An Experiential Outreach Framework for University-School STEM Engagement: Insights from Biomedical and Mechatronics Activities in Malaysia

DANNY NG WEE KIAT, YEONG NAN PHUA, GOH CHOON HIAN

Abstract


The Malaysian Education policy actively encourages student participation in STEM streams. However, access to real-world engineering experiences remains limited for most school students. This disconnect between university-level engineering education and school-level STEM exposure creates a persistent challenge in Malaysia. University outreach programmes offer a practical means of addressing this issue. This paper presents an experiential outreach of twenty-eight STEM engagement sessions conducted by the Department of Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineering, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), for schools in the Klang Valley and national events between June 2023 and November 2025. The sessions covered two domains: biomedical engineering and mechatronics. Students engaged directly with hands-on activities including gait analysis, ECG monitoring, robotics, and drone operation. Our outreach methodology is based on three educational concepts: the experiential learning cycle, contextual learning theory, and near-peer mentoring model. UTAR applied these frameworks across its outreach programmes to guide domain selection, session sequencing, and volunteer deployment. The approach is offered as a practical framework for university departments looking to establish active and collaborative connection with schools.


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References


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