STEM Cambodia Fair Demonstrates Innovation and Opportunities

On 28 February, 32 PEPY Scholarship students and 5 staff left for Phnom Penh to attend the STEM Cambodia Fair. The fair was aimed at teaching Cambodian youth about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In a context of globalization and modernization, it is important that Cambodian students gain awareness of these progressive fields, as increasingly, many quality jobs will involve fluency in at least one of these areas. Over 29,000 students from around the country attended, and many companies, organizations, and public institutions set up informational presentations and activities.
PEPY students learned a lot from this event, especially as it was a great complement to the ICT Program in getting them interested and versed in important innovative job skills, as well as to our Youth Empowerment Program, in which students develop critical thinking and connect academic ideas to reality. Additionally, they were exposed to new and exciting ideas that they have never had access to in public schools or PEPY’s Learning Center such as modern agricultural methods, organic foods, useful smartphone applications, and study abroad opportunities. Most students had never been to Phnom Penh (or any big city!) before, so it was a great opportunity for them to experience modern, urban life, and see some museums. Despite many of the students getting motion sickness, as for most this was their first long bus ride, a large majority of students said they would recommend PEPY joining this event again next year.
Overall, they became more aware of important and innovative opportunities available to their generation and beyond in Cambodia and abroad. We would like to say a big ‘’thank you’’ to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, who supported PEPY students in attending this fair!
QUOTES
‘’At this event, I got a lot of information about Information Technology, specifically about creating new technological tools for daily use’’ – Yinhyung Yoeurm
‘’It gave me the opportunity to learn about technological products that I have never seen before.’’ – Reaksa Voeung
‘’I learned a lot about important environmental standards.’’ – Voleak Pech
‘’I hope all young Cambodians can join events like this one to develop Cambodian technology and science.’’ – Sotheareak Heang