Sarawak’s push for STEM education, Theory of Inventive Problem Solving adoption critical for global competitiveness, says Deputy Premier

Wee (fourth right) and other officials in a group photo during the launch of the 19th International TRIZfest 2024 Conference held at Tegas Digital Village in Kuching on Sept 4, 2024.

By Ashley Sim

KUCHING, Sept 4: Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian emphasises the importance of Sarawakians learning and practising Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to improve their problem-solving abilities, allowing them to face challenges head on without compromising quality.

Dr Sim, who is also Sarawak Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government (MPHLG), commended the State’s ongoing efforts in education, particularly its emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the English language, along with the preservation of local languages and culture.

“We are already taking the extra steps in ensuring that our learners are stepping up onto the global stage, preparing them with skills to take on global business and STEM languages.

“However, transformation comes with many challenges and limitations, and we find ourselves constantly attempting to resolve complex problems using the most efficient ways without compromising on the quality of these solutions.

“One of the most widely recognised and effective methods of overcoming these challenges is by using TRIZ,” he said in his speech.

The speech text was read out by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng, who represented Dr Sim to officiate at the 19th International TRIZfest 2024 Conference today at Tegas Digital Village here.

The minister pointed out that the TRIZ method is the result of the efforts of thousands of inventors, each of whom contributed their skills and expertise to the development of novel and innovative problem-solving methods.

“By reverse engineering the patent database and extracting the common thinking steps of geniuses, TRIZ practitioners are showcasing how they think outside the box as they come up with their own recipes that not only enhance our own thinking processes but also instil the hunger in us to constantly tweak and perfect solutions for different problems.

“These are indeed skills that we need to cultivate, especially when looking at driving state transformation by establishing high value economic engines and instilling a top talent development system.

“As we focus on ways to strengthen the problem-solving foundation in Sarawakians, we recognise that it is extremely beneficial for us to learn TRIZ in order to search for and implement the best available solutions,” he added.

Furthermore, Dr Sim expressed belief that by equipping Sarawakians with TRIZ skills and thinking capacities, the State is already on the winning path of triumph, especially as Sarawak can boast of having the largest number of TRIZ practitioners in South East Malaysia.

The 19th International TRIZfest 2024 Conference, themed ‘Innovate with TRIZ and AI for Sustainable Global Growth’, is being held at Tegas Digital Village from Sept 4 to 6.

The three-day conference, hosted for the first time in Sarawak with the support of Business Events Sarawak, features panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking sessions.

It is a collaborative effort organised by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), the Malaysia TRIZ Innovation Association, the Sarawak TRIZ Association, and the International TRIZ Association (MATRIZ). — DayakDaily