Johor Bahru, 11 June 2026 – Science came alive at SMK Pulai Jaya through the SULAM programme “Spark of Science: Electrochemistry Live!”, organised by the Centre for Sustainable Nanomaterials (CSNano), Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (ISI-SIR), Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), in collaboration with SMK Pulai Jaya, Kangkar Pulai, Johor.
Held from 7.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., the programme was led by Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lee Siew Ling as part of CSNano’s corporate social responsibility initiative. It aimed to spark students’ interest in science and show how scientific concepts can be connected to daily life.
A total of 55 Form Four students took part in the programme, which included science talks, hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and mini-project presentations related to electrochemistry and chemical reaction kinetics. The activities gave students the chance to explore science in a fun and interactive way beyond the usual classroom setting.
The programme also involved 45 second-year Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) students and two PhD students, Ms Ling Chui Min and Mr Lee Ching Shien, from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, UTM, who served as facilitators. Through this SULAM initiative, the UTM students were able to share the knowledge and practical skills they had learned in the Physical Chemistry Laboratory course with the school students.
Besides the hands-on science activities, the participants were also introduced to science programmes offered at UTM. Postgraduate student Mr. Lee Ching Shien and second-year Chemistry student Mr. Yu Kok Yang shared their learning experiences and campus life, giving the students a glimpse of university life at UTM.
The programme was co-organised by the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, UTM, and mainly funded by the School of Undergraduate Studies (UGS), UTM. Support was also received from industrial partners, namely Santa Industries Supply and Petronas.
Overall, the programme was a meaningful platform to inspire young learners, strengthen their interest in science, and encourage them to see science as something exciting, useful, and relevant to everyday life. It also reflected CSNano’s and the Faculty of Science’s continued commitment to supporting science education and community engagement.
