KUCHING: Fifty-eight teachers from primary schools in and around Kuching received certificates of completion after finishing Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus’ Raspberry Pi training programme recently.
The course was organised by the Ministry for Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) to train more than 1260 teachers across the state with the knowledge to engage and enhance student learning in computer programming and coding.
The graduation ceremony was attended by Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn, Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development who also presented the certificates.
Other guests in attendance included Datuk Francis Harden Hollis (Deputy Minister of MEITD); Datu Kameri Affandi (Permanent Secretary for MEITD) and Datuk Jonathan Chai (president of the Association of the Boards of Management of Aided Chinese Primary Schools in Kuching, Samarahan and Serian).
In his speech, Roland hoped the teachers would use Pi to teach coding to students so that they could develop apps and games and solve real-world problems.
“We hope that in the long term, the knowledge our teachers gained through this training will cascade to their colleagues and students,” he said.
“The training programme is an excellent initiative by the Sarawak government to ensure that our learners are future-ready and equipped to meet the needs of industry 4.0.”
“We hope to provide forward-thinking solutions today to address the needs of the state’s workforce tomorrow through this and many other initiatives” said Professor Wallace Wong, Chief Executive, Swinburne Innovation Malaysia (SWIM) Sdn Bhd.
SWIM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swinburne Sarawak, works closely with the industry to maximise the impact of innovation and technology within the community.
In line of promoting STEM and ICT education to students in Sarawak, MEITD has provided over 9000 units of Raspberry Pi sets to primary schools all over Sarawak.
By year-end, the programme will be offered to 30 education districts state-wide.
This will involve 1265 teachers who will receive two levels of basic training. Over the next next years, the programme will be delivered across Sarawak in collaboration with various higher education institutions in Sibu, Bintulu and Miri, as well as district education departments.
