Sabah Govt strives to embrace IR 4.0 to ensure jobs for graduates – Jenifer

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Jenifer (ninth from right), Roselyn (ninth from left) and Jess (eighth from right) with INTI staff, guests and industry partners at the Youth Beyond Academic public showcase.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Government is striving to embrace Industrial Revolution 4.0 while ensuring graduates in the state continue to gain meaningful employment.

“We recognise the importance of being involved in IR 4.0 and I am thrilled to witness that the students here today are equipped with the skillsets needed for the future.

“This showcase is a worthy example of how higher education institutions should embrace, adapt, lead and prepare our future graduates for the shifting employment landscape,” said Assistant Minister of Education and Innovation and honorary guest of the showcase, Jenifer Lasimbang, when delivering her at INTI College Sabah’s (INTI) second “Youth Beyond Academic” public showcase at  Suria Sabah Shopping Mall, here yesterday.

Some of the projects featured at the showcase included the “Kinabalu Pink Ribbon Run”, where students fundraised RM8,000 to improve the lives of breast cancer patients; the “Power of Ten” that saw students successfully raising RM3,200 to build a new wing in Hospital Keningau’s Dialysis Center; “Are you Responsible? Old Tyre and Used

Battery” which saw students recycling tyre straps and water to generate electricity, and “Unite for Vision” a fundraising event organized by INTI students that saw RM3,000 raised for the Sabah Society for the Blind.

The public showcase featured eight projects focusing on social consciousness and real industry problems to demonstrate the skillsets of its students in an advancing Industrial Revolution 4.0 world.

The showcase was organised for members of the public, high school students, INTI’s industry partners and parents alike.

Earlier, the showcase kicked off with an opening speech by Roselyn Chua, Chief Executive of INTI College Sabah, who shared the significance of the event to her audience.

“As we move into a world which increasingly relies on smart machines and systems, cloud computing and the internet of things, the skillsets that require enhancing for the future workforce are personal skills,” shared Roselyn.

“While skillsets such as knowledge about ICT, technical know-how and the ability to work with data are important, personal skills such as emotional intelligence, complex problem solving, coordinating with others, and creativity will take the forefront as we tackle issues such as climate change, cancer and non-communicable diseases,” said Roselyn.

“These skills are pertinent for our future graduates as they go out into the workforce because they cannot be emulated by machines. It is these skills that will make our future graduates relevant in the future workforce and our projects here today are demonstrative of our students’ abilities in honing these skillsets successfully,” she said.

Jenifer, who was also given a tour around the showcase, expressed her appreciation for being a part of the event and shared that it was crucial for all higher education institutions in Sabah to follow suit and initiate a similar curriculum for their students.

Also present at the event was INTI International University & Colleges vice president of career services Jess Tinawin.