From Passion to Profession: Women Navigating STEM, AI, and Entrepreneurial Pathways

Today, I had the honor of being invited as one of the panelists in a session titled “From Passion to Profession: Women Navigating STEM, AI, and Entrepreneurial Pathways.” It was an inspiring space where stories, struggles, and successes intersected—and where we celebrated the growing role of women in shaping tomorrow’s technology. This event is part of PIE Cardiff Mett, British Council, UMPSA, UMK program.

I represented Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) and UMPSA STEM Lab, where I currently serve the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. I also lead the UMPSA STEM Lab, a collaborative hub where we design STEM outreach and digital making programs in partnership with schools, agencies, and industry players. Our mission is simple – open access, ignite curiosity, and empower communities with real technical skills.

Below were the questions in the seminar:-

Who Am I—And What Got Me Here?

Beyond the academic classroom, my passion lies in giving young people, especially in underserved communities, the chance to interact with real-world technology—whether it’s building miniature robots or learning to program embedded systems. These aren’t luxuries; they are opportunities. And for some communities, they are still out of reach due to high costs or lack of resources.

As a child, I had dreams too. I used to stargaze with my family, and I remember one magical night catching a meteor shower. At the age of 10, I proudly declared I wanted to be an astronaut—yes, it was written in my report card! Though I didn’t end up in space, my journey led me to the stars in a different way—through engineering, innovation, and education.

What Sparked My STEM Journey?

It started with a phone.

As a student, I was fascinated by how communication technologies work. During school recess, you’d often find me in the library, flipping through encyclopedias with colourful graphics. One story that left an impression was Alexander Graham Bell’s journey in inventing the telephone. That story steered me toward communication engineering, and later, into telecommunication systems and antenna design.

As technology rapidly shifted from analog to digital, I became even more intrigued. Eventually, my path led me to embedded systems and FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array)—the very hardware that drives robots. It all came full circle.

Facing Bias in the Field

Working in a male-dominated field comes with its own unique challenges. At times, I was the only woman in the room during technical discussions or project meetings. Sometimes, assumptions were made before I even said a word.

I learned that the best response is to show up, speak up, and deliver results. I focused on building credibility—not just for myself, but for the next generation of women watching quietly from the sidelines. Visibility matters.

The Skill That Matters Most? Resilience.

If you ask me the one mindset that truly matters in STEM today, it’s resilience.

Let me explain with a personal story. I loved music growing up, but music classes were expensive. When our school introduced music into the curriculum using affordable instruments like the recorder, it gave us all a chance to learn music theory and notation. That shaped how I think about access today.

Now, with tools like YouTube, Arduino kits, online simulators, and budget-friendly electronics, access to learning is no longer a luxury. My kids, for example, learn rollerblading tricks from online videos—something unimaginable when I was their age.

So, the challenge has shifted. It’s no longer just about access. It’s about perseverance. In a world where everyone can learn anything, those who keep learning, unlearning, and relearning will thrive.

That’s why at UMPSA STEM Lab, we design platforms that are affordable, replicable, and meaningful. A miniature robot can represent a whole world of technical possibilities. The goal is to open windows—and maybe even doors—for those who never knew such a world existed.

STEM isn’t just about coding or circuits. It’s about curiosity, courage, and community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share this journey and to be part of a growing movement of women pushing boundaries, challenging norms, and creating inclusive tech futures.

If you’re reading this and thinking about your own path—don’t wait for permission to explore. The future is wide open =)

 

 

BHE3233 – Week 12 – Project Development

It’s project time =)

This semester in BHE3233 – Digital System Design, we’re exploring practical world of digital hardware by implementing real-time, embedded digital systems using the DE10-Lite FPGA board. Building on the fundamentals of Verilog, FSMs, and RTL design we’ve covered, students now have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through these exciting hands-on projects. Each project emphasizes different aspects of digital design—from FSM sequencing to pipelining and datapath architecture.

These projects were carefully curated to cover a wide range of course outcomes, from combinational and sequential logic design to system-level implementation using FSMs and RTL pipelines. Students not only reinforce theoretical understanding but also gain confidence in developing real-time FPGA applications using Verilog on the DE10-Lite board.

Before jumping into their projects, the students have already completed structured labs covering:-

        • FSM design and simulation

        • RTL pipelining

        • Clocking and timing constraints

        • Static timing analysis

        • 7-segment display interfacing

        • Debouncing and switch inputs

These foundational skills are directly applicable to the project implementations.

Here’s a detailed look at the 6 project titles offered this semester:-

1. Morse Code Encoder and LED Blinker

Objective – Design a finite state machine (FSM)-based system that converts input characters (A-Z, 0-9) into Morse code and blinks an LED accordingly.

Key Features –

      • Input a hardcoded message (or via DIP switches)

      • FSM handles character-to-Morse conversion (dot and dash)

      • LED blinks in Morse timing format

      • Optional – Display current character on a 7-segment display during encoding

Learning Outcomes – FSM design, output timing control, sequential logic, user interaction.

2. Basic 8-bit RISC CPU Implementation

Objective – Build a basic 8-bit CPU that supports core instructions such as ADD, SUB, LOAD, STORE, and JMP.

Key Features –

  • 4 to 8 general-purpose registers

  • Instruction decoder and ALU unit

  • ROM-based instruction memory and RAM-based data storage

  • Output status or values via LEDs or 7-segment display

Learning Outcomes – Datapath design, FSM for control unit, memory interfacing, and simple instruction architecture.

3. Parallel Multiplier Using RTL Pipelining

Objective – Design a high-speed 8-bit parallel multiplier using RTL pipelining techniques.

Key Features –

  • Inputs via DIP switches or pushbuttons

  • Multi-stage pipelining of partial products

  • Output result on 7-segment displays

  • Compare pipelined design with pure combinational multiplier in terms of:-

      1. Critical path delay

      2. Maximum clock frequency

      3. FPGA logic utilization

      4. Throughput

Learning Outcomes – Pipelined architecture, latency vs. throughput, performance analysis.

4. Digital Stopwatch with Lap Function

Objective – Create a stopwatch with basic timing functions and lap time capture.

Key Features:

      1. Start/Stop/Reset controls via pushbuttons

      2. FSM-based timing logic

      3. 4-digit multiplexed 7-segment display

      4. Capture and display lap time on button press

Learning Outcomes – Sequential system design, timing counters, 7-segment multiplexing, user interface design.

5. Password-Protected Digital Lock

Objective – Develop a digital locking system with password protection using FSM.

Key Features –

  • User password entry via DIP switches

  • Status feedback through LEDs or 7-segment

  • Lock/unlock logic with real-time comparison

  • Optional: Add retry limit and lockout on failed attempts

Learning Outcomes – FSM logic, comparison algorithms using shift registers, and embedded security logic.

6. Dice Game Controller

Objective – Simulate a simple 2-player dice game with visual feedback and turn-based logic.

Key Features –

  • Pushbutton to initiate dice roll

  • Use LFSR (Linear Feedback Shift Register) to generate pseudo-random numbers (1–6)

  • Output displayed using 7-segment or LED

  • FSM handles player turns and win conditions

Learning Outcomes – Random number generation using LFSR, FSM game logic, 7-segment display control.

 

Today, each group presented their project progress. Well done!

  • Functional demo on the DE10-Lite board

  • Timing and performance analysis

  • Challenges and solutions in design

Looking forward to final outcome and submission in Kalam!