KUCHING: The Borneo International RoboMaster Forum and Competition 2025 is poised to play a key role in nurturing Sarawak’s future engineering and innovation talent.
Education, Innovation and Talent Development Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Anielia Siam, said the competition offers young Sarawakians invaluable exposure to robotics, drone technology and emerging engineering fields that are crucial to the state’s long-term innovation ecosystem.
She noted that the hands-on nature of the programme cultivates essential skills such as engineering design thinking, system integration, creativity, resilience and cross-cultural collaboration.
“With more than 300 participants from across Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, this platform does more than crown winners. It builds the next generation of engineers, innovators and leaders,” she said in her speech, representing Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn during the event held at i-CATS University College today.
She added that the state places strong emphasis on developing a digitally competent workforce through strengthened STEM education, greater access to robotics and automation learning, and equitable educational opportunities for all Sarawakians.
She also welcomed continued collaboration with industry players, noting that such partnerships complement the state’s efforts to modernise education and strengthen talent development pipelines.
Meanwhile, i-CATS University College Faculty of Aerospace Engineering Dean, Professor Ir Dr Shuhaimi Mansor, said the competition serves as a catalyst for building smarter and more innovative young talents.
He said the event exposes students to areas such as flying robot operations, software coding, component assembly and product testing – skills that align directly with Sarawak’s Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.
“This is where real-world learning begins. These experiences shape students into individuals who can design, build and test their own products. That is how real engineers are made,” he said.
Shuhaimi noted that drone technology has increasingly significant real-world applications, particularly in agriculture, environmental protection, public safety and smart city development – opening wider job opportunities for Sarawak’s youth.
The collaboration with Dronekaki Sarawak, he said, strengthens efforts to grow the state’s aerospace and drone ecosystem while establishing clearer pathways from school to university and eventually the industry.
Shuhaimi reminded participants that innovation begins with people who are curious, bold and willing to try, noting that the knowledge and confidence gained today will fuel their future achievements.
