LABUAN — Twenty-three Form Three students from SMK Pantai showcased their creativity and technological skills at the ASPIRE TechXperience 2026 programme held at the Eureka Room, Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus (UMSKAL), last Saturday.
Organised by UMS’ Faculty of Computing and Informatics (FKI), the programme, themed “ASPIRE TechXperience: Exploring Technology, IoT and Digital Creativity”, aimed to expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through hands-on learning.
Programme director Ts Soffri Yussof said the students went through four sessions covering inspiration, ideation, project development and presentation.
He said six groups showcased their work through Internet of Things (IoT) projects, featuring ideas and prototypes developed during the second session, as well as digital impact posters created in the third session to explain their projects.
“Each group presented its project and poster to a panel of judges and visitors, testing their confidence, communication skills and teamwork,” he said.
In the combined IoT and Poster Competition, Lego Team, comprising Reuben Ronald Lamun, Muhammad Wafiuddin Mohammad Radzi and Mohamad Danish Roslan, emerged as champions.
Second place went to 3 Abdul, represented by Dennis Auther, Muhammad Irsyad Altamis Ilyas and Carlvin Thomas Yapp, while Dubai Cuwicuki, comprising Nur Aleesya Adriana Rume, Adreana Bathreesya Rizuan Nizzam, Audric Bryan Charlie and Muhammad Shahril Aiman Shamsul, finished third.
The closing ceremony and presentation of certificates of participation were officiated by UMSKAL director Prof Dr Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin, who said programmes such as ASPIRE TechXperience should continue to nurture students’ interest in science and technology from an early age.
SMK Pantai principal Ismail Abdullah expressed his appreciation to FKI UMSKAL for organising the programme and hoped the collaboration would continue in the future.
Soffri said he hoped the initiative would inspire more school students to pursue STEM fields and encourage more of them to choose the science stream.
He also thanked the programme facilitators, comprising Dr Nooralisa Mohd Tuah, Dr Nuraini Jamil, Dr Dinna@Nina Mohd Nizam, Ryan Macdonell Andrias and Dr Dg Senandong Ajor, as well as U-Science UMS, UMSKAL, lecturers and teachers for their support.
“Although the programme has ended, we hope the students’ curiosity and interest in STEM will continue to grow.
“We also hope the collaboration between FKI UMS and SMK Pantai will continue in the future,” he said.
Also present were FKI Deputy Dean (Postgraduate and Internationalisation) Dr Nooralisa Mohd Tuah, SMK Pantai Senior Assistant for Administration Wan Azmoma Wan Mohamed, STEM coordinator Claire Marie Kinajil and competition judge Christie Cherry Alfred.
