The Poyod team members in a group photo with ITB Faculty of Art and Design dean Dr Imam Santosa (standing first row, sixth right), faculty lecturers and STIDC officials at ITB.
KUCHING: Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation’s (STIDC) Pool of Young Designer (Poyod) team enrolled at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Bandung, Indonesia earlier this month to kick start its second training programme in furniture design.
The one-year programme is a follow-up to the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between STIDC and the institute’s Faculty of Art and Design in October last year.
The signing ceremony, which was held in Bandung, was witnessed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also STIDC Board of Management chairman.
STIDC general manager Hashim Bojet said the corporation collaborated with ITB to develop an enhanced one-year training programme for Poyod.
“The attachment training of Poyod at ITB will further enhance their knowledge and skill in designing with more inputs and international exposure through ITB linkages and networks,” he said in a statement.
He pointed out that ITB has developed a thorough research and customised curriculum for Poyod that will have a positive impact and enrich the team’s experiences and skill in design.
“I am confident that those in Poyod will benefit greatly from this training and upon their completion, they will be ready to serve as furniture designers to the timber industry in Sarawak,” he remarked, adding that the programme is also supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia here.
The Poyod training programme was developed by STIDC in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), industry players and other institutions with the objective of enhancing the knowledge and skill of Unimas Industrial Design fresh graduates in furniture design; thus developing their career path and ensure that they are readily marketable in Sarawak’s timber industry.
This is in line with STIDC’s vision to transform the timber industry in giving greater emphasis and focus on the growth and value-added development especially in the furniture industry.
Poyod is a two-year training programme in which the first year will be an industrial attachment with a local furniture manufacturer followed by an attachment training with ITB in the second year.
The first batch of Poyod carried out their first year training last year, with the team attached to Samling Housing Products Sdn Bhd in Miri starting from January.
During the one-year training, they completed three projects.
STIDC’s participation with Poyod’s new furniture collections produced by Samling Housing Products were featured at International Interiors & Design Exhibition (Index) Mumbai, India in May, Australia International Furniture Fair in Melbourne, Australia in July and Downtown Design Dubai in Dubai, UAE in November last year and managed to generate potential sales of furniture worth RM47 million.
The second-year training at ITB this year is expected to give Poyod further international exposure especially through their participation at Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy.
Members of Poyod pose for a group photo with ITB Faculty of Art and Design dean Dr Imam Santosa (centre).