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November 6, 2017

L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science Fellowship 2017

Assalamualaikum, hey loves!

Phewww, I just got back from Penang and yes, I heard about the poor weather condition that hype all over Internet and news about it. Al-Hamdulillah, ALLAH bless me to not experience all those because the place I visited during my Penang trip is not affected and I still can attend beauty workshop/visiting some friends/food hunting too!  Before I went further with that, I wanna publish an appreciation post regarding with an event that inspiring the next generation of Malaysian (Go, Malaysia peeps!) women  (girl power!) scientists that has won L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Fellowship to three respected and talented women that do some deep research while challenging themselves to strive for the solution, thus saving the lives of millions!


Based on the photo above, I would like to emphasize three lucky ladies that stand in middle group shot about their development in research that made them to win the title.

Dr. Ho Weang Kee from the University of Nottingham Malaysia. The 35-year-old has clinched the award for her development of a risk prediction model for breast cancer, which uses DNA and lifestyle information to identify those at risk of the cancer for early detection.

Another winner, Dr Jasy Liew Suet Yan from Universiti Sains Malaysia, is recognised for building a system that detects signs of depression by analysing emotional patterns on social media. The 32-year-old hopes that the emotion-sensitive technology will encourage early diagnosis and treatment.

Working on sustainable resource management, Dr Teh Su Yean netted the award with her unification of science, engineering, technology and mathematics to protect coastal resources in Malaysia. The 36-year-old associate professor of the School of Mathematical Science at Universiti Sains Malaysia is building a model that will conserve groundwater, which may become crucial when other water source are depleted due to global climate change.

This year, on top of receiving a RM30,000 grant to help pursue their research, each winner also developed capacity in idea presentation. All three received training to present a summary of their research on stage during the award ceremony, in a manner similar to the world-renowned TED Talks. Big congrats again to these lovely ladies!



Big shout out to my sayang for coming to the event on behalf of me and yes, the event is indeed formal and no simply photos can be taken. The event focus that L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship was created to recognize and promote the contribution of women scientists. The partnership was perfectly match in heaven between L’Oréal, founded by scientist Eugene Schueller, has been celebrating women’s confidence for over a century and UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has also advocated for gender equality in the cultivation of scientific knowledge since 1945. Other than honoring scientific excellence, L’Oréal Foundation and its partners aim to boost awareness and interest in science among Malaysians. This is in line with the nation’s vision of becoming a knowledge economy by 2020.



According to YB Dato Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri,  the minister in the Prime Minister Department overseeing the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) mention that,


“The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship supports the vision that it is not only inspires more Malaysian women to pursue science as a career, but also fuel interest in science, which is waning among secondary school and higher tertiary students,”

She added in her speech that:

1) It is only 21% of those in upper secondary chose to study science subjects in 2014 from the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

2)The National Council for Scientific Research and Development estimated that the country will need 493,830 scientists and engineers by 2020. But the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is looking at a shortfall of 236,000 technical personnel.

Last but not least, she congratulated the award winners for their exemplary achievements in the male-dominated field, which “shows that science can be a thriving ground for all genders to pursue excellence.”


For the next speaker, Mr. Malek Bekdache, Managing Director of L’Oréal  Malaysia, offers a silver lining.



“This year, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship saw the highest ever number of submissions, with an increase of 66% from last year. The heightened excitement for this scientific award gives hope that interest in STEM among the next generation will climb along,”

He also added that,

“At L’Oréal, they hope these kinds of incentive will help pivot the crucial work of women researchers in progressing current societies, as well as fan the passion in science for next generation of nation builders to carry Malaysia towards its goal of becoming a high income developed economy.”



Some goodies that I received (technically, my sayang receive it, but of course he’s not wearing any makeup LOL) during the event that day. To my surprise, I am really glad and happy with the achievement that those amazing ladies achieve and I really hope that in future, all of us can work together in team and no bias among both gender because I know, we all super good and we know our bad/good side of ourselves. You know it, don't hide it! Unleash the supernatural power within you, you gonna be so fine loves!

Lots of love,
Miss A :)