UCSI University hosted Design Thinking Boot Camp

KUALA LUMPUR: UCSI University (UCSI) hosted the Design Thinking Boot Camp for teachers and students from national and national-type schools from around the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan.

Organised for the first time in UCSI by the Malaysian Invention & Design Society (MINDS), the two-day Boot Camp aims to train teachers and students on the basics of design thinking and its application.

The opening ceremony was officiated by the founder of MINDS, Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Datuk Dr Augustine Ong Soon Hock.

According to Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ong – a respected scientist known as the Father of Malaysian palm oil – design thinking is best described as a specific approach to innovation. He also mentioned that through the Design Thinking Boot Camp, Malaysia will produce more inventors and innovators. 

“There are a lot of problems in this world that need solution and this leads to inventions and innovations. I am proud of our inventors and innovators and I am looking forward to seeing more of them. And through this Boot Camp, we hope to achieve that goal,” he said.

The opening ceremony was also attended by UCSI’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Senior Prof Dato’ Dr Khalid Yusoff. In his speech, he shared several initiatives by UCSI to advance innovation and technology among UCSI students.

“We have initiated the Star Trek programme, where we provide our brightest students with opportunities to obtain exposure working or being attached with top corporations and universities,” he said.

Under this initiative, a third year medical student has been sent to Harvard Medical School for an intercalated research year. Two chemical engineering students have also just been sent to Imperial College London for three month-summer research programmes.

Senior Prof Dato’ Dr Khalid also added that UCSI is pleased to partner with MINDS as the agents of change.

“This Boot Camp may just be the right answer to combat rote-learning. It will help to nurture and equip our students with the right mind-set and ability to think clearly, creatively and innovatively. The sooner we realise what is important in our education, the sooner we can proceed with change.”

The official facilitator of the two-day Boot Camp was Mr Stephen Poon, a lecturer from Taylor’s University who is also the EXCO member of MINDS.

“It is very common that people misread design thinking as creative thinking. And this is why it is very important for them to know the difference and understand the whole rationale of the topic. It is about creating solutions." 

Participants included students from UCSI University; SMK Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, SMK Bukit Mewah, SMJK Chan Wa, Sekolah Kebangsaan Meru, SJK (C) Lee Min, SM Teknik KL, and Maz International School.

“With the advent of technology, I think it’s a great idea to incorporate what we learn from this Boot Camp today in our teaching and learning. We have to make sure that we – the teachers and our students – are equipped with the right mind-set,” said Melina Lee Wei Eng, a teacher from SMJK Chan Wa.

Besides design thinking, one of the prominent topics presented at the Boot Camp was on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) by Mr Ong Chui Koon, the Executive Director of QO Patent Sdn Bhd.

Present at the ceremony was also Dr Tan Teng Hwang, the Advisor of the UCSI-MINDS student chapter and Ee Kai Shen, the Organising Chairperson and President of the UCSI-Minds student chapter. 

MINDS was established in 1987 and is the largest body in Malaysia representing individuals, universities and companies that pursue excellence in invention, creativity, innovation, research and development, and industrial design. It is also designed to assist scientists and technologists to develop their ideas into inventions, and to commercialise the innovations. Among its patrons is Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad – former prime minister of Malaysia.