Informal Education as a Strategic University–School Partnership for Enhancing the Quality of Science Education for Sustainable Development: An Example from Malaysia

Partnerships between schools and universities are vital for advancing the Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG 4) agenda. This chapter explores the case of an informal education project named the Malaysian International Young Inventors Olympiad (MIYIO), which the Regional Centre of Expertise, Penang (RCE Penang), used as an entry point for developing university–school partnerships to enhance the quality of science education. The MIYIO configures an informal interschool competition focused on science education for sustainable development. The university–school partnership related to this project started in 2014, and since then, the MIYIO has enabled the creation of several strategic allies and synergistic actions, and it continues to grow in participation and recognition. Under the framework of the shared-goal paradigm, the MIYIO elevated the quality of science education through informal activities. This chapter discusses the strategies implemented by the RCE Penang in relation to this project and the relationships it developed with various stakeholders to promote informal science education in schools through projects, action-based initiatives, and the synergy among RCEs and local-level agencies.