17.4 – Education for the SDGs

17.4.3 – Education for SDGs in the wider community

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) actively promotes education for sustainable development among the wider community through inclusive learning platforms, professional training, and outreach programmes that extend beyond campus. These initiatives engage diverse groups including alumni, local residents, and displaced populations, reflecting UKM’s mission to democratize access to knowledge and lifelong learning.

Summary of the programs

No	List of the collaboration
1	Educational Outreach Activities for Alumni i. UKM MOOC System (UKM Massive Open Online Courses) ii. UKM Shape Professional Certificate
2	Educational Outreach Activities for Local Community i. STEM GreenCHEMXPOSE 2024 Program ii. Community program: STEM Green Squad Program : Waste Management Awareness for Environmental Sustainability iii. Community Program: Celik Solar Program
3	Educational Outreach Activities for Displaced People i. Bateq Jungle Classroom Literacy Program 2.0 Series 8 ii. StaChild Project: Smiles Across Borders

1. UKM MOOC System (UKM Massive Open Online Courses)

UKM continues implementing an education for SDGs in the wider community in line with the university’s agenda to increase generation, the UKM MOOC system (UKM Massive Open Online Courses) has been developed. This initiative involves offering courses for internal students as well as external students who are not registered with UKM (alumni, local community, displaced people and refugees). Students are also exposed to global learning which in turn supports the university’s agenda to improve the marketability of graduates.

Source: mooc.ukm.my

No	Open Courses	Categories	Course synopsis
1	Academic courses	Social Science	• Media Entrepreneurship MOOC • Communication, Media and Politics • Integrated River Basin Management • Language Teaching and Technology • MOOC UNESCO – UKM: Media and Information Literacy
		Education	• eSports • Financial Mathematics MOOC • Research Method 2 • Stem Education in the Community • Redesign Learning Resources • Digital Learning with the Apple Ecosystem • Academic Writing Skills
		Health Science	• Drug Chemistry and Toxicology • Neuroscience in Psychiatry (neurophysiology) • Hearing Problems in Children • Non-specific Lowback Pain (NSLBP) • Dangerous Decibels
		Business	• Human Resources Management
		Medical	• Mental Health Nursing • Physics of Ultrasound Imaging • Hypothesis Testing Using Medical Statistics • Medic UKM Clinical Pathological Conference • Research Week Medic UKM 2022
		Engineering	• Fluid and Particle Mechanics • Glass Science and Technology • UKM-UDE 101 • Engineering • Flow-induced vibration simulation – introduction • Data Foundations of Science in Transportation • Basics of Urban Transport
		Islamic Studies	Islamic Media & Technology
		Biology	• Marine Fauna Diversity • Transcriptomics: Principles and Applications
		Information Technology	• Usability Engineering (Usability Engineering) • Cyber ​​Protection Professional Certificate • Cybersecurity Capture-the-Flag (CTF) Training Program
		Laboratory Care	• Oleochemical Product Production Laboratory
		Media & Communication	• Media Organization Management MOOC
		Mathematics	• Pure Mathematics
2	Competency courses	• Modul Pembangunan Kursus • Immersive Learning with Metagogy and Metaverse
3	General knowledge courses	General Knowledge Discovering Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) General Knowledge PERFUME General Knowledge Doping in Sports Course

ii. UKM Shape Professional Certificate

UKM Shape Professional Certificate is an initiative under Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) efforts to support lifelong learning and professional development. This program offers professional certificates in various fields, designed to provide practical skills and knowledge for both UKM students and the broader community.

Source: www.ukm.my/studyukm/professional-certificate

No	Professional Certificates	Course synopsis
1	Data Analytics	This program produces a new era human capital that has the following characteristics: • OPP1: sensitive to the knowledge of the field of data analytics to be applied to the world of work that underlies the development of the country according to the development of technology IR4.0. • OPP2: has high soft skills that are responsible, competent, and knowledgeable in performing work in the field of data analysis according to the needs of the country and the global community. • OPP3: creative in problem solving, communication as well as open -minded in entrepreneurs based on data analytics scientific approach.
2	Health Education through active learning	Discuss the framework activities and basic theories that form the basis of active This program aims to train lecturers who can practice active learning during Learning and Education activities in courses related to clinical skills and health sciences. The teaching learning methods will involve short concept videos, case based discussions and mini teaching appraisals. An introduction of scholarship of teaching learning will also be discussed.
3	Auditory-Verbal Therapy	Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) is a recognised approach that has been shown to be successful in providing positive spoken language outcomes for children with hearing loss. However, in Asia, the number of professionals skilled in AVT is quite limited. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia through the HEARS Centre is offering a professional certificate program that trains hearing professionals in the field of AVT. This is the only such program in the region conducted and accredited by a university. This program offers two AVT learning packages: The Clinical Package and the Theoretical Only Package.
4	Ageing & Geriatric Rehabilitation	The objective of this course is to provide knowledge in the care of older adults to improve their independent skills. The course will be delivered through lectures, practical sessions, field works and visits. Assessments of the course will be done through continuous examination, practical examination, assignment and presentation.
5	Ultrasound Obstetrics & Gynaecology	• Basic principles of ultrasound machine & the medico-legal aspect • Application of basic science in O&G Ultrasound • Normal findings in obstetric ultrasound • Abnormal findings in obstetrics ultrasound • Multiple pregnancy & its management • Gynaecological Ultrasound
6	Macular Disease Counseling	• Build new skills to provide advisory services using a counseling approach, treatment methods and rehabilitative treatment, limited to patients related to macular disease. • Enhancing the capability of guiding in current or future positions in the provision of counseling and health services.
7	Regulatory Affairs of Herbs, Supplements, and Cosmetics	The era of biotechnology has brought rapid development and progress in various industrial fields in Malaysia and around the world, this development includes the development of health products such as herbal medicines, health supplements, and cosmetics. The exponential regulatory system gives the impression that knowledge in the field of health product development is complex and difficult to understand. This causes many controversial issues regarding the results of health and cosmetic products. Therefore, the purpose of this course is to give exposure to researchers and industry in the registration of products at the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and to encourage the exchange of ideas among researchers and industry in the field of product registration so that negative perceptions related to the difficulty of registering health products such as herbal medicines, supplements and cosmetics can be reduced.
8	Medicolegal in Healthcare Practice	The purpose of the course is to provide an exposure and knowledge enhancement regarding medicolegal aspects of healthcare practices. The course contents which includes introduction to medicolegal, issues and risk in medicolegal as well as approach in handling complaints are suitable for medical and healthcare providers, as well as other healthcare professionals and administrators working directly or indirectly in the disciplines involving quality of healthcare, patient safety and clinical risk management. The course will be delivered via lectures, case discussions, and observation sessions.

2. Educational Outreach Activities for Community

i. Community Program: STEM GreenCHEMXPOSE 2024 Program

The research group led by Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Siti Fairus Mohd Yusoff and ChM. Dr. Mohd Azuwa Mohamed organized the STEM GreenCHEMXPOSE 2024 program at SMK Tunku Kurshiah, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan on 17 August 2024. The program was officiated by Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Mohd Hariri Arifin, Deputy Dean of Industry and Community Networking Affairs (HEJIM).

STEM GreenCHEMXPOSE 2024, which involved 55 students from Form 3 (39 students) and Form 4 (16 students), is a significant initiative aimed at encouraging and fostering students’ interest in STEM. Additionally, the program seeks to introduce students to the concept of green chemistry, which can be applied to address environmental challenges faced by society today.

ii. Community program: STEM Green Squad Program : Waste Management Awareness for Environmental Sustainability

A total of 30 students from Year 5 and Year 6 at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Tampoi (Asli), Dengkil, participated in the STEM Green Squad Program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which was held at the STEM Building, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on 17 January 2024.

The program aimed to shape future generations with awareness and commitment to environmental protection and natural resource conservation. The STEM Green Squad initiative was designed to integrate STEM education concepts with the 5R waste management approach (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Recover). This program is also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

The Chairperson of the STEM Cultivation Research Center, Prof. Ts. Dr. Muhamad Sattar Rasul, in his speech, emphasized that through the holistic approach of this program, students not only gain an understanding of environmental sustainability issues but also learn to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their daily lives.

The STEM Green Squad Program is expected to be a breakthrough in shaping a knowledgeable, responsible, and proactive society toward environmental sustainability. This program, guided by postgraduate students from the Science Education program, Faculty of Education, received support from industry partners, including the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association and the NGO Eijau Millennium Explorer.

iii. Community Program: Celik Solar Program

On 21-22th  Feb 2024;  28-29th Feb 2024; 6-7th Mar 2024; 28th May 2024, the five (5) series of Celik Solar program were successfully conducted by Solar Energy Research Institute UKM at three (3) different community hubs in Flat house at Kuala Lumpur. The locations are Flat Industry Lembah Jaya Ampang, Sri Raya Ampang, and PPR Beringin Kepong. 

Total of 147 kids 9-12 years old participated in this program. This program aimed to increase the knowledge of solar energy education to the residents of low-cost strata houses. The program covers the topic of global warming, solar energy, solar cell technology, solar panel installation at house, reducing electricity bill and job scope in solar energy field. The data of post-test shows that the knowledge and awareness have increased after the Celik Solar program. In addition, this program has been conducted at a solar powered community hub where we installed the solar panel to their community centre before implementation of the solar energy education program, Celik Solar.

3. Educational Outreach Activities for Displaced People

i. Bateq Jungle Classroom Literacy Program 2.0 Series 8

In 2024, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), through the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), implemented the Bateq Jungle Classroom: Education and Community Development Program at Pos Changkung, Sungai Keniam, Taman Negara Pahang. Conducted in eight series throughout the year, the program was organized in collaboration with the Malaysian Food Bank Foundation (YFBM), with strong support from the Student Affairs Centre (HEP-UKM) and the Faculty of Science Students’ Association (PMFST). The initiative was designed to support displaced Bateq Indigenous communities who have been affected by deforestation, logging, and large-scale development projects that have disrupted their traditional forest habitats. Through this sustained outreach programme, UKM demonstrated its strong commitment to providing inclusive educational opportunities for marginalized and displaced populations.

Across its eight sessions, UKM lecturers, staff, and student volunteers delivered lessons in Bahasa Melayu, English, and Mathematics, alongside hygiene care workshops, microbiology exposure sessions, and the distribution of essential food supplies to improve community welfare. The programme culminated in its closing ceremony on 26–27 October 2024, attended by senior UKM leadership, highlighting institutional commitment to community empowerment. This long-term initiative exemplifies UKM’s dedication to outreach educational activities that address the learning, health, and welfare needs of vulnerable and displaced communities. It directly advances SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 4 (Quality Education) by promoting equitable access to education, fostering health awareness, and empowering the Bateq community through sustained engagement and capacity building.

ii. StaChild Project: Smiles Across Borders

On 18 July 2024, the Dental Public Health Unit, together with the Industry and Community Affairs Secretariat of the Faculty of Dentistry, UKM, conducted a community outreach initiative titled “StaChild Project: Smiles Across Borders” at Sanggar Belajar Sentul, Kampung Chubadak Hilir, Kuala Lumpur. Supported by UKM’s clinical service staff and four student volunteers from Universitas Hasanuddin (UNHAS), Indonesia, this free programme focused on promoting oral health awareness and care among stateless and displaced children.

Through engaging educational activities such as dental check-ups, toothbrushing demonstrations, puppet shows, and colouring contests, the programme successfully provided hands-on learning experiences that encouraged healthy hygiene habits and improved understanding of oral health among children without citizenship status. Beyond the direct service component, the initiative also strengthened cross-border collaboration and enhanced the social responsibility and professional skills of UKM’s staff and students.

This impactful project underscores UKM’s strong dedication to organizing outreach educational activities for displaced and marginalized populations, ensuring that even vulnerable groups have access to essential health education. The programme reflects UKM’s inclusive approach to community engagement and its alignment with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by addressing healthcare and educational disparities among stateless children.

Through these comprehensive initiatives, UKM has positioned itself as a national leader in advancing Education for the SDGs that reaches all levels of society. By providing accessible digital learning opportunities, fostering community-based STEM education and supporting displaced and underprivileged groups through targeted outreach, UKM bridges the gap between academia and real-world sustainability action. These efforts have empowered learners with practical knowledge, raised awareness on environmental and health issues and nurtured social inclusion among vulnerable groups. The university’s holistic approach demonstrates its enduring impact in advancing SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), ensuring that education serves as a transformative force for sustainable development in Malaysia and beyond.