SMJK Methodist (L) or MBS recently held a Sponsorship Recognition Ceremony at the school recently to recognise the sponsorship of STEM programmes to be conducted by PENANG STEM and its STEM Centres namely Tech Dome Penang, Penang Math Platform and Penang Skills Development Centre.

The following will be the programmes to be conducted for students of different age groups:

• StepUP Initiative
• Financial Literacy
• TVET-in-schools
• STEM Future-Proofing

Except for the TVET initiative, the 3 other programmes were sponsored by illustrious alumni from the school.

For the fourth year running, Dato’ Ooi Boon Chye (former Senior Vice President of Broadcom) sponsored the StepUP Initiative which was targeted at sparking interests in STEM-learning amongst lower secondary students and inspiring more to opt for Science stream when they move on to upper secondary. His personal sponsorship to-date has amounted to RM80,000.

Another illustrious alumni, Dato’ Ong Eng Bin (CEO of OCBC) also chipped into sponsor students for the Financial Literacy programme for forms 3 & 4 students. His personal sponsorship to-date is RM17,800. The programme was aimed at instilling the intricacies of financial management amongst students who wish to pursue future academic studies in finance-related fields or to manage their own businesses.

Dato’ Selva Kumar of Shan Poornam Metals then stepped forward to sponsor form 4 students on a 2-year programme on foundation-learning for students who wish to pursue future academic studies in Computer/Data Science. The sponsorship will amount to RM60,000 (RM30,000 per annum) over 2 years.

Jabil, a Multi-National Corporation and one of the biggest employers in Penang’s industrial zones, took up sponsorship of the TVET-in-schools programme which is also aimed at providing TVET basic skills-learning for form 4 students as foundation towards future studies in technical fields post-secondary. This is in line with the federal government’s push to encourage students to pursue TVET technical careers in the nation’s push towards IR4.0 and the Digital Transformation. Jabil was represented by Senior HR Director, Mr Vejay Subrayan who presented a mock cheque of rM50,000 for the 2-year programme.

Present to officiate at the Sponsorship Recognition Ceremony was Deputy Chief Minister II and Penang STEM Chairman, YB Prof Dr P Ramasamy with Mr Richard Chung (General Manager, Penang STEM) in attendance.

Deputy Director, Tuan Abdul Said Hussain, represented the State Education Department whilst MBS were represented by School Board Chairman, Dato’ Khoo Cheok Sin, other Board members and also Principal, Mr Pethaperumal and teachers of the school.

In his welcome speech, Dato’ Khoo thanked the alumni members for their generosity in sponsoring related programmes for the current students which was a truly heart-warming gesture indeed.