BAYAN LEPAS, Penang, Malaysia November 18, 2014 – Making its debut at SPICE (formerly known as PISA) last weekend, the Penang Mini Maker Faire (PMMF) was science fiction brought to life; there were marine tanks capable of regulating and maintaining an ocean-like environment, an “air piano” and even wearable sensors that detect colours for the colour-blind – all these at Intel Malaysia’s booth alone! The PMMF is Malaysia’s first local Maker Faire - similar to events created by Maker Media Inc. and held around the world since 2006 to celebrate crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mind-set. Maker Faires allow ‘Makers’ to gather and share their DIY creations, host workshops, create awareness, grow the community and spread the Maker Movement. Held for the very first time on Malaysian soil, the PMMF was brought together by Intel Malaysia, National Instruments, Penang Science Cluster, Koridor Utara Malaysia, Silterra, and Collaborative Research in Engineering Science and Technology (CREST). “When the opportunity arose for us to be part of the Penang Mini Maker Faire, we were on board immediately. Driving the Maker Movement through events like this is an extension of our focus on emphasizing the importance of education and science education in Malaysian schools and universities,” said Chris Kelly, General Manager of Intel’s Malaysia Design Center. “The next generation of devices and consumer electronics all have to start from somewhere and we believe that one of these places is at these fairs – they’re just waiting to be discovered and put together. Be it a simple sensor that measures moisture in soil and automatically triggers water sprinklers when it’s time to water your plants or a complex smart shirt that that is capable of capturing live heart rate and EKG data. Intel makes it even easier for Makers to turn their creative ideas from thoughts into reality with our Galileo and Edison development boards,” he added. Intel has been supporting the Maker Movement all around the world because it encourages curiosity, hands-on learning, and innovation, regardless of whether it takes place in the classroom, the laboratory, or the workshop in the garage. Intel also believes that young people are the key to solving global challenges, which is why it has been a long-standing supporter of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and its presence at the Penang Mini Maker Faire complements its other STEM efforts. Intel’s experience and research demonstrate that students become more engaged and more proficient in STEM subjects when they are learning by doing. “We’ve witnessed many successful makers in our time, young and old, whose passion for innovating and persistence brought us inventions that make the world a better place. At Intel, we have a strong Maker community within our walls and we’re excited to meet other Makers and their creations at the Penang Mini Maker Faire,” said Kanapathy Murugayah, a Platform Solution Architect at Intel Malaysia who started tinkering at a very young age. Earlier this year, Intel Malaysia held the Intel Malaysia Intel Architecture Makers Open Day (IMIMOD), an internal Maker Faire which allowed the company’s own Makers to show off their innovative projects – including solutions that helps the impaired, reduces carbon footprint and even improvements to enhance work-life wellness at Intel. Intel has a history of involvement with other educational and Maker-related activities in the past with initiatives such as the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the Penang International Science Fair (PISF) which took place during the same weekend and at the same venue as the PMMF. Intel is also part of the organizing committee for the Innovate Malaysia Design Competition (IMDC) – a multi-discipline engineering design competition open to all final year undergraduate engineering or computer science students in Malaysia. Intel has also worked with local universities to enhance their existing curricula with the use of the Intel® Galileo boards through the Intel® Galileo Curriculum Development Workshops.
