A compelling proposal to counter the decreasing interest of youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) proved instrumental in the Horizon Hunters, a team of students from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT), securing the second-best position in the Business Plan Challenge (BPC).
The challenge, organised by DIYC Movement on March 13th and 14th in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, is an entrepreneurship competition that challenges the youth from Malaysia and internationally to showcase their innovation, business acumen and social mindfulness.
Alongside the first runner-up title, Horizon Hunters brought home RM10,000 in addition to a trophy and certificates.
Comprising Mohamad Shahreez Ikhman Azman; Syazwan Ihsan Zainal Azman; Alkbir Rean Munir Faraj, Horizon Hunters was guided and mentored by two senior lecturers from UniKL MIAT, namely Dr. Hazariah Mohd Noh and Dr. Rita Zaharah Wan Chik.
According to Dr. Hazariah, the team’s proposal focused on Kelab Remaja Udara Malaysia (KRUM) as an effective approach to address the declining interest in STEM among youth.
On the essence of this, the plan entails on how KRUM which has been initiated since 2014 can help to increase the interest of Malaysian youth with knowledge exposure on aviation and aerospace through workshops and training.
This can be further expanded to enhance technical, and vocational education and training (TVET), focusing on Aviation and Aerospace related technologies through workshops and training in technical and vocational institutions.
The proposal is in line with the specialisation at UniKL MIAT as the nation’s premier aviation training institution.
For the record, Horizon Hunters was not the only team from UniKL that made it to the top finalist list in the DIYC Movement’s BPC.
The Upthrust, which combined a team of students from UniKL MIAT and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) was selected as the top seven finalists.
