PUTRAJAYA: The CERN Summer Student Programme (CSSP), at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, organised by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) has succeeded in improving the country’s scientific capabilities in addition to promoting international cooperation.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said apart from this, it is also able to stimulate students’ interest in the field of science and technology.
He said in that regard, Malaysia will continue to explore opportunities to increase the participation of students in such prestigious international programmes, with the latest sending two students from higher education institutions recently.
“This is one of our efforts to bring more students from Malaysia to the global stage, at the international renowned research institute like CERN, and also our efforts to bring more attraction and interest in Science, Physics, Computing and Engineering among our students,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after holding a meeting with two students involved here today. ASM chief executive officer Hazami Habib also attended the meeting.
The two students are Shim Zi Jun, 23, a Master’s of Civil Engineering student at the University of Nottingham and Nurul Nabiilah Sulaiman, 25, a Master of Science student in Communication Engineering at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
There are among 150 young scientists from around the world who participated in the CSSP in Geneva from July 1 to Aug 25.
According to Chang, students’ participation in CSSP can improve their experience to expand the network between researchers and scientists from abroad, thus providing early exposure related to the field they are engaged in.
“As Nurul Nabiilah pointed out, a lot of them (young scientists) might not have the idea how to continue their path if they want to continue in the research and development sector,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Nabiilah, who is from Shah Alam, said her nearly two-month experience at CSSP was considered a valuable opportunity to help her improve her abilities and capabilities in the field of science.
“While at CERN, we had the opportunity to visit the antimatter factory, as previously we only watched videos. We got to know about the experimental set-up inside the centre,” she said.
“There is also a series of science lectures from leading researchers from all over the country and we have the opportunity to ask them questions directly.”
Shim, on the other hand, said that even though his background is related to engineering, every programme in the CSSP is very easy to understand and it exposed him to extraordinary science experiences.
“I love science and understand things easily. I hope we can adapt the technology and exchange expertise from CERN because when we collaborate, they will help us to guide and coordinate accordingly,“ he also said.
Since 2012, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and ASM have sent 25 Malaysian students to CSSP including for the 2024 edition.
