Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the CIMB RoboCAMP a holiday camp that teaches primary school students taking the STEM subjects in C-based programming language and robotics in a fun and engaging way.

Headed by CIMB Foundation a CSR initiative the banking group conducts, 189 students from 21 schools in Langkawi were invited to take part in the 5 day program, that apart from subjects like application programming and basic engineering, ethics and character building were also incorporated into the lesson plan. Together with DreamEDGE, a digital engineering firm that mooted the idea as part of their corporate responsibility to nurture the capabilities of Malaysian engineers.

Dato’ Hamidah Naziadin, CEO of CIMB Foundation commented, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution is already upon us and what better way to expose our youths to future career opportunities than by getting them excited about the power of digital through the CIMB RoboCAMP. Youths are a key target group under CIMB Foundation’s CSR initiatives, and through this inaugural camp, they will be guided to tap into their creative mindset to not only absorb knowledge efficiently, but also be exposed to programming. Digital embeds almost every aspect of our lives, and I am confident many of these students will someday perceive RoboCAMP as a catalyst to their curiosity to discover more about the subject.”

Students were placed into teams to compete with each other by programming a robot. Nine teams from three categories won first, second, and third place, receiving a total cash prize of more than RM17, 000. CIMB Group has pledged 1% of its profit before tax to CSR programmes across ASEAN with  one of the target groups being youths.