THE PROGRAM was organized by students of the QKK2101 Credit Co-curriculum course Group 5, 2022/2023 Academic Session, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus (UPMKB) in collaboration with the Student Affairs of Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus (UPMKB) held at TEGAS Digital Innovation Hub, Bintulu on 12 to 13 November, which received the response of 50 secondary school students around Bintulu.

The two-day Putra Bakti Rising Star 2022 program is also a strategic collaboration between UPMKB and the Sarawak Children's Economic Fund (TEGAS) through UPMKB's Youth, Leadership & Entrepreneurship (YLE) project. The program, which was held for the first time, provided in-depth exposure to the participants on the aspects of identity, soft skills, mental management as well as sharing in addressing the challenges of today's youth.

Guest speaker Mr. Norhakim Ahmad said the program not only achieved the goal, but also liked the participants.

“Throughout the program, we can see that the participants feel happy and happy, and at the same time the participants also learn and practice the knowledge learned through interesting activities. This kind of program needs to continue in the future,” he said in an interview.

The participants of the program comprising students of Bintulu Vocational College, SMK Bintulu, SMK Kidurong, SMK Kemena, SMK Bandar Bintulu and SMK Baru Bintulu were also exposed and given guidance on mental, emotional and stress management knowledge from UPMKB Senior Lecturer and Registered Counsellor, Dr. Chan Siaw Leng through the “Conquer from Within” slot.

The Putra Bakti Rising Star 2022 program, which is filled with four sharing slots from invited speakers and other activities that emphasize the aspects of communication, collaboration, time and stress management as well as creative and critical skills, aims to make participants more competent, confident, courageous and resilient in the face of challenges.

The guest speaker and YLE UPMKB Deputy Chairman Mr. Fakhzan Buang said the program, which was participated by more than six secondary schools around Bintulu, is seen as having a positive impact on students and has the potential to be a medium in improving soft skills and discovering the talents of participants, especially local students.

According to Ts Dr. Suhaili Mustafa, the program was successful in providing benefits and new experiences to students, especially post-pandemic students who lacked exposure to soft skills face-to-face.

“This program provides an opportunity for participants to evaluate themselves from different perspectives and they also learn to work in groups effectively. This indirectly increases the confidence of the participants and is a good start for the participants to recognize their own advantages,” he added.

The program, which is loaded with various knowledge and interesting activities, indirectly strengthened the leadership skills and management of the QKK2101 Group 5 Course as the organizer of the program.

The closing ceremony of the program, officiated by the Campus Director of Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Prof. Dr. Shahrul Razid Sarbini, was also attended by UPMKB Head of Student Affairs, Dr. Kamil Latif and Senior Assistant Registrar of Student Affairs Division, Mr. Mohamad Syukri Adnan.

Date of Input: 06/12/2022 | Updated: 07/12/2022 | lanz