Thirty enthusiastic students from Primus College, MySkills, together with their coordinator, Mr. Rama, made their way to Cyberjaya’s MCMC starting from the 20th of March for a three day IT course. It was an opportunity of a life time for these students .This course called “MyMaker” is the effort of Digital Life Malaysia.
The course which was conducted by a team of dedicated and equally enthusiastic staff was a hit with the boys. Being excellent with their hands, they were able to fix drones in groups of four in under 20 minutes. These were small palm sized. They were shown the sample drone as a first step, and then taken through some input about fixing each. Next they were given a dismantled drone to fix.
Krishna Prasad, 16, joined MySkills only a month ago after his Form Three. He was thrilled about the drones. He said his group mates were able to fix the drone using Ellen keys after the explanation by the trainers and after reading the instructions. He realized how effective photography becomes with the use of a drone and also its many uses, like its role in movie making. They tested the drones once these were fixed. He also talked about being able to participate in competitions.
For his friend Shankar Raj 16, his exposure to drones was only through the television. So it was something new for him, and something certainly which would not have come his way if he was still in school. It was a sentiment shared by Krishna too. Another one of the participants, 14 year old Aaron who joined MySkills a week prior to the course, expressed that he learned a lot. He said that the drone was “like a helicopter with four fans”. He could understand the explanation about the operations of a drone and the mechanics of fixing it.
All three students, including the rest of the group enjoyed immensely what they went through. They were excited too about the robotics programme. Like the drone experience, they were shown a small robot of about a foot in height. Again they were they challenged to put together the dismantled parts. They addressed this in their small groups of four based on a manual they were given. After physically fixing the robot, they then plugged the robot to the laptop and manipulated its movements.
Rama who was there to help with the coordination and language, said he saw talent in another area among the boys apart from what they were exposed to through Primus. Rama also observed that the boys were very fast with putting together the drones and robots, but took a little more time with theory. After some repeated explanation by the very caring team from My Maker, the students grasped the theory and could then put to practice.
Our boys had impressed Mr John Tay who is Head of Department of Digital Lifestyle and society that he has said he will invite whoever is interested in the group for an upcoming competition in April among other college students. The drones, robotics and 3 D printing experience have certainly made a difference. Aaron, who was initially afraid of what was before him in terms of the course when he was selected, says it is a great opportunity for him as well as his friends. They all express their gratitude to Mr John Tay, Mr Kathir, Mr Azam & Mr Rama for their learning experience and for being very well looked after in the three days , including food. Mr Pathi and Mr Deva were present on the last day to explore the future collaborations with MCMC’S initiatives and then personally for the exposure given.
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