GEORGETOWN, PENANG, 15 October 2022 – In conjunction with the Young Enterprise (YE) Programme Penang Sales Fair, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) via the School of Management (SOM) today entered into an agreement with the Junior Achievement (JA) Malaysia and the Penang YE Programme Secretariat, in working together to bring 21st century learning and values to the YE students.

The collaboration was sealed through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signing ceremony held during the YE Penang physical Annual Sales at the 1st Avenue Mall here, with the main purpose of developing young entrepreneurs among the secondary school students for the future.

Signing on behalf of USM was the USM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability and Institutional Development), Professor Dr. Md Roslan Hashim representing the USM Vice-Chancellor and on behalf of JA was Board Member, Dato’ Goh Chee Ken, and witnessed by SOM Dean, Professor Dr. Noor Hazlina Ahmad and JA Executive Director, Shanthi Kanthaswamy.

Also present as guests of honour were the Chief Minister of Penang, Chow Kon Yeow and other top management officials from Corporate Sponsors of the Penang YE Programme, namely Intel, Motorola, First Solar, Dell, Osram AMU, Flextronix, FedEx Express and Kiwanis Penang.

The 2022 Annual Sales Fair is the peak of the YE Programme that gives more than 450 students from 15 Penang secondary schools, between the age of 15 to 17 years old, the opportunity to learn on how to launch and run their own business in an accountable manner and also to promote their innovative products to the public.

Kon Yeow in his opening speech said that he is truly glad with the presence of USM in supporting the YE programme and also the collaboration with JA Malaysia in developing the young entrepreneurs early in their secondary school years for the future.

“As part of its mission in Transforming Higher Education for a Sustainable Tomorrow, USM has never ceased to impress us with its passion and commitment to the advancement of youth education, particularly through various collaborations, including with the Penang State Government,” he said.

“It is inspiring to see the spirit of giving back to society and the community that is ingrained in the DNA of USM, which I hope will incite others to do the same, and I also hope that this will enable the YE programme to significantly grow and evolve, providing greater value to our Penang schools and students year after year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Md Roslan in his speech, said that this smart collaboration witnesses the cooperation between an academic institution as the knowledge provider and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in furnishing our future talent with entrepreneurial skills, leadership, management, innovation, design thinking, finance and accounting knowledge with hands-on experiences.

“This collaboration will also be an opportunity to the school students to mingle around with the university students and to be able to experience university life. It is hoped the young students will be more involved with our big USM family in the future too,” said Md Roslan.

He further added that, with the signing of this MoA, USM can also raise the impact level of the programme to the community as well as the future generations.

Chee Ken said that the MoA signing ceremony with USM is a significant milestone in bringing 21st century learning and exposure to all the young achievers, in addition to the instilling the values and sustainable goals that are critical in today’s business world.

“I am convinced that this collaboration is the bridge to a closer mentorship between university students with teenagers in schools, which will be the dynamic mix that will greatly benefit all, and we at JA Malaysia are truly grateful that USM is increasing and expanding the scope of this collaboration,” he said.

Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi/Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa