PROGRAM PEMENTORAN STEM DI KALANGAN PELAJAR PRASISWAZAH BAGI PERTANDINGAN ROBOTIK MAKEX.

The MakeX robotics competition is one of the largest robotics competitions in Malaysia, involving participants from primary and secondary schools. The organization of this competition is unique compared to other robotics competitions, where the contestants will be given training and workshops on the basics of assembling and programming robots, as well as basic strategies for completing the tasks of the competition. Crystal UKM, as co-organizer of the competition, is responsible with providing training to competition participants, which ranging from 7 to 17 years old. In providing an effective module for this year's contestants, Crystal UKM has developed a unique mentoring program involving second and third year undergraduate students, from Electrical and Electronic Engineering programme. These undergraduate students, in addition to providing technical training, they also play a role in maximizing the potential and developing the skills of the participants, to enhance the performance of the participants, as well as to increase the competitiveness amongst the participants. This paper focuses on the role and perspective of students as mentors of contestants and examines the effectiveness of this mentoring program in enhancing the soft skills of students involved as mentors. The success of the Malaysian team won the gold medal at the international MakeX robotic competition in Guangzhou, China recently, and the achievement of two other teams in the top 20, demonstrates the effectiveness of the staging program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]