TAR UC Appointed as Robomatter STEM Programme Validator

2 June 2016, KUALA LUMPUR – Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR UC’) has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (‘MoA’) with CM Asia Learning Pte Ltd (‘CM Asia’) and Eduspec Holdings Bhd (‘Eduspec’) today which will kickstart the provision of a world-class STEM (acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education for school students in Malaysia. The strategic collaboration aims to increase the STEM literacy among the school students so as to build up a sustainable STEM talent pool who will take the lead in the areas of technology and innovation to push Malaysia towards high income nation.

The MoA was signed by three parties, namely TAR UC, CM Asia and Eduspec where TAR UC was represented by Assoc. Prof. Dr Ng Swee Chin, Vice President, and CM Asia was represented by Mr Yeoh Cheng Poh, Chief Executive Officer. Eduspec, meanwhile, was represented by Mr Lim Soon Seong, Executive Director.

Following from the signing of the MoA, two STEM programmes will be made available to Malaysian school students, namely STEM with Computer Science and STEM with Robotics. The programmes are developed by Robomatter, Inc., a global leader in providing STEM education solutions, which has many products that are created under license from Carnegie Mellon University, one of the top universities in the world based in the United States. 

In this tripartite collaboration, TAR UC will assume the dual role as validator and certification issuer in the first phase in which the University College will evaluate and validate the results of students and teachers’ assessment in the abovementioned STEM programmes and jointly award the certification with Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (‘CMRA’), a world-renowned robotics research academy which is an educational outreach of Carnegie Mellon University. Subsequently in the second phase, TAR UC will be appointed as the Master Trainer which will provide STEM Educator Training programme to train and certify teachers to enable them to teach the STEM with Computer Science and STEM with Robotics programmes.

CM Asia is the principal distributor of STEM programmes by Robomatter, Inc. whereas Eduspec is the local deployment agent appointed by CM Asia to roll out the two STEM programmes in Malaysia.  

During the signing of the MoA, Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR UC, highlighted that TAR UC is entrusted to play such an important role based on the outstanding track record in the areas of engineering and information & communication technology (‘ICT’). “TAR UC has built a solid reputation in engineering and ICT as our intensive industry-relevant programme curriculum has produced highly qualified graduates who are much sought after by the industries. We establish close collaboration with many global industry leaders to facilitate transfer of the latest technology and knowledge and continuously upskill our teaching faculty to ensure they are always at the forefront to teach the students”.

Datuk Dr Tan further added that this collaboration is a good opportunity for TAR UC to play its role in nation building and therefore the success of this collaboration is crucial. “Digital economy is the way forward in this 21^st century. As a result, STEM holds the key to future development of our nation. More and more STEM-skilled professionals will be needed to bring Malaysia up to speed in terms of economic growth. To remain competitive, the younger generation must be well-equipped with STEM-related skills to help them face the challenges dictated by science and technology. As an institution of higher learning, we see this as an opportunity to play our role in building a sustainable pipeline of STEM workforce to support Malaysia’s future development by training and imparting the required knowledge and skills. We understand the importance of STEM and TAR UC is committed to the success of this collaboration and will work closely with CM Asia and Eduspec to achieve our aim”, he said.   

Mr. Yeoh Cheng Poh, CEO of CM Asia Learning, added: “In today’s digital world, STEM can be found in all parts of our life. The education of the essential four disciplines; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is crucial to every country”.

“In the United States, Robomatter, Inc. has trained more than 11,000 teachers and have implemented STEM programs in more than 16,000 schools. With the new partnership with TAR UC, we hope to create awareness of our STEM programs and to train more educators in Malaysia with essential STEM teaching methods and pedagogy to ensure that students are well-prepared for their future workplace”, Mr Yeoh continued. 

“STEM has become a necessity in modern times. Computing and Robotics knowledge, therefore, have become part of the basic skills that we need to instil in our children to ensure that they are able to thrive in today’s world,” concurred Eduspec Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lim Een Hong. “We believe that the introduction of the two STEM programmes in our local schools can help the students think outside the box and pique their interest in STEM learning. We are grateful to TAR UC for coming on board to help us with this endeavor,” Mr Lim added.

“In our increasingly interconnected and technical world, the skills that accompany a quality STEM education are more important than ever,” said Skip Smith, President of Robomatter, Inc. “We are excited to support this partnership, and continue the mission to provide high?quality, cost?effective K?12 STEM education solutions to classrooms around the world, helping ensure students are ready to compete in our global, emerging economy.”