The British Council in Malaysia held an event to celebrate and witness the huge success of FameLab in Malaysia and to provide a platform for partners and stakeholders to discuss science communication with the “World’s Best Science Communicators” and FameLab alumni.
The “FameLab: Celebrating Science, Communicating Impact” event held on 16 August 2018 also celebrated our partnership with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).
“Communicating science effectively is a complex task and an acquired skill for most people, including scientists. FameLab was first held in Malaysia in 2015 with the purpose of identifying, training and mentoring young scientists to share enthusiasm for their subjects with the public. Malaysia is the first and only Asian country to have produced two international champions in three years at FameLab International,” said Sarah Deverall, Director Malaysia, British Council.
Dr Siti Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah was crowned the 2018 FameLab International Champion on 7 June 2018 at the Cheltenham Science Festival. She successfully competed against 27 science communicators from across the world. She follows in the footsteps of Professor Dr Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam, who was the first Malaysian who won the title “World’s Best Science Communicator” in 2016.
Professor Dr Abhimanyu said, “The FameLab experience was crucial in providing me with the necessary skill set, confidence and platform to communicate science and my research to a wider audience. The more I communicate science to different types of audience, the closer I get to understanding how science can better serve humanity.”
Dr Siti Khayriyyah and Professor Dr Abhimanyu said, “While FameLab has been the platform that has recently captured public imagination, there are many existing channels of science communication that many Malaysian practitioners in STEM have been championing. As FameLab alumni with the support of the British Council, we aim to establish a home-grown Malaysian Science Communication Network to pool our resources and efforts to elevate and sustain the presence and progress of STEM through science communication.”
The British Council has been operating in Malaysia since 1948. In 2018 we are marking this 70th anniversary with a series of events celebrating cultural relations and exchange between the UK and Malaysia.