Nurturing Creativity & Discovery through Robotics

Three schools were taken under the wings of the Engineering faculty of KDU College Penang Campus as buddy schools in one of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to develop and encourage critical and creative thinking skills amongst the youths. The main objectives of this CSR initiative are to cultivate young minds through the use of innovative technology while simultaneously developing a positive perception towards science and technology and in the field of engineering specifically. KDU College encourages such collaborations with schools as it views this as an opportunity to reach out to serve the community.

Students from SMK Penang Free, SMK Jalan Damai and SMK St. Mark who are participating in the forthcoming Malaysian National Robotic Competition were given exposure in the fundamentals of utilizing LEGO NXT robot to construct and programme robotic designs in a robotics workshop. This learning platform served to support the Education Ministry’s drive for schools to participate in the Malaysian National Robotic Competition (NRC) which aims to enhance creativity in problem-solving
and promote innovation while fostering teamwork and collaboration among students and corporate bodies. This CSR initiative is part of KDU’s attempt to introduce the Electrical & Electronics Engineering field to the younger generation in tandem with the government’s call for more engineers to meet the rising demand in developing quality human capital.

At this workshop, under the guidance of KDU’s lecturers, the participants were shown how to construct robots with pre-calculated programmes, built-in-light and ultrasound sensors to enable it to maneuver a race track within a stipulated time frame. Students learned some basic theories on robotics and visual programming using LEGO NXT-G. To complement the theoretical components, intensive hands-on exposure was also conducted. This hands-on approach facilitated actual application of learned principles when building the robot. Having acquired these basic skills, the participants participated in an interactive session whereby students competed against each other to determine who could make the most reliable and sturdy robot. The opportunity to engage in discussions with KDU lecturers, who are engineers, gave students a head-start towards nurturing their creativity and enhancing innovative skills while simultaneously, developing a passion for robotics. Engineering is a field for youths to consider as Malaysia gears towards building a society of high income earners.

KDU College Penang’s Engineering Faculty welcomes cooperation with secondary schools and is willing to conduct activities such as this robotics workshop and invites representatives of interested schools to call KDU. KDU aims to bridge the gap between the industry and education institutions by offering re-skilling models in the area of management skills, soft skills, technical skills and living skills. Collaborations of this nature serve as ideal training platform as KDU’s programmes are complemented by amenities such as state-of-the-art computer labs with up-to-date technologies to facilitate learning. For more details, please call 04-226 6368 or visit KDU College Penang Campus at www.kdupg.edu.my