Group photo with the students at the Cambodian Organization for Living and Temporary-care
Robotic Car Workshop at the Cambodian Organization for Living and Temporary-care
Robotic Car Workshop at the Cambodian Organization for Living and Temporary-care
STEM Fun Day Booth
Students visited the garbage dump & slum to understand the Cambodian community
BME hosts the service-learning subject “Reducing the Scientific Divide in Primary and Secondary Students through STEM Projects”, and completed the first international service-learning trip in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 16 to 28 August 2023. Led by Dr Hin-chung Lau, Senior Teaching Fellow and Ms Jessie Kar, Instructor of BME, the trip was joined by 23 PolyU students from 14 academic departments.
The service-learning subject aims to raise students’ awareness of the difficulties and challenges faced by children and teenagers studying in underprivileged schools, educate students about the impact of scientific thinking and literacy on young people and the general community, enhance students’ generic competencies of innovative problem solving, communication and teamwork and nurture their sense of social awareness, responsibility and engagement.
BME partnered with Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) and Cambodian Organization for Living and Temporary-care (COLT) to organise three main service projects, including (i)the STEM Fun Day with around 100 rural children, (ii)four half-day STEM Workshops for 32 three- to six-year-old underprivileged children from COLT and (iii)a robotic car workshop and competition for 40 COLT students which spent around four half days.
In addition to the service projects, community understanding programme, historical programme and team building activities were also included in the 13-day trip. For example, the students visited the garbage dump and slum, the S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the PBC Norodom.
Before they left Cambodia, the PolyU students and their RUPP groupmates conducted final presentations and made videos to recap the service projects and their reflection on understanding the needy, the impact of the project and their learning. Students expressed how meaningful the projects were which allow them to dedicate their time, effort and knowledge to guide and inspire the children at the workshops, and hopefully created a long-lasting positive impact on them to pursue learning in the future.
