SMK Lutong from Miri are the national champions of the #MyGeekMovement Grand Finals 2018. Their dust detector prototype defeated SM St. Michael and SMK Bandar Puncak Jalil. Shell Malaysia organised the competition, which had students presenting their inventions and prototypes under the theme ‘Access to Energy’.

The Sarawak-based school won as their dust detector invention was build with energy conservation in mind. The members of the winning team also won the chance to be part of Shell’s Make the Future in London; they will be able to experience the science and testing behind alternative energy as well as contribute their ideas.

15 schools across Malaysia joined the #MyGeekMovement competition, with 225 students in total taking part. They were given hands-on STEM training before the competition; there will also be a peer-to-peer coaching program to continue sharing knowledge among students of the schools involved. This STEM-immersive program by Shell is also supported by the Ministry of Education.

On top of that, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) also plays a role in the program. They help to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the STEM education being provided as well as strategise its sustainability.

“Shell Malaysia has aligned our #MyGeekMovement to ensure the program contributes towards meeting targets and aspirations to increase the numbers of STEM graduates. Our initiative focuses on providing an early exposure to STEM to spark an early interest in fields like engineering, information technology and automation,” says Nimmi Kamal, Shell Malaysia Country External Relations Head.

This initiative by Shell is also part of the support of the government’s Transformasi Negara 50 vision. It assists the prioritising for a knowledge-based economy, focused on science and technology.

Nimmi adds, “STEM are subjects at the very heart of Shell. Our industry needs talented people with relevant knowledge and skills in these areas, and through our STEM-related program, we aim to contribute to future pipeline of talents and capabilities crucial for our industries as we actively shape and participate in the energy transition.”

The #MyGeekMovement aims to provide content to complement the current co-curricular structure in schools. They hope to increase the number of students choosing to enter the sciences in schools as well as sparking an interest in science and technology among the younger generation.

According to Nimmi, they hope to achieve a 60:40 ratio among the science and arts streams in schools. To aid their goal, they have made a call at both state and national levels to encourage interest in the sciences. They hope this can help Malaysia meet its future human capital need.