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Developed by a team of female engineers from BAE Systems, the challenge will see up to 280,000 young women have the opportunity to complete a series of fun and engaging engineering tasks in order to earn the new ‘Gear up’ girl guiding badge.
The launch of the badge follows the success of similar launches by BAE Systems and Girl Guides in the UK and Singapore, which has seen many budding young female engineers encouraged to take an interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), as well as basic computer programming and coding.
The ‘Gear up’ badge was launched at the annual girl guides conference in Kuala Lumpur on 2rd October and will be rolled out across the various regions in Malaysia over the coming months. Deputy President of the Girl Guiding organisation in Malaysia, Duli Yang Amat Mulia Raja Puan Muda Perak Darul Ridzuan Tunku Soraya Binti Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah was at the conference and said,
“We are pleased to add the ‘Gear up’ badge to the Girl Guiding programme here, we know it will be a popular badge and are excited to see our members have fun completing the challenges, whilst also being inspired to take an interest in STEM subjects.”
BAE Systems Managing Director Asia, Natasha Pheiffer commented “We are proud to have been working in partnership with Malaysia for over 50 years, supporting the nation’s safety and economic prosperity. Encouraging young women to study engineering subjects will help contribute to Malaysia’s future prosperity by ensuring that it has a strong and diverse pipeline of talent for its future workforce.”
BAE Systems will work closely with Girl Guides Association Malaysia to ensure that as many young women as possible have the opportunity to earn the ‘Gear up’ badge, considering virtual training sessions and activities if necessary in order to follow Malaysia’s Standard Operating Procedures. Importantly, the two organisations will ensure that the tasks remain fun and engaging for the girls and encourage them to take an interest in engineering and think differently about STEM subjects.
His Excellency Charles Hay, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, commended BAE Systems and the Girl Guides Association Malaysia on the initiative. He said:
“With a track record in academic and research excellence, the UK is also a STEM powerhouse and an advocate for girls’ education. This initiative is a great way to empower girls and inspire greater women’s participation in STEM related fields, thereby promoting equality of opportunity. I hope all the girl guides in Malaysia will take up the challenge and benefit from the programme.”
About BAE Systems Malaysia:
- BAE Systems is the largest international supplier to the Malaysian Armed Forces and has been a partner for more than 50 years.
- For the past 20 years, our partnerships built around our Hawk aircraft have created more than 7,000 jobs and led to the creation of a world leading aerospace industry, whilst our ships are in service with the Royal Malaysian Navy and our equipment is operated by the Royal Malaysian Army, all of which has supported a safer, more prosperous Malaysia.
- BAE Systems has invested more than RM50m to grow its Applied Intelligence business in Malaysia establishing a 30,000 sq ft regional cyber security hub in Kuala Lumpur now employing nearly 400 skilled engineers, the majority of whom are Malaysian nationals.