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Young Innovators Develop Advanced Digital Tech Skills in Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)’s Digital Ninja, with Forest Interactive Foundation as Program Partner February 9, 2023 Partnerships（https://www.forestcares.org/categories/partnerships）
Programs（https://www.forestcares.org/categories/programs）
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)（https://mdec.my/）’s Digital Ninja program（https://mdec.my/mydigitalmaker/digital-ninja/） returns, with Forest Interactive Foundation（https://www.forestcares.org/） as one of its program partners, managing two accelerator lab sessions for students around Malaysia from September 27 to November 16, 2022.
Eighty students between ages 11 and 16 (Standard 5 to Form 4) were chosen as the Digital Ninjas for this year, and were divided into 17 groups to progress through the program. The Digital Ninjas were solely chosen by MDEC, and the students must participate in any digital technology-based competition from any levels to qualify.
Established by MDEC since 2016, the Digital Ninja program aims to engage Malaysian students throughout their secondary school years. With a goal to develop their tech and digital making skills, as well as hone their communication and soft skills, the Digital Ninja provides students the exposure to innovative thinking, inspiring them to become future change-makers.
For this year’s cohort, Digital Ninjas took part in programs that help develop skills surrounding technology, digital making, critical thinking, leadership, entrepreneurship, communication, and social media.
Digital Ninja Accelerator Lab 1
Held virtually on September 9, 2022, and facilitated by Forest Interactive Foundation, Digital Ninja Accelerator Lab 1 was separated into two sessions, with the first session focusing on social media and creative design. Students were exposed to the technical aspects of social media, as well as the tips and tricks in optimizing Canva（https://www.canva.com/）. Later, the students were challenged to create a banner in their respective groups; the winner was announced later in University Malaysia Pahang.
For the second session, the main theme was sustainability, with main focus given to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal（https://sdgs.un.org/goals） (SDG) 13: Climate Action, touching on circular economy as a core aspect.
Lab 1 was held face-to-face in Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP)（https://www.ump.edu.my/en） on September 27, 2022. After the winning banner was announced, students continued to how to plan and produce a video, the different video types, as well as video tips and tricks. They were also tasked to create a 60 to 120-second video in their respective groups.
In the following session, the focus was on team building in the form of a scavenger hunt in Rimba Lestari, the university’s reserved forest. Throughout the 45-minute scavenger hunt, students were required to solve riddles, and were also introduced to tiny bits of the next lab session.
Digital Ninja Accelerator Lab 2
The second lab of the program was held in Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTEM)（https://www.utem.edu.my/en/） on November 9, 2022. For Lab 2, students utilized everything they have learned so far and brainstormed an invention to combat climate change, to be presented to the judges. In preparation for the presentation, they also came up with a logo and banner for their product and were briefed on the marketing strategies and tools as well as presentation tips.
Judges on the panel for this year’s cohort were Johary Mustapha, Founder & CEO of Forest Interactive and Forest Interactive Foundation, Hazwan Razak, Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Dr Akbariah Mohd Mahdzir, Head of Intellectual Property & Innovation Management at Malaysia Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) - UTM, Dr Siti Najaa, Assistant Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, Asia School of Business and Mr Daniel Bin Rustam, Finance Manager of Papabrands Sdn Bhd.