Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai delivering his opening speech.
Being mentored by the corporate bigwigs is the biggest wish of many young aspiring graduates who are about to enter the workforce but realistically, such opportunity is next to impossible. However, thanks to an NGO, Platform to Engage and Empower Rakyat or PEER in short, this is now possible for TAR UC students to learn from some of the most well-known and highly successful corporate figures through the i-STAR Internship Programme which was successfully launched on 14 March 2016.
i-STAR Internship Programme is an internship programme designed for TAR UC students to be mentored by CEOs or Managing Directors of large corporations in Malaysia which is truly a unique one. 13 companies have already joined in this programme to provide internship opportunity and they are AIA Berhad, AirAsia Berhad, Areca Capital Sdn Bhd, ECM Libra Financial Group Berhad, Eco World Development Group Berhad, Fajarbaru Builder Group Berhad, IJM Corporation Berhad, La Juiceria, Malindo Air, NV Multi Asia Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Salcon Engineering Berhad and Star Media Group Berhad.
The launch ceremony which took place at the Auditorium of Bangunan Tun Tan Siew Sin in Kuala Lumpur Main Campus was graced by Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of TARC Education Foundation and Board of Governors of TAR UC, President of MCA and Minister of Transport. Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR UC, and Mr Eric Choo, Chairman of PEER, were also present at the launch ceremony. Many well-known CEOs or Managing Directors attended the launching ceremony and they included, amongst others, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia Group, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Managing Director and CEO of Star Media Group Berhad and Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Ir Kuan Peng Ching @ Kuan Peng Soon, Non-Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Fajarbaru Builder Group Berhad.
In his speech, Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai reminded the students that in order to achieve success, they must first put in the hard work. “If you have the opportunity to ask the CEOs or Managing Directors who are seated in front of us today, and I am sure you will, I am certain they would share with you their struggles and diligence in achieving success. In order to reach their respective positions, they have worked very hard to climb up the proverbial career corporate ladders. As such, I hope you will understand that whilst it is everyone’s dream and ambition to achieve success and sit at the top of the corporate ladder, there are no shortcuts. Hard work, determination and perseverance are the price that one has to pay to achieve success,” Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai highlighted.
“We are truly blessed to have such big, renowned and reputable corporations offering internship, and I truly hope all of you will take advantage of these opportunities. Use this, value this, grow from this and don’t be afraid to ask questions,” he added further.
Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok elaborated more on the internship programme. He said: “All successful candidates for the i-STAR Internship Programme will be on a 4-week internship training during this coming semester break, which is in May 2016. This definitely will be a life-changing experience for successful candidates to grow and polish your leadership skill and gain valuable on-the-job training”.
Meanwhile, Mr Eric Choo in his speech shared the aspirations of the i-STAR Internship programme that he hoped can be achieved. “Through the i-STAR Internship programme, we hope to expose students of TAR UC to illustrate corporate personalities, to inculcate sound corporate values and experiences in students and hopefully with the help of these movers and shakers of the corporate world who are present here with us today, it is our hope that these young minds will be guided and inspired,” he explained in detail.
Currently, there are a total of 27 internship opportunities for students to apply in this programme. Students would need to send in their application by submitting their resume and either a 500-word essay or a 3-minute video about themselves and what they hope to achieve in their careers. The detailed information about this programme including the application procedure can be found in PEER’s website at www.peer.org.my.
