a. Summary of project goals with two sentences.

The "Sunshine and Smile" project aims to create a user-friendly DIY aquaponics system powered by solar energy, providing interactive STEM education experiences for students while promoting environmental sustainability and fostering community collaboration. Through partnerships, workshops, and entrepreneurial initiatives, it seeks to empower students, educators, and communities to embrace sustainable farming practices, ultimately contributing to long-term education enrichment and environmental stewardship.

b. Did other fund-raising efforts contribute to your projects? What were they?

• Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, UTHM

c. Provide details about how your project actually worked.

Project Flow Summary:

Phase 1: Preparation Phase

1. 18 October 2023

-           Receive grant confirmation from Khind Starfish Foundation.

-           Review and refine the project budget based on the grant amount.

1. 19 - 31 October 2023

-           Place orders for project items, ensuring alignment with the adjusted budget.

-           Allocate budget for project activities, including purchase of supplies and DIY aquaponics kits.

-           Coordinate with suppliers to confirm orders and ensure timely delivery.

2. 25 October 2023

-           Attend kickoff meetings to understand project objectives and expectations.

-           Form a project team with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

3. 28 October – 4 November 2023

-           Prepare a DIY kit for the innovation session in the group division for the program.

4. 2 November 2023

-           Conduct site visits to assess cleanliness and suitability for installation.

-           Collaborate with teachers to finalize monitoring techniques and educational program content.

Phase 2: Implementation Phase

5. 6 - 9 November 2023

-           Install aquaponics project system, including wiring connections and necessary repairs.

-           Conduct site cleaning and ensure proper setup of equipment.

-           Perform 24-hour observation to confirm system functionality and address any issues.

6. 12 – 16 November 2023

-           Finalize detailed program schedule, ensuring alignment with project objectives.

-           Procure additional resources and materials required for program implementation.

7. 23 November 2023

-           Program: Knowledge Transfer Aquaponic System and Solar PV

•           Introduction to Aquaponics and Solar PV Systems.

•           Demonstration of Aquaponics System.

•           Group Division and Hands-on Activities with DIY and Solar PV Kits.

•           Plant Nursery Process and Fish Release.

•           Step-by-step Procedures for Aquaponic Care.

•           Photo session.

8. 26 November 2023 – February 2024

-           The teacher assigns the role to the students to monitor and record the progress of the plant.

-           Commence data collection on system performance, water quality, plant growth, and fish behavior.

1. December 2023 – February 2024

-           Guide students in harvesting produce from aquaponic system, facilitating hands-on learning.

-           Conduct first vegetable harvest and document results.

-           Monitor student progress in data collection and provide necessary support.

-           Collect feedback from students and teachers to assess program effectiveness.

-           Conduct second vegetable harvest, evaluating improvements and adjusting the program as needed.

10. Ongoing:

-           As the project matures, it will proceed with the implementation of water quality monitoring using IoT technology.

-           Additionally, the project will incorporate tasks such as monitoring filter cleaning and optimizing fertilizer placement.

d. Were there unanticipated difficulties? Budget constraints?

• Working overtime a few days before the program is run by developing an aquaponics system in a suitable place.
• The community involvement is very good because they are very excited to know about the plant process and aquaponic development, but they do not take care of the health of the trees by holding the leaves of the trees until they die.
• Budget control over purchased materials to focus on the main items first before adding safety protection materials to this aquaponic system.

e. Language or cultural barriers?

We have a good relationship with the teachers and students at school. Although half of them are PKKI students, they are very excited to get involved in the process of growing vegetables and in answering questions. There is one thing that we facilitators need: the help of PKKI teachers to interact with them using sign language or explain in a gentle way. Facilitators play a very important role in being by their side to show one by one the equipment that will be used. They were very happy with our visit to the school.

f. What worked well? What didn’t work well?

In general, the project proceeded successfully since two teams of lecturers and facilitators were formed prior to the program's implementation. In order to prevent shortages, lecturers should supervise the project and offer suggestions and support to contributors. This ensures that the project runs smoothly and effectively throughout. The facilitator will be in charge of the project by providing specific duties on their tasks. The school also developed a student organisation that is in charge of maintaining the aquaponic system and documenting any changes that take place in the project, and they welcomed our complete cooperation and faith in building the aquaponic project. The school and those of us who constructed the project are thrilled that the school has an aquaponics system for education. In order to teach students about experiential learning through a genuine project, the Sunshine & Smile initiative ultimately succeeded in installing an aquaponic system in the school. Next, managed to get a crowdfunding amount that helped cover some aquaponic materials.

On the other hand, there are some things that should be taken into consideration when making a site survey, namely in terms of stability or a flat site, because when the pipe installation is complete, there is a leaking part due to the uneven site. Additionally, technical issues regarding the integration of IoT monitoring systems with aquaponic setups may cause technical difficulties or delays, affecting data collection, analysis, and system optimisation.

g. How many people benefited or will benefit from your project? Who are these people?

The main goal of our project is to benefit as many as 120 students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Timbul, Senggarang, Batu Pahat, including those with special needs and students from the Special Integration Education Programme (PKKI), who will benefit directly from the hands-on STEM education experience, the practical application of principles of aquaponics, and increased environmental awareness. Therefore, before the aquaponics project introduction program for students, preliminary preparations should be made in terms of explanatory materials. For that, bringing a solar and mini aquaponic kit provides a stimulus to the thinking of the lesson because it can involve the physical movement of component assembly and the skill of memorizing small components.

