SEBAUH, BINTULU, 19 JULY 2019 – The digital talent development of School children in

Sarawak has been gaining traction with numerous STEM programs hosted and championed

by Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) as the Driver of Sarawak Digital Economy, carried

out in partnership with its various collaborators. Digital Skills and Talent Development is one

of the key enablers for Sarawak Digital Economy.

The STEM program titled “e-Wallet Challenge” was conducted in the town of Sebauh, Bintulu

in conjunction with the launch of Sarawak Pay – BSN Fintech Reaching Rural Community

Program which is organised by SMA. The STEM Program was attended by one hundred (100)

primary five and six students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Sebauh.

According to Dr Zaidi Razak, General Manager of SMA “The future of Sarawak lies in the hands

of our children, thus we need to ensure that they are properly educated, exposed and given

access to relevant educational opportunities such as STEM, especially our children in more

rural and remote areas. Through these programs, we can see a number of children at a very

tender age who are capable of understanding and developing IT solutions, as long as they are

given the necessary tools, and trainings. That is where SMA’s role comes in, we want to ensure

that all Sarawakians are involved in the Digital Economy journey, thus, more programs related

to digital talent development will be hosted in the near future.”

Dr Zaidi Razak also highlighted that the program was conducted with the assistance of a local

Startup under the Sarawak Digital Village Ecosystem, The Learning Curve which teaches kids

STEM education.

Through the program, students were introduced with the basics of programming, e-Wallet

concept, and ICT education. Students had the opportunity to program a micro-controller,

create the user experience and interface design (UI/UX) and ultimately, compete with one

another to see, who has the best e-Wallet using the tools provided.

Other than that, the students were also given a mini foldable microscope kit for them to

assemble and explore the microscopic world. These programs are aligned with the Sarawak

State’s goal of strengthening the current STEM and ICT education in primary, secondary and

tertiary institutions (Strategic Action 34, Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy).

The program ended with an award giving ceremony to the winners of the competition;

Team 1: MasNor Farzana & Teresia Una

Team 2: Glannon and Angeliyca Seri

Team 3: Ambrose Bunya and Christina Kijun

Other upcoming STEM program that is organised by SMA, TEGAS and MESTR is the STEM

Playground, which will be held at University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS), Sibu on

the 26th – 28th July 2019 and at PUSTAKA Negeri Miri, Miri City Fan and Dewan Suarah Miri

on the 3rd – 4th August 2019. Parents, students, teachers, youths and publics are encouraged

to come to this event and experience the digital economy. Admission is free and it is open

from 10AM to 5PM.