KSB second series helps cultivate interest in science, technology and innovation in rural Sabah

NABAWAN - The 2023 Kembara Sains Borneo (KSB) Series 2 programme in Sabah has received an encouraging response, says National Science Centre (PSN) director Mismah Jimbun.

She said the KSB programme held from Sept 15-Oct 1 in Kimanis, Kalabakan, and Nabawan had helped realise efforts to cultivate interest in the field of science, technology and innovation (STI), especially in the rural areas of the state,

"KSB is an STI cultivation program that is implemented as a 21-day tour involving three main programmes in each location and four side programmes in selected schools.

"Basically, KSB was introduced to approach rural students directly to foster their interest in STI through interactive learning methods," she said.

Mismah was speaking at the closing ceremony of the KSB Series 2 here today which was officiated by Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.

Commenting further, Mismah said she hoped that KSB could provide the experience of visiting a science centre to locals.

"This programme is also a fun educational destination that is beneficial to the family, in addition to providing great benefits and impact in encouraging students to become interested in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem).

"I would like to say well done and congratulations to everyone in PSN, the Sabah Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the State Education Department (JPN), Nabawan District Office, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and all strategic partners for their strong support to make the KSB programme a success," she said.

Meanwhile, Arthur said KSB received a very encouraging response from the people of Sabah with the number of visitors exceeding the set target.

"A total of 19,408 members of the community were involved in various activities carried out in KSB in Kimanis and Kalabakan including side activities that were implemented in the surrounding schools.

"This KSB in Pensiangan which was held beginning yesterday recorded a total of 3,000 visitors on the first day, bringing the total number of visitors (for KSB Series 2) to 22,408. This has successfully surpassed the set target of 10,000 visitors," he said.

Arthur also expressed confidence that with the data and feedback received from the visitors, external outreach programmes such as KSB could be considered to be held periodically.

"The outreach programme to cultivate STI can help the country produce sufficient human capital in this field to meet the demand in technology-based industries that offer various economic potentials as well as job opportunities offering lucrative wages," he added. - BERNAMA