) focused on the definitions of AI and Machine Learning (ML). Mr. Lee then went on to elaborate more on their roles in the development in science and technology as well as threats to mankind. Towards the end of the talk, Mr. Lee explained to students how they could better prepare themselves to survive in future that most probably will revolve a lot around AI.

Lee introducing the definition and characteristics of AI

The next talk which was conducted by Mr. Sree highlighted the art of Pocket Chemistry. Chemistry is a wide branch of science where sometimes students feel overwhelmed to memorise the content. By using the Pocket Chemistry technique, it does not only minimises the use of space and excessive papers, but it also allows students to be creative by using compact short notes, formulas and diagrams which is much more presentable and interesting for study purpose. Mr. Sree demonstrated by using stationeries such as pen, glue and scissors along with few coloured A4 papers and cards.

Sree engaging the participants by stating the learning outcomes at the beginning of his sharing 

Finally, the last talk was conducted by Mr. Chong who successfully made Mathematics interesting in the eyes of the participants. He demonstrated a few common errors made in the conceptual algebraic calculations so that students will be aware and will not repeat the same mistakes in the future. Mr. Chong even exposed to students the use of Mathematics in different fields so that students will have better understanding on the application of “Traditional Mathematics” and “Modern Mathematics” in daily life.

Chong sharing his opinion on traditional Mathematics vs. modern Mathematics

All in all, students were very content and delighted with the talk. Most of them feel that they have gained new knowledge and it has helped widen their horizon on the subjects that they have been learning all their life.