Maxis eKelas’ first ever nationwide STEM competition challenges Malaysian students to explore space

• Two-month long competition has already attracted more than 2,700 challengers since launch
• ‘Misi Jelajah Digital’ invites students to showcase coding, creative and design thinking skills
• Winners stand a chance to take home attractive prizes, including laptops, mobile devices and online vouchers

Maxis’ first ever nationwide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) competition, Misi Jelajah Digital, has attracted over 2,700 young challengers since its launch earlier this month. The competition by eKelas, Maxis’ flagship community outreach programme, aims to foster critical thinking among students and encourage them to innovate through coding, creative and design thinking skills which are increasingly becoming new commodities in the digital future.

At a kick-off webinar held in in conjunction with the launch, challengers were treated to a special talk by Prof Dato’ Seri Dr Mazlan Othman, Malaysia’s first astrophysicist and former Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. She shared about the importance of space exploration in the pursuit of scientific advancements and the growing importance of STEM-skills for the future.

“Space is often considered the pinnacle of humankind’s achievement in science, and it has always been my vision and hope for young Malaysians to endeavour to reach for the stars. What I like about Misi Jelajah Digital is that it teaches STEM in a fun and exciting manner while encouraging creativity and exploring the mysteries of space. More importantly, as the competition is open to students all over the nation, it helps to close the STEM gap between those in the urban and rural areas,” said Prof Dato’ Seri Dr Mazlan.

“Our eKelas programme is driven by our passion for education, and we want to encourage students to look forward to the digital future by offering fun and vibrant learning content. We are excited to be providing this platform to further broaden the minds of our eKelas students. Misi Jelajah Digital also represents our desire to expand our eKelas offerings into STEM-related content in the future with more integrated learning. We look forward to the creativity and innovation of our participating students and wish them the very best in their exciting journey,” said Mariam Bevi Batcha, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Maxis.

Misi Jelajah Digital is organised in collaboration with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) #mydigitalmaker and Lenovo Technology Sdn Bhd (Lenovo Malaysia). Approved and supported by the Educational Resources and Technology Division (BSTP) under the Ministry of Education, the competition is conducted in accordance with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards, and divided into two pillars:

• Misi Bumi: Students will navigate through an obstacle course within a purpose-built Maxis eKelas Roblox world and discover hidden rewards. Upon completion of the course, they may learn how to code and build their own world by joining a Roblox Game Development series in the eKelas portal.
• Misi Marikh: Students will take on space travel by submitting an original spacecraft design and a human colony plan. They can choose to either complete the tasks by hand drawing their design, or by coding with Scratch, a visual programming language.

The competition runs for two months until 31 October 2021 and is open to students aged 10-17 years old (Year 4 to Form 5). Those who sign up will also receive Physical Activity, Sports and Co -curriculum Assessment (PAJSK) credits while standing a chance to win attractive prizes, including laptops, mobile devices, and online vouchers.

In the coming weeks, challengers will continue to have access to explainer videos, notes and modules from which they can learn coding and design basics. There will also be talks covering key STEM topics and live tutorial workshops where they can get tips on how to complete the challenges and explore game walkthroughs. Additionally, Form 5 challengers are invited to a special sharing session by Maxis, MDEC and Lenovo representatives on 23 October about careers in STEM.

For more information and to sign up for Misi Jelajah Digital¸ visit https://www.maxis.my/ekelas-stem