JOHOR BAHRU, 3 April – Scholars Today, Leaders of Tomorrow this is what we want from the young generation, the ones who will lead Malaysia to a better future,” said YB Datuk Mary Yap Ken Jin, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, at the closing ceremony of the National Young Leader Symposium 2016 (NYLS’16) at Dewan Sultan Iskandar, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

“This symposium is a great platform for students to obtain hands-on experience in organizing a program as this will help them in preparing themselves to face challenges in their future career,” she added.

She highlighted the ministry’s 2-year University and 2-year Industry (2U2I) transformative programme which encourages both theoretical and practical training for undergraduates. The 2U2I initiative will assist students in enhancing both their technical knowledge and soft skills, thereby enhancing their employability rate.

The symposium was held on 1 April to 3 April in Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, Johor Bahru and Dewan Sri Iskandar, UTM and was joined by 250 participants from public and private universities, community colleges, Institute of Teachers’ Education (IPG) and MARA Polytechnic colleges.

NYLS’16 aimed at offering students the opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions with regards to both local and global issues, and in preparing themselves to meet future challenges in leading the country for a better tomorrow.

The closing ceremony of the symposium was also attended by Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid Omar, UTM Vice-Chancellor UTM and Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ismail bin Abd. Aziz, UTM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs & Alumni).

“Students have always been central to UTM. A lot of other programmes have been implemented by UTM including High Tea with the Vice-Chancellor and Lunch Time with Professors, as these kind of activities could mould the students to be more holistic and balanced,” said Prof Dr Wahid.

Prof Dr Ismail added that students need to have three main attributes: intellectual adaptability that will enable students to apply their studies to their work; social culture intelligence that will enable students to have better communication skills, and global citizenship that will enable the students to be more open minded and global-thinking.

(By Nur Shafiqah Ahamad Zainuddin)