FEATURE
INGENIEUR
STEM Enculturation - Cultivating Interest in Agricultural Engineering in School and Community
By Muhammad Hazwan Hamzah , Khairudin Nurulhuda , Anas Mohd Mustafah , Diyana Jamaludin , Mahirah Jahari Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty of Engineering Universiti Putra Malaysia
In Malaysia , agricultural engineering as a
discipline was initiated with the establishment of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the College of Agriculture Malaya in 1970 . Later in 1975 , the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering was established at Universiti Putra Malaysia ( UPM ), and since then the university has been offering a degree programme in agricultural engineering [ 1 ]. In 1984 , the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering at UPM was renamed as the Faculty of Engineering when more engineering programmes were introduced . To date , eight engineering programmes have been offered by the Faculty of Engineering , UPM .
Currently , there are at least four agricultural engineering study programmes which are offered by various institutions in Malaysia at different levels of education as shown in Table 1 . At UPM , the agricultural engineering programme is focused on four main areas , namely agricultural informatics , postharvest and environment , soil and water resources , and machinery and automation . Agricultural engineering , which is the catalyst for modern agriculture , requires knowledge in science , technology , engineering and mathematics ( STEM ). This knowledge promotes the creation and innovation of agricultural technology to enhance efficiency and productivity of agricultural systems .
The agricultural sector is less preferred than other professional sectors by the younger generation because society does not view the sector as a highly-respected career choice [ 2 ] and income is perceived as low [ 3 ]. The stigma may be changed through agricultural engineering knowledge with the introduction of automation and robotics , precision farming and the Internet of Things .
Interest in agricultural engineering can be instilled among the younger generation through STEM programmes . STEM enculturation should start at the school level and subsequently expand to community level . However , a decline in interest in STEM courses among Malaysian students has been recently observed . The Malaysian Government aims for a 60:40 ratio of students studying science vs . arts at public universities , but the ratio in the year 2018 stood at 47:53 ( based on a total of 552,702 students ) [ 4 ]. In addition , statistics presented by the Ministry of Science , Technology and Innovation show that in the year 2018 , only 44 % of students in secondary and vocational schools studied STEM subjects ; a decrease from 48 % in 2012 [ 5 ]. The decline of preference for science-based courses has also been observed worldwide , most likely caused by education trends , shifts in youth mindset and potential incomes [ 6 ].
The decline in preference for science-based courses motivated the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering ( DBAE ), UPM to introduce a community outreach flagship which is known as the Urban Agrischool Programme .
42 VOL 84 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2020