Best Digital Practices in School – PGBM Pekan

Today, I had the privilege of serving as an evaluator for a program organised by Persatuan Guru Besar Malaysia, Cawangan Pekan, focusing on Best Digital Practices in School. A total of 12 dedicated presenters showcased their digital initiatives, demonstrating how technology is being meaningfully integrated into PdP as well as school management and operations.

The evaluation covered several components, including:

      1. Quality of presentation

      2. Effectiveness of the digital intervention

      3. Creativity and innovation

      4. Improvement and impact

      5. Expansion potential and sustainability

      6. Way forward and future plans

The teachers truly impressed me with their creativity, passion, and commitment to enhancing their digital practices. Their work reflects not only technical skill, but also a deep desire to improve students’ learning experiences and strengthen school governance through technology.

Thank you GB Tuan Mohd Zaki, Pekan District Education Office and Persatuan GB Pekan for this initiative. I am honored to have been part of this meaningful programme. It provided a valuable platform to learn, share, inspire, and be inspired by the incredible work happening in our schools.

Looking forward to collaborating in more initiatives like this and continuing to support our educators as they lead the way in digital transformation.

 

Strategic Negotiation Skills

Organised by Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat, UMPSA

Delivered a full-day workshop titled “Strategic Negotiation for Effective Results Leadership”, today at UMPSA. Organised by the Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat, Human Resources UMPSA, as part of their mission to cultivate strong, future-ready leaders within the university ecosystem.

The session brought together 20 UMPSA staff, including lecturers, unit heads, and directors, each bringing their own leadership experiences, challenges, and negotiation stories. This results in a session filled with insightful discussions, deep reflections, lively role-plays, and surprisingly creative solutions.

Negotiation is not just as a skill, but a core leadership competency for academia, where alignment, collaboration, and resource optimisation are daily realities.

We explored and practiced:

1. Foundations of Strategic Negotiation

      • Negotiation vs. persuasion vs. conflict resolution

      • Understanding BATNA, ZOPA, and Interests vs. Positions

      • Cultivating win–win value through goal setting, questioning, trust-building, and solution-finding

      • Discussions on real UMPSA scenarios involving scheduling, student issues, and inter-faculty coordination

Participants reflected on their own negotiation experiences—many eye-opening moments were shared, including challenges in securing resources, addressing workload distribution, and managing expectations across units.

2. Negotiation Styles, Tactics & Cultural Dimensions

Participants assessed their own negotiation styles (Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, Accommodating) and were surprised at how accurately the profiles reflected their everyday behaviour.

We explored four core tactics:

      • Anchoring – how first offers shape outcomes

      • Framing – how perspective determines acceptance

      • Concessions – strategic give-and-take

      • Reciprocity – the principle of “I give, you give”

Discussions became especially lively when participants applied these concepts to current topics such as Malaysia–US academic agreements, SKU allocations, staffing, and faculty collaborations.

3. Practical Negotiation Scenarios

The highlight of the day was the group simulations.
Participants negotiated across three case studies involving:

      • Faculty resource allocation

      • Budget approval between departments

      • International research collaboration (MoU)

The negotiating tables became energetic zones of persuasion, power dynamics, alliance building, and clever concessions. Observers used structured evaluation templates to assess tactics and highlight real-time negotiation behaviour.

4. Advanced Strategies & Personal Action Plans

In the final segment, we explored:

      • Multi-party negotiation challenges

      • Power & Influence Mapping

      • Emotional intelligence for negotiation success

      • Drafting a personal negotiation strategy to use immediately in UMPSA contexts

Participants concluded with three personalised strategies they will apply in upcoming meetings, discussions, and collaborations.

The energy throughout the day was exceptional. Thank you =)
Participants openly exchanged experiences, challenged ideas, and engaged in intellectual debates around:

        • Faculty KPIs

        • Cross-border collaborations

        • Research funding

        • Academic politics

        • Institutional alignment

Everyone contributed—and everyone learned from one another.

This was not just a training, but a shared learning journey.

Negotiation lies at the heart of academic leadership.
Whether it’s securing resources, aligning stakeholders, or building collaborations, UMPSA’s leaders now carry a stronger toolkit to navigate these challenges.

A heartfelt thank you to Bahagian Pembangunan Bakat UMPSA for organizing this impactful program—and to all 20 participants for their commitment, openness, and enthusiasm.

Together, we’re shaping a more collaborative, strategic, and empowered UMPSA.

Raspberry Pi Programming 2025/8 SEMSAS Kuantan

*UMPSA STEM Lab Raspberry Pi Programming Synopsis can be found here.

In the Raspberry Pi IoT session, 30 students and teachers from SEMSAS Kuantan were introduced to the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) using Raspberry Pi on the UMP STEM Cube, a pico-satellite learning kit specifically designed to facilitate engineering learning.

The content covered basic digital input/output operations on onboard LEDs, as well as topics such as dashboard design using gyro meter and BMU280 sensor data, including collecting and storing data in a cloud database. Participants learned to interface sensors with Raspberry Pi boards and develop IoT applications for real-world scenarios. The session provided students with valuable insights into IoT technology and its applications in various domains.

A special appreciation is extended to Cikgu Hanani from SEMSAS Kuantan for coordination in facilitating communication between the participants and the UMPSA STEM Lab :).

Dec 1st, 2025

Arduino Programming (AI Assisted) 2025/4 – KV Temerloh and KV Kemaman

Synopsis on AI Assisted Learning @UMPSA STEM Lab module.

Today’s session, in collaboration with Kolej Vokasional Kemaman and Kolej Vokasional Temerloh, involves interactive session for 63 students and teachers.

The session was designed with a clear objective to demystify the basics of Arduino programming and physical computing while leveraging AI tools to make the learning process more intuitive and accessible. For many of these participants, this was their first exposure to the intricacies of coding and the fascinating world of microcontrollers. The use of AI in the learning process provided a significant boost, enabling them to grasp complex concepts more easily and with greater confidence.

The essence of the session was a series of six hands-on activities, each carefully crafted to build upon the previous one, ensuring a gradual yet comprehensive learning experience. These activities were designed not only to teach the basics of programming and electronics but also to illustrate how AI can be a valuable ally in the learning process.

During the session, participants were introduced to the Arduino platform, gaining a solid understanding of its components and the vast potential it holds for creating interactive projects. This foundational knowledge was crucial as it set the stage for the more complex tasks that followed. Leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT, participants witnessed firsthand how AI could assist in generating and debugging code, making the learning process more efficient. This activity demonstrated the practical benefits of AI, especially in reducing the learning curve for beginners.

As they progressed, the participants engaged in the classic “Hello World” of Arduino by writing simple code to control an LED, an experience that built their confidence and deepened their understanding of digital outputs. The next step in their learning journey was the traffic light simulation project, where they applied control structures to manage multiple outputs. This project not only taught them the intricacies of timing and logic but also encouraged them to think critically about how these elements interact in real-world applications.

Further advancing their skills, the participants used AI-generated code to integrate sensors like photoresistors into their projects, introducing them to the world of analog inputs and sensor data processing. The session culminated in an activity where they used an ultrasonic sensor to measure distance, with real-time results displayed, helping them grasp the concepts of pulse measurement and the practical application of their coding skills in tangible, real-world scenarios.

To all the participants, nice meeting you and hope to see you again in the future.

Thank you Cikgu Zuraiah (KV Temerloh) and Cikgu Roziana (KV Kemaman) for coordinating the session between UMPSA STEM Lab and the participants today.