Sparking Interest in STEM Education via Video Competition

The inaugural Institute of Engineers Malaysia (‘IEM’) – Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (‘TAR UC’) 1-Minute Engineering and Technology Video Competition had a good start with 55 submissions from 28 secondary schools nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak. The collaborative event between IEM and TAR UC aimed to increase secondary school students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or STEM through creative and innovative approaches. In this competition, participants were required to produce a 1-minute video on topics related to engineering and technology using their most used and trusted accessory, namely their mobile devices.

The competition was divided into Upper Secondary and Lower Secondary levels with two prize categories, namely the Main Prizes and Public Engagement Awards. Winners for the Main Prizes were chosen by a panel of judges after the closing date for video submission on 19 August 2019. Meanwhile, the winners for the Public Engagement Awards were selected based on the videos which garnered the most number of ‘Likes’ on TAR UC’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as ‘Most Views’ on TAR UC’s YouTube channel between the end of August up to 31 October 2019.

A special prize giving ceremony was held on 25 September 2019 at the TAR UC Kuala Lumpur Main Campus to honour the winners for the Main Prizes. Videos were selected based on three criteria, namely content, creativity and originality and overall quality of the video. For the Upper Secondary level, the first prize team won a total cash prize of RM2,000 and each team member received a scholarship from TAR UC worth RM10,000. The first Runner-up team won total cash prize worth RM500 and a scholarship of RM3,500 from TAR UC for each team member. The Page 2 of 4 second Runner-up team won cash prize of RM300 and a RM2,000 scholarship from TAR UC for each team member. As for the Lower Secondary level, the top team walked away with a cash prize worth RM1,000 while the first Runner-up team won a cash prize worth RM500 and second Runner-up team took home a cash prize worth RM300. In addition, each winning team for the Public Engagement Awards received a cash prize of RM200. Below are the list of winners according to the levels and categories:

TAR UC President Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei was heartened by the success of the competition in achieving its aim. “This event is one of the many initiatives of IEM and TAR UC in promoting awareness among the younger generation on the importance of engineering and technology related skills and knowledge in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The response we received from schools are very encouraging and TAR UC will be working with IEM to organise this competition again next year,” he said.

The top videos for each category and level can be viewed on TAR UC’s official Facebook page (Tunku Abdul Rahman University College), Instagram account (@taruc_official) and YouTube Channel (Tunku Abdul Rahman University College).