This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 30, 2021 - September 5, 2021
Four Form Five schoolgirls from SMK St Joseph in Miri who call themselves the Boolean Babes talk about their recent win in a global mobile app coding competition, and their journey and aspirations in tech
Fedelia Chan Wan Shin’s interest in coding started from a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programme that she joined at her school’s Innovation Club. There, she was introduced to Arduino, an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software, and this eventually led her to discover programming languages and the world of coding. “What I enjoy the most about coding is that it calls on critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” says the 17-year-old from Miri, Sarawak.
At a mobile app class at Realfun Learning Centre, Fedelia learnt about Technovation Girls, a global mobile app coding competition for young women (ages eight to 18) interested in becoming tech entrepreneurs and leaders. She roped in her classmates Ellisa Ee Jia Xin, Paige Kaite Aran and Azlinda Aryanshah Chin, who were all intrigued by the idea. The students of SMK St Joseph, Miri, who are sitting for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination this year, got to work quickly.
The team spent three months working on the app, under the guidance of Teo Yuang Teck, Realfun Learning Centre founder and director, who teaches children and teens how to create apps, games and animation through coding.
Calling themselves the Boolean Babes, the team devised an app called the Solace Sphere, which is to be used as a support system for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Disguised as a Magic8Ball game, the app helps users identify and assess their current situation, acquire all the necessary information and feel supported. The app, which has not been commercialised, also connects users with counsellors and other survivors of domestic abuse.
The team members were each responsible for specific areas — coding development (Fedelia), marketing (Paige), app design (Azlinda) and research and development (Ellisa). Beating more than 40 teams of semi-finalists across Asia, the Boolean Babes emerged as the Regional Winner (Asia) under the senior category, earning them an invitation to share their work at the App Expo World Summit held earlier this month.
Although they don’t have entrepreneurship on their minds, the world of STEM appeals to some of them, who say they plan to explore areas like digital animation, artificial intelligence and engineering.
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