Girl Power Meets Tech Savvy: APU Empowers Selangor’s Girl Guides with Thrilling Workshops!

APU’s workshop series is not just about tech and finance — it is about breaking down barriers, empowering young minds, and addressing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) has recently taken a significant step in empowering young learners by hosting an enriching series of workshops for 200 Girl Guide students.

This workshop was held at the state-of-the-art APU campus in Kuala Lumpur as part of APU’s commitment to fostering technology and financial literacy with 34 Selangor schools, including 21 from the Hulu Langat district. 

The programme covered a wide range of modern skills and knowledge areas, led by APU lecturers from the School of Computing (SoC), School of Technology (SoT), School of Engineering (SoE), and School of Accounting & Finance (SoAF), and was divided into three sessions on 4th and 18th November, and 9th December 2023.

Head of SoC Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Tan Chin Ike and Dr. Masrina Akmal Salleh provided students with a detailed journey through the evolution of programming during the Programming Workshop. 

Early exposure to AI resulted in the emergence of a digitally literate generation.

The workshop includes hands-on experiences with creating flowcharts, writing pseudocode, and developing animated projects in Scratch, all to improve logical thinking and computational skills, which are essential for future programming endeavours.

The Computer Workshop, led by Dr. Nurul Farhaini Razali, Mr. Joshua Samuel, and Ts. Umapathy Eaganathan, shared their expertise in Digital Communication by teaching students how to utilize social media, email, and other digital platforms, with a focus on internet safety.

At the same time, students are taught how to utilise MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which are their instruments for personal and academic everyday duties.

Next, Ts. Suresh Gobee, Academic Head of Asia Pacific Centre of Robotics Engineering (APCORE), showcased the intricacies of robotics in the Robotic Workshop, enabling students to construct prototype robots designed to address real-world challenges. 

Robotic Workshop allows students to build prototype robots meant to solve real-world problems.

This hands-on experience also provided insight into the functionality of tech components and encouraged the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Head of SoAF Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chong Lee Lee, Ms. Ng Hui Chen, Ms. Nur Lalua Rashidah Mohd. Rahsiad, Dr. Ahmad Danial Zainudin, Ms. Meera Eeswaran, and Ms. Kavitha Arunasalam conducted the Fintech Workshop.

They guide the students through the fascinating world of cryptocurrency, digital currencies, and the mind-blowing blockchain technology that runs it all.

Mr. Fahd Raza opened the doors to the world of AI with platforms like DALL-E, Chat-GPT, and Picstory in the special session on Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Workshop, and the students learned how to craft stories using AI-generated images and discover how AI can simplify their life and boost creativity.

Ms. Meera Eeswaran provided an early introduction to Fintech.

Meanwhile, Ms. Kirtana Kaur Gill, a former Girl Guide and current APU Foundation student, delivered valuable insights and experiences as the previous president of the SMK Seri Hartamas Girl Guide unit.  

Kirtana has previously received award-winning guides, including the National Brownie Guide Award 2016, the National Girl Guide Award 2021, and the National Queen’s Guide Award 2022.

She shared her expertise and experiences, demonstrating that managing girl guide obligations and education is a superpower with proper time management and effort.

Ms. Kirtana Kaur Gill.

As this epic journey comes to an end, the Girl Guide Association Selangor expresses their heartfelt thanks to APU, and Prof. Dr. Angelina Yee, Director (Research & Enterprise), leaves the girls with words that will live on in their hearts.

“Embrace every challenge as a steppingstone to success. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning and remember that while your road may be filled with challenges, each one is an opportunity to grow and become the leader you were born to be.”

APU’s workshop series is not just about tech and finance — it is about breaking down barriers, empowering young minds, and addressing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

APU is paving the way for a brighter, more innovative tomorrow for Selangor’s Girl Guides to remember that the world is their digital playground to go forth, explore, create, and prepare them to be future leaders in technology and finance by equipping these future leaders with essential skills for a digital world.

Prof. Dr. Angelina Yee (left) handed the participants certificates of appreciation.