Under COVID-19, UNSDGs implementation has become hard to implement as resources are limited and policy of social distancing needs to be complied.
Based on United Nations official website on USNDGs,
the SDGs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and cooperation…built upon principles and values, and upon a shared vision and shared goals placing people and the planet at the centre.
It is time to review with actions to assess the mission and capacity of existing or potential partners for new projects to work on under paradigm shift with disruptions in supply chain management. People of different background may bring synergy once their values, mindset and expected outcomes of projects are shared with new normal knowledge of COVID-19, creating a better community with innovative services.
Dr. Shirley Yeung SY (Director, BSSI and Head, School of Business, Gratia Christian College) and Mr. Lewis Ng LN (Founder of China Legend) has been working closely in the past few years in designing coding STEM educational kit for education and business purposes. After the emergence of pandemic, students need to study at home and working parents need to work from home. Hence, SY and LN applied the basic concepts of design thinking, from empathy, defining the scope of the kit, brainstorming the ideas for the product and related activities for the coding robot education kit, to determining the prototype and testing with the stakeholders of children, teenagers, parents, working adults, responsible personnel from the parent- teacher association, the visually impaired community, NGOs, educational sector, and overseas government officials in the past two years.
According to the latest “United Nations Human Development Index Report” (2019), it is necessary to explore humanity under the new framework Inequality in development. Our future surpassed revenue, exceeded the average and today.
Have you considered that kids at the age of 10 and above, the semi-retired middle-aged parents/working adults at the age of around 50s may also be producers of services related to products / training to provide bonding to family relationship and working relationship on top of consumers? If the enthusiasm of young people and the life experiences of elderly are tied up, the coding STEM kit may help to create “happiness” – entertainment at home. Hence, Mr. Lewis Ng, innovator in hardware design and years of experiences in designing products, and Dr. Shirley Yeung, passionate educator, share their resources to co-create a coding STEM kit to serve the purpose of UNSDG 4 – transferable skills, 9 –innovations and 17 – partnership with new product emerged under new normal economy for the community.
Product Co-creation with Hard and Soft Skills Implementation for Capacity Building
A long-term mission, is an important process for the development of human civilization, and it is the beginning of cultivating the foundation for future successors. As an entrepreneur, facing the shared learning resources without borders, we sincerely design innovative STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics) application products for them.
Design Thinking
1. Borderless and language learning
2. Suitable for ages 8 to seniors, men, women and children
3. DIY- do it yourself
4. Solidarity and cooperation
5. Learning feelings and expression skills
6. Study discussion
7. Sustainability learning and creation
Product characteristics and programming application learning
1. Technic Bricks and accessories
2. Micro Bit control board
3. Hua Robot extension box
4. Motor kit
5. Sensor module (UltraSonic/LED/Infrared/RGB)
6. mobile phone Apps micro:bit
M2 smart car Micro: bit is a microcomputer development board launched by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Specifically designed for youth programming education , Micro Bit is an embedded system based on ARM architecture, designed by the BBC for computer education in the UK. The size of the circuit board is 4cm × 5cm, with an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, acceleration sensor and magnetic force sensor, Bluetooth communication and USB connection programming capabilities, a display composed of 25 LEDs, 2 programmable buttons , Can be powered by USB or external battery pack HuaRobot M2 control box is a smart car expansion controller, working with microbit motherboard, built-in customizes charging management unit, motor controller, buzzer, high current management module and other electronics modules.
The Way Forward
Under COVID-19, imagination and new knowledge can be integrated to expand horizons for new business models. Three times, transformations seminars have been organized in May, 2020 by BSSI, working with the industry to promote innovations and transformations after COVID19. Industry practitioners (such as catering, tourism, event management, music education, sports management, etc.) and students from Hong Kong and overseas, for example, “South-South Entrepreneurship Academy” winners from Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan participated in the transformation seminars. They highly recommended the transformation seminars to peers in Kenya and Nigeria.
On May 30, “Art Business Life Online (Zoom) Seminar was convened by Dr. Shirley Yeung with World Bank Consultant, Paris, Art Entrepreneur, Beijing/ Paris and Green Economy Professor, Malaysia, and participants from 8 countries, including UNPRME working group members from Moscow. A fruitful dialogue has been visualized for projects to be co-created under the new normal economy.
Dr. Shirley Yeung, Designer/ Advisor of UNOSSC Entrepreneurial Academy and Director, BSSI/ Head, School of Business, Gratia Christian College, pointed out that digital marketing / responsible use of social media with user-friendly applications may help to integrate new services for travel and tourism, new interesting courses, and healthcare information for semi-retired communities.
“In the case of COVID-19, knowledge transfer and exchange focusing on communication tools and fast-developing products / services is the trend for new working style and life style that we need to adjust ourselves in the future. Hence, training related to “innovative service quality management, capacity building, blockchain concepts, innovative humanistic operational management, corporate sustainability, service process re-design” and on-going exposure to the industries with innovations, transformations, solidarity and resilience are needed,” said Dr. Shirley Yeung.
“Sustainable development is not limited to seeking financial support and technological progress; but also to learn to open up to accept the reality, surpass income, average and think from a multiple views for the future ways of living under certainty.” (Yeung, 2020)
For more information, email Shirley Yeung at : shirleymc@gmail.com; follow shirley on twitter at: ShirleyUNPRME11
