Behind every ideas is an opportunity to innovate.

This basically summarizes  MGA’s Energy Efficiency Program  that closed its 2019 edition  on the 2^nd October 2019 with a Final Showcase  at the Maker Studio, Petrosains.  This national level Microbit Coding Competition featured 12 finalists  representing 6 schools  from 3 states. Sek Men Dato’ Ahmad Razali, Ampang, Selangor emerged as the Champion with a project called ‘I-chop’ while  2^nd place went to SMK Putrajaya Presint 16(1) with  a project titled ‘Smart Computer Lab’.  SMK Sulaiman, Pahang who innovated “Smart Hall Pass’  obtained the 3^rd placing while the most popular group went to SMK Sulaiman who innovated ‘Future Fantastic Library’.   All of the projects were designed using Micro-bits and  fulfilled the key theme of the competition  :  ‘Smart Solutions’   that are ‘Energy Efficient’   and able to address   common challenges at school.

The Final Showcase is  the last  leg of the MGA’s Energy Efficiency  Program 2019  series (EEP 2019) which was kicked off on  5^th August 2019. The  program which lasted for 2 months saw a total of 216 form two students from 6 schools in Selangor, Putrajaya and Pahang being ferried to Petrosains Discovery Centre, KLCC  to participate in a two-day program per school.  The 2-day program comprised of  Introduction & Workshop  (Day 1 ) and Mentoring  & Project Development session (day 2) .  They were taught to use micro:bit,  an educational tool that makes coding easier and more accessible, to code programmes to automate systems such as automated water sprinkler,  smart canteen, automated time attendance, to name a few,   towards implementing smart &  energy efficient solutions  to address problems at school.  This specially tailored Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative teaches students to translate new learnings into practical solutions.

MGA is indeed  very proud to  be the sponsor  of EEP programs since 2014  as part of its efforts to advocate gas and energy efficiency in a fun and innovative ways amongst the school children.  And of course using micro:bit as the learning tools in a group set-up  was indeed an awesome and interesting way to stimulate KBAT (higher order  thinking skills), team work, creativity and of course confidence & communication !

The conducive environment offered by Petrosains was a top attraction especially for kids  from B40 category who has never been to KLCC in their entire life,  while  the friendly and well-trained trainer and facilitators  added to  the enthusiasm which literally summed up the program as  overwhelmingly  successful.  Some of the verbatim  feedbacks include ‘Program Sangat Menarik’, ‘Best Gila’, ‘Kaedah mengajar yang sangat jelas’, ‘I want to come back’, ‘Terimakasih MGA and Petrosains – Best Nya’, ‘This is so much fun – please let us visit Petrosains for free next time’ , ‘Very useful knowledge and experience – TQSM MGA & Petrosains’  and countless other  encouraging feedbacks that demonstrated their awe and joy for being given the opportunity to  be part of EEP 2019.

The officers from Ministry of Education, States Education Departments and accompanying teachers were also very appreciative  of  the initiatives by  MGA and Petrosains  to instill new ways of learning towards  promoting interest in STEM, critical thinking and innovative solutions.   It is their fervent hope that this program could be continued year on year  and that more schools be given the opportunity to participate.

The organizing committee also wishes to convey its highest appreciation to all mentors for spending their time at EEP2019. As per previous practice,  EEP2019 also featured mentoring sessions led by MGA members such as PETRONAS and H Rosen to share  insights about energy efficiency and the important role that natural gas plays in creating a sustainable energy mix. The mentors also shared personal experiences on how STEM has encouraged critical thinking and innovative solutions that helped shape their successful careers.

The schools that took part in this year’s EEP were  SMK Bentong and SMK Sulaiman from Pahang; SMK Putrajaya Presint 14(1) and SMK Putrajaya Presint 16(1)  from Putrajaya;  and SMK Dato’ Ahmad Razali and SMK TTDI Jaya  from Selangor.