PETALING JAYA: The National Innovation and Creative Economy Expo 2017 (NICE 17’) aims to pique the interest of the nation's younger generation towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

In a press conference conducted last Friday, Minister of Science,Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau said, “There has been an alarming statistic whereby students taking pure science classes are now less than 21%.

Hopefully through this expo, we can increase the awareness on the importance of STEM knowledge and entice students to take these courses.”

NICE 17’ is set to launch on Oct 12 this year, featuring over 400 booths of attractions with the theme ‘Negaraku Berinovasi’ at three main locales; namely Technology Park Malaysia (TPM), Pusat Sains Negara (PSN) and Planetarium Negara.

Among the attractions at the five-day fair would be Drone Racing GP, Les Copaque animation workshop, Robot Battle and other activities.

NICE 17’ is the nation's first biggest Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) expo, organised by MOSTI. The fair hopes to gain over 500,000 visitors in total.