During the program, several school teachers were involved to monitor our activities with the students. 10 teachers can learn how lecturers and facilitators give information to their students. For that, teachers can benefit from ways of attracting students' interest in doing outdoor activities with them. Improving their teaching methodology and integrating aquaponics into their curriculum ultimately improves the quality of STEM education delivery.

After completing the program, this project is always controlled by the school. But projected and displayed for public viewing. Where the project can be seen by the local community when parents can see this plant project while waiting to pick up their children at school. We estimated that more than 30 people from the local community inquired about the project because they also have traditional plant rooms at home. The benefits gained empower them to grow their own fresh produce, improve food security, and promote a sustainable food system.

Furthermore, through this project, this is a good opportunity for us to further promote the sale of aquaponics systems that lack space to be placed at school or at home, which contributes to the community. At the same time, this project can also be a benchmark for readiness for the real work process and can continue to make this project successful in other schools.

h. What is the long-term impact and sustainability of this project? Is there a future for your project?

This project is our first attempt to promote aquaponics in schools with small-sized aquaponics for the purpose of school syllabus learning. Interpret this project from aquaponic design for plants, mini aquaponics for the work process, and a DIY aquaponic kit for component assembly. Completing this project directly helps school students, especially special needs students, in the uniqueness of learning agriculture. From the process throughout the program, the special needs students are very interested in doing joint activities when they have tactile sensory activities. For that reason, not only normal students can do this kind of project, but even students with special needs can record data with the help of teachers. The whole aquaponic design process of the plant system and these small projects have a high impact on learning at school and can even be implemented at home. In addition, this project also encourages people around us to be interested in building this aquaponic design at home for their daily food crops. Here, focusing on economic viability becomes part of a project business model that includes the sale of aquaponic systems to local communities for financial sustainability. The revenue generated from these activities can be reinvested into the project, ensuring its continued operation and expansion. In short, with this financial sustainability, the planning of this project can continue and build corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in schools, such as boarding schools, with fewer teachers.

1. In several paragraphs, address each of the following questions:

a. How does or will your project contribute to happiness? Short-term? Long-term?

The Sunshine & Smile project brings fun to the special education students in schools in the village. At the beginning of the project, we found that the students in the school only studied the agriculture and innovation syllabus in theory, according to the rules of topics in the school textbook. Just increase their interest by asking the students to draw a picture of their learning. Therefore, the concept of agriculture is outdoors; this design is placed in the school area not only for learning but also as a school decoration, and people who see it are very interested in knowing the function of this project. Therefore, this project provides an aquaponic system design that is easy to learn, safe, and conductive.

Furthermore, this aquaponic design not only saves space for planting but also supports interactive learning through the processes of water flow, fish movement, and plant growth. The Malaysian Ministry of Education approved the agriculture syllabus in textbooks to promote the understanding of agriculture among students, but even the book does not encourage the development of students' growth if there is no physical contact or innovation skills as an initiative for their emotional, social, and physical development.

In the short term, the outcome of the Sunshine & Smile project is to provide hands-on experience in actively engaging students in science, design and technology (RBT) subjects, fostering a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Next is community collaboration, which is bringing together volunteers and teachers to further encourage programmes or learning that open students' minds and interest in learning. In the long term, this project can equip students with STEM skills, entrepreneurial skills, and practical knowledge of sustainable agriculture, which can improve their future prospects and job satisfaction. Additionally, the project contributes to overall well-being by empowering communities to grow their own food and encouraging entrepreneurship, which creates a foundation for resilience. Finally, this long-term project establishing aquaponics learning centres and promoting STEM education can have a ripple effect, positively impacting future generations and contributing to a culture of lifelong learning and fulfilment.

b. Has your project changed the way you think about the world? How has it changed you?

Throughout the Sunshine & Smile project, there are many things that need to be taken seriously, especially regarding project items, but there are always lecturers and facilitator teams who work together to help throughout the project journey. From the initial stage of the project, the school welcomed us to build this project in the school because the presence of a project involved in an educational initiative that aims to empower students can instill a sense of satisfaction in learning at school. Witnessing the positive impact of students' acceptance to understand this project on their lives can strengthen their belief in the transformative power of knowledge and education. When the students have understood and are more excited to know the function of this project in the outside world or industry, it becomes a nature of responsibility towards the development of these students to share more knowledge that we have known. If given more space and opportunity, we will continue this project to contribute ideas or knowledge by involving ourselves again in projects that combine technology, innovation, and collaboration, which can broaden one's perspective on problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches.

2. Complete this section with a one to two sentence personal statement, suitable for use as a quotation, addressing how and why this project was valuable and what was the most important thing you learned as a result. (Indicate student’s name for quote attribution.)

Shafiqa:

"Seeing the smiles on the students' faces as they operate the aquaponics system together reinforces the importance of experiential learning to engage interest and create enthusiasm for learning new things."

Nur Ain:

"This project can empower students to accept sustainability through direct learning because it can focus on the two syllabus subjects of science and design and technology."

Furqan:

"The importance of practical education in developing future leaders."

Dzul Idham:
"Getting attention from students with special needs is our joy when they understand and do activities."

Naqib:

"It was a valuable experience in this endeavour to see regular and special needs students working together, assembling components, and innovating."

Uwwais:

"The biggest worry before meeting the students is if they don't understand what is being said; on the contrary, they are very excited and curious."

Syahirah:

"The cooperation from various parties has a big impact on this project."

Hanis:

"The joy of learning is not only for ordinary students, but students with special needs also deserve the opportunity and have been proven successful in giving that joy."