UniMAP FTK Students Produce Street Furniture Benches

Padang Besar, 20 June – Producing creativity and innovations while implementing a curriculum is important in actualising the evolution and development in national education which faces a number of new changes.

Innovative curricula which teach innovative and creative content, knowledge and types of skills to be mastered by students can be assessed by how well they are implemented in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IPT).

An effective curriculum is one that fulfils the needs of a student by preparing the student to face the working world by developing the talents, potential, thought, culture, creativity, knowledge, expertise and abilities of students.

On that basis, it is important for schoolteachers or lecturers to use various appropriate and effective methods, strategies and approaches in accordance to the needs of the students while simultaneously applying creative and innovative strategies.

These elements are among those introduced by the Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Technology (Product Development) teaching staff at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) to impress students to interpret theory they had been taught by producing a creative handiwork.

Programme coordinator Mohd. Haidiezul Jamal Abdul Hadi said that students were asked to create unique and creative Street Furniture Benches by combining engineering and product design.

According to him, the project not only teaches students problem solving skills and abilities but also the understanding of the project's requirements and issues as well as the capacity to sketch a two-dimensional drawing before starting to construct their designs.

“Basically this project stems from the lack of public benches at the UniCITI Alam campus grounds, so some of the teaching staff and I took the initiative to turn it into a student project.

“The results were exciting and defied our expectations when 22 bench designs of various concepts and creative elements were produced by the students,” he said today.

To show appreciation for the students, all 22 designs are now being exhibited at the Studio Exhibit Space Building S4, FTK Laboratories at UniCITI Alam Campus.

For Norhaiza Natasya Mokhtar, 21, the project assigned by lecturers for the Product Development course not only trained her to be creative, but also developed her skills in handling tools and crafting activities.

Usually, she said, these activities are done by men, but in this course all students, men or women, were required to complete the assignments given by their lecturers.

“Besides basic product design, we also had to ensure every design was conceived ergonomically for use by the public,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Nazmeemran Musa, 21, a second year student said that his friends and him spent two months constructing their product entitled Aluminio Bench.

According to him, the product sports a contemporary modern design where its seat is made of pine wood and the seat support is crafted of metal.

“The shape of the bench is adapted from the form of a boomerang, a curved thrown weapon, while the metal support for the seat was inspired by the letter Y.

“The bench is suited for enclosed or roofed areas to ensure that it lasts longer. I am satisfied with this design and hope that it will see use at the UniCITI Alam campus grounds,” he added.