The National University of Malaysia (UKM), among the latest institutions of higher learning, has announced that it is participating in the Home Learning Initiative organized by the YTL Foundation.
By joining this initiative, SME students and staff will get a free 4G YES SIM card with 40GB of data.
Also, SMEs through the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, also in collaboration with YTL and FrogAsia Foundation to develop teaching materials in Bahasa Melayu and English for students of Primary 1 to Form 5.
Under this initiative, the teaching materials developed will be added to the syllabus English, Maths and Science lessons available for parents and students.
Along with the free sim card initiative, 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the School of English, School of Linguistics and Studies Program in Malay Language from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at UKM will join the ranks of fellows and alumni at Teach for Malaysia to develop teaching materials online attractive and ensure students schools continue to have access to continuing education while the school is still closed.
During the last semester of study, UKM undergraduate students were also offered an 8-week Industrial Training placement at FrogAsia.
The collaboration between SMEs, FrogAsia and the YTL Foundation opens up opportunities for these undergraduate students to graduate within a specified period, although many other industries have retracted their offer of Industrial Training placement as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Chairman of the Foundation stated that they are delighted to have again partnered with the SMEs in a program that will benefit the students of this country.
Recently, they partnered the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM to study the effectiveness of redesign, classroom-based technology on teacher pedagogy and student learning habits that are often foundational in several academic research papers.
The use of technology in education is very close to the SMB and SME they feel is the best partner to develop teaching materials in Bahasa Melayu and English, he added.
As a result of the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (CPP), teaching and learning methods in UKM have now shifted from attending lectures or face-to-face lectures to 100% online classes and lectures.
The university has used its learning management system, UKMFolio™ as the official learning platform to continue teaching and learning as well as online exams.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UKM said stated that UKM welcomes the opportunity given to its students to contribute to the development of the Home Learning Initiative.
UKM shifted to online learning 27 April 2020 and immediately understood that not all students have high-speed Internet access at home. As such, these initiatives can help ease the burden on students especially for students who have to rely on mobile data to go through the online learning process and connect with their professors.
The partnership between SMEs and the Foundation is a “double welcome” to SMEs who will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary on 18 May 2020. Strategic partnerships with the private sector are critical to the development of the university towards becoming a tertiary institution in world rankings in the future.
Applications for the Home Learning Initiative are open to UKM students and staff until 9 June 2020. Other universities that have participated in the initiative include Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR), University of Pahang (UMP), New Era University College (NEUC) and Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA).
The Foundation also announced that the application deadline for a free YES 4G prepaid SIM card and the nomination for a 12-month free phone with 120GB of data for students from the B40 family has been extended to 9 June 2020, in line with the extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order.
