IN order to meet the demands of jobs of the industrial Revolution 4.0, the #mydigitalmaker Movement, which is led by Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the Education Ministry together with industry and academic partners, should be supported and praised.
MDEC’s Talent and Digital Entrepreneurship vice-president Sumitra Nair said the #mydigitalmaker initiative was an effort to create future digital creators by exposing youth to the creative and innovative aspects of digital technology.
“Digital innovation is recreating all sectors and changing the work landscape. To ensure Malaysia remains competitive, it is important for us to equip youth with digital skills so that they are ready for the future.”
She said Malaysia was the first country in Asean to introduce computer science curriculum in the country’s education system by making the United Kingdom a sample country that had integrated computer science education in its schools.
Through #mydigitalmaker, computational thinking and computer science will be integrated in the Primary School Standard Curriculum and the Secondary School Standard Curriculum in schools starting January last year.
“For the primary school level, it will be integrated into existing subjects, such as mathematics and science, starting with Year One pupils last year, Year Two students this year and so on. While for the secondary level, the introduction of the basic computer science subject in schools will begin with Form One and Form Four students by exposing them to technology skills education,” she said.
The #mydigitalmaker initiative brings students closer to understanding how technologies can foster their interest and awareness to explore, thereby stimulating new ideas in generating digital creations.
To ensure that youth are familiar with knowledge of digital innovation, MDEC provides computing experts to train universities and recognise them as training centres for teachers.
Twelve universities have been selected to train teachers to integrate computing and computer science into their classroom for the new curriculum.
“We work with universities and industry partners to identify talent, and pioneer them for the future careers in technology.
“We also work with universities to act as a training centre for teachers who need training to use various digital tools.
“Logistically, it’s difficult for teachers to go to Kuala Lumpur for training, so the universities play an important role.
Short courses and certification programmes on programming, coding, digital manufacturing and more are offered by #mydigitalmaker Centres and Continuous Professional Development Centre are available on weekends and school holidays to support educators’ readiness.
Sumitra said the effort towards this required collaboration of various parties and MDEC to work with key players in empowering and transforming this talent pool into a professional workforce.
“This programme exposes students to digital technology, thereby attracting them to create technology and innovation in the future.”
For more info on #mydigitalmaker Fair 2018, visit www.mydigitalmaker.com or #mydigitalmaker Instagram and Facebook pages.