00:00Hi, my name is Jason Chong Min Jun. I'm from Sandakan Sabah, the home where we have a lot
00:07of seafood, a lot of orang utan. I took my SPM in SM Sung Siew, and I'm currently doing
00:13my A-levels, second year actually, in College of SM UAM. I have been in Explorers for five
00:18years now. Four years as an active participant, one year as a student advisor for my juniors.
00:24It was a very fruitful experience since I get to learn a lot about STEM, I get to have
00:28more hands-on experiences, and it really filled my passion to exploring the STEM field, in
00:33particular towards engineering as well. I've always understood that I wanted STEM, but
00:37it wasn't until Nexplorers that I actually filled the passion, because Nexplorers is
00:41one of those programs where you really provide a lot of hands-on learning, you get to build
00:45everything and you get to design and create your own solutions by yourself, albeit with
00:49some other people that you work in a team, which also helps refine your leadership, your
00:54communication skills, your teamwork, and most importantly, that passion and that interest
00:58to STEM. I feel like Shell Nexplorers is what helps me understand more about what I
01:04want to do in the future, and that's why in my course that I'm going to do in university,
01:08I plan to pursue Mechanical Engineering as my degree.
01:14I saw a post in the internal tool, Shell Malaysia Yammer, so they post for looking for a mentor.
01:24So I saw the post and I find it interesting, so I decided to venture into it. I have more
01:31than 15 years working experience, so I do have knowledge and skills that I wanted to
01:37share with the students, especially when it comes to the soft skills, problem-solving
01:42skills and how to actually handle a project, so I do think that I could contribute in that
01:50sense. Being a mentor, it's a good opportunity for me to share all those knowledge with the
01:56students, especially when it comes to STEM learning. STEM learning is actually a hands-on
02:02learning for the students. Apart from actually learning the technical knowledge, they would
02:08also be able to learn the soft skills, those knowledge that they can use, not only in studying
02:16but also in real life. Over the four years in my term in Explorers,
02:21there is a lot of products, I would say a lot of projects that we worked on, but the
02:25one that I really remember the most, because the one that was really exciting and interesting
02:29for me to design, is the one where we had to design an agricultural robot, a vegetable
02:34harvesting robot, because the problem that we were trying to solve is that in Sabah,
02:38especially the rural areas, agriculture is still a significant part in Sabah, and so
02:43what we found out was that intensive farming wasn't really power efficient, they still
02:48use a lot of oil, they use a lot of non-renewable energy sources, which is not really kind to
02:54the environment and it's not really energy efficient in a way. So what our project aimed
02:59to solve was we tried to deliver that solution in a more energy renewable way, so we created
03:06a harvesting robot, vegetable harvesting robot, that is able to pick up its own vegetables
03:12and put it in its basket, all while using solar cells or any energy that you have generated
03:17through wind, turbine, or whatever renewable sources that is available in the area.
03:22We were this close to winning the school competition actually, but our seniors had a much more
03:28refined idea, but nonetheless it was quite well received by our school actually, and
03:33actually we implemented in our community, more specifically I tried it at my grandmother's
03:39backyard, and it was quite okay, but we do realise that there was a few areas of improvement,
03:44for example the app that we designed wasn't really user friendly, and I believe that process
03:50itself is what makes NextForward special, is that you identify the problem, you create
03:55the solutions to solving it, and you put it in a real world application and you refine
04:00it so that it becomes a much more larger scale product that can be used into other fields
04:05and other industries that is possible.
04:07The high moments was during the competition day, I actually saw the students presenting
04:15their ideas, defending their projects, so during that day I can see the change from
04:21the students, from the day one that I met them, to the competition day, where they have
04:28been very impressive in showcasing their prototypes, in actually delivering their presentations,
04:35they are very motivated during those times, and I feel like a very very proud parent,
04:41and I would say it's a bit emotional for me to see how they have grown from the first
04:48day towards the end of the competition day.
04:51Actually I remember the conflicts the most, because as much as it sounds very negative
04:56for me to say, it's actually a very defining moment because I remember a lot of my time
05:01in NextForwards, working with my teammates, working on countless projects and ideas and
05:08solutions.
05:09I remember that time when we were creating that vegetable robot actually, we really wrote
05:13down on a lot of papers, trying to design the perfect robot in a sense, we were trying
05:19to idea a lot of solutions that we were trying to solve, and it all relates back to how NextForwards
05:26refines my leadership and communication skills, because it really helps impact your personal
05:32and professional development, as well it really, again, fuelled that passion for me to work
05:36in science.
05:37I find it very useful for the students, because they have a hands-on learning during the programme,
05:45it's not only they learn about the technology, they also learn how to solve problems, for
05:51example, if they have a problem with the environment, how do we solve them, and the ways
05:56of solving them, that is where the critical thinking comes from. So, it's very useful
06:02for them, not only for right now, but also for the future.
06:06Right now, what I'm doing is, I'm a Shell Scholar currently, and I'm doing my second
06:10year at College of Arts and UAM, doing my A-Levels, hopefully able to pursue my degree
06:14at my dream school, which is Oxford or Harvard, fingers crossed, and I would really want to
06:21work in STEM also, and that's why I believe that having a career in Shell is definitely
06:25something that I would want, because I feel like Shell provides me a lot of opportunities
06:29for me to engage in STEM, and helps me apply a lot of those opportunities and my knowledge
06:35in the stuff that I really want to do.
06:37STEM runs in my blood, and so I cannot stress enough the importance of having a STEM education.
06:46I believe that having STEM is the key to having a flexible mind, a very intelligent mindset,
06:54and having that intelligent vitality is very important for you to create solutions, ideate
06:59problems, and really learn how to solve a large-scale problem, just from starting by
07:05yourself, you know? A lot of my friends who are with the same batch as me, they opt out
07:10as soon as they are done with SBM, because it's quite hard, and it's very challenging
07:14for you to take it to a tertiary level, but also I will believe that it's not just that
07:19factor, there's also other factors that you have to consider, so for example, access to
07:23the STEM education itself, whether or not you have good quality teachers, and an overall
07:29conducive learning environment, I believe the way you learn STEM can really influence
07:34how you would like it, just how you would influence the people around you.
07:39There's a misconception saying that it's very hard subjects, you know, it's not easy to
07:44learn, so this Shell and Explorer programme can actually change those misconceptions,
07:51and they will find it fun, STEM is fun to learn when you have it as hands-on, you know,
07:58instead of thinking that it's just a straightforward kind of subjects, so to change those misconceptions
08:06towards the students wasn't easy, but this is a very good programme in promoting STEM learning.
08:12I see a lot of passionate students who are just scared to even step into the field, just
08:17because it's difficult and it's hard for them to learn, my advice would just be to go for
08:22it, because you never know until you try, and most importantly, how you learn STEM dictates
08:27how you would love the subject.
08:30I really encourage the students to join, because it's a great opportunity to learn, it's fun.
08:42www.pearsonschools.co.uk
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