Recognising the role higher education institutions play in growing future TVET talent, Universiti Malaysia Perlis’ (UniMAP) Faculty of Electrical Engineering & Technology (FKTE) organized a TVET Program Open Day on 22 June 2022. The program, aimed to nurture and strengthen secondary school students’ interest in technology and engineering, was held in conjunction with Malaysia’s National TVET Day 2022. Six secondary schools from the northern states of Perlis and Kedah, comprising a combination of science colleges and schools (Mara Beseri Science College, Kubang Pasu Science Secondary School & Tuanku Syed Putra Science High School), vocational colleges (Arau Vocational College & Kangar Vocational College) and a national secondary school (Arau National Secondary School), participated in the program bringing together a total of 103 students and 13 accompanying teachers.
During the program, several workshops were conducted which afforded participants with hands-on experience in technology and engineering. Activities included Robocon simulation, LEGO Robot, renewable energy simulation and robot obstacle avoidance. The students were also introduced to programmes of study at UniMAP which can provide them a formal platform to deepen their knowledge bases in TVET areas of interest. Activities during the Open Day were conducted particularly in alignment with Malaysia’s high-TVET agenda which positions TVET as one of the 14 key transformation drivers in the 12th Malaysia Plan. The participants went away with certificates, an insight into the workings of technology and engineering, and new educational partners.
Positive feedback from the participants indicate that the program was impactful as a means of raising awareness to, and garnering students’ interest in TVET. Similar programs will be conducted in future with the aim of further outreach especially to students from the B40 group, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 10 Reduced Inequality by increasing the group’s access to higher education, with specific focus on TVET.