The creative work of 19 Cambodia Children Fund (CCF) students hangs on the walls of Meta House for the ‘STEM in My Life’ exhibition, which forms part of the Full STEAM Ahead project to encourage pupils to learn through innovative ways.

‘STEM in my Life’ is an annual photography competition for CCF media club students at Neeson Cripps Academy in Phnom Penh.

The ultimate aim is to nurture creative thinking through the use of photography, with participants encouraged to capture a moment of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) and integrate art.

For this year’s competition, the students, who predominantly live in slums in the capital, were asked to take a photograph of an item that plays an important role in their lives and write a short personal narrative to accompany it.

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“We find many of our students find it difficult to talk about themselves and dig deep,” said Andrew Roberts, CCF’s STEM coordinator, adding that critical thinking is a key element that is lacking in many young Cambodian students.

“So, we wanted the students to engage in something that made them dig down and find reasons within themselves about why something is important or why they feel a certain way.”

Thoeun Monika, 16, is one of the Grade 7 to 12 students whose work was shortlisted for the finals of the photography competition. She captured a close-up image of a sewing machine’s needle at work.

“The sewing machine is really important in my family because my mom is a tailor. She worked in a factory but we didn't have a sewing machine in the house,” Monika recalls of growing up.

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“When my mom had free time, she would go to someone’s house who had a sewing machine, and she would make clothes to earn extra money to support our family.”

Budding photographer, Chin Racchit, also 16, decided to submit his image of a smartphone snapping a photo. “Since I was young, I liked taking photos, but my family didn't have enough money to buy me a camera,” he recalled.

“When I got a smartphone, I started taking photos, but I wasn’t so good. Since joining the media class, I'm so much better, and my teacher told me that it doesn’t matter if you don't have a proper camera, it's about your skills.”

Roberts said that the project aims to help students develop their photography skills, critical thinking, and creativity, while also boosting their confidence and ability.

“STEM is very broad. But we want students to start recognizing that STEM is all around them,” said Roberts, adding that the latest official figures reveal that in the future, Cambodia will have a gap of about 40,000 engineers that needs filling.

“So, there’s a lot of room for STEM in the country. A lot of current jobs will become redundant in the future with the development of AI and machine learning. All of the jobs in the future will be related to STEM.”

Roberts added that even the agricultural sector, which is one of Cambodia’s main economic pillars, is in the process of being transformed. This means integrating STEM into the school curriculum is key to developing the nation’s workforce of tomorrow.

“We have a number of kids in every grade level who are interested in agriculture. If you're going to become a macro economist or soil scientist, these are all STEM professions that will help Cambodia with its food security in the future.”

In addition, Roberts said that showcasing their work to the public helps to build students’ confidence and their ability to engage with segments of society that these underprivileged children are not usually exposed to in their daily lives.

“These kids don't really talk to the public about their work. Their parents are mainly running businesses within a slum, so they don't really get out and do the things that we would on a regular basis. This is all very new and very exciting for them,” he added.

“Hopefully, it helps with their confidence and they believe that they can do anything. That’s part of the motto of our NGO; we want to help make them tomorrow's leaders.”

Racchit said this is the first time he has shown any of his work in public. “I feel so nervous,” he said. “But I try my best to explain to everyone about my photo and what it means to me. I have learned a lot.”

Nico Mesterharm, founder of Meta House, Cambodia’s biggest independent art center, said ‘STEM My Life’ forms part of a broader program that Meta House has supported since its inception in 2007 - coupling art and education.

“Bringing together art and education has been an important element of Meta House since we started,” Mesterharm said. “Also, bringing these kids into the gallery takes away a bit of the fear, as most of the young Cambodians have never stepped foot in a gallery.”

On November 18, the exhibit will conclude, with the winners of the competition announced. There is one winner from a public vote and another selected by a panel of judges