About
About RFY
Research4youth (RFY) is a platform that organizes research-based educational programs for secondary school students and provides research mentorship. Unlike general research platforms, RFY has a particular focus on research related to environmental conservation and sustainability.
Through field-based research, integrated projects, and academic mentorship, we provide young researchers with opportunities to investigate real-world issues and challenges, explore possible solutions, and contribute to positive change.
By working alongside researchers and university academics, students will gain first-hand research experience and explore academic fields that interest them before entering university. This early exposure may help them understand the basic expectations of university-level study, research, and academic assignments, and better prepare them for their future studies.
A message from our founder Dr. Ella Cao
Hi, I'm Ella, a researcher and educator based in Penang, Malaysia, and also a recent PhD graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia, where I studied Curriculum and Instruction. Previously I worked as a book editor for an educational publishing company in Shanghai. After obtaining my PhD in curriculum and instruction from USM, I worked as a project coordinator for a UNSDG intervention program, where I had the opportunity to work with professionals from UNHCR, Médecins Sans Frontières, and other organizations. All of them are deeply committed to creating meaningful change, and working alongside them was a particularly valuable experience for me.
I founded this platform with the aim of empowering the younger generation with essential research skills to solve real-world issues. I believe research is more than writing and publishing papers, it is a way of thinking, questioning, solving problems, and making impact. Rather than waiting until university, students can acquire these skills during secondary school stage or maybe earlier.
I hope RFY will inspire our younger generation to explore their ideas, contribute to society, and become tomorrow's innovators.
We also support students in planning and organizing fundraising activities for NGOs working in environmental conservation and sustainability. Through these student-led initiatives, they not only raise funds for meaningful causes, but also help increase public awareness of the NGOs’ work and promote greater understanding of environmental and sustainability issues within the wider community.
