In order to expand her horizon and explore her potential, TAR UC accounting graduate, Tan Seh Er, took a road less travelled by participating in the ICDL Asia Digital Challenge 2021 as a way of gaining experience to build and strengthen her portfolio in her final semester before graduating. Her decision turned out to be even more rewarding as she was named one of the Gold Prize winners in the National Round for Business Track (Tertiary) category of the competition, which runs from 1 June – 31 July 2021. As one of the top winners of this category, she will be representing Malaysia in the ICDL Grand Final Round which will be held in September 2021.
“This is my first time participating in such a competition and I am honoured to be able to represent TAR UC and Malaysia in the ICDL Grand Final Round. My achievement in this competition is a real confidence booster and it motivates me to take up more challenges I may face in the future,” she said.
Recently graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), Seh Er will be embarking on a new career in auditing as she prepares for the Grand Final Round.
“The job market today is very competitive and fresh graduates need extra skills to stand out,” she added. “I think that having good computing skills will give me added advantage. In the future, I will continue to enhance my accounting knowledge and also computing knowledge to keep up with the fast-paced technological advancements being implemented across industries.”
In line with TAR UC’s philosophy of Beyond Education which empowers students to gain additional skills and experience from outside the classroom to realise their full potential, Seh Er was encouraged by her lecturer to participate in this competition since the Advanced Spreadsheet was covered in the final semester of her programme. Being familiar with this topic also gave her the upper hand in the National Round where participants were tested on management spreadsheets.
“I had completed the same ICDL module as part of my coursework for Advance Spreadsheet and this greatly improved my confidence during the competition. I did face some obstacles throughout the competition especially during the Preliminary Round as it was held just one week before my ACCA Examination in June. I had to ensure that my time was properly planned to prepare for both the competition and the examination simultaneously.”
On how she is preparing for the Grand Final Round which will test participants on the topic of data analytics, she shared that she is currently focusing on enhancing her knowledge by studying the E-book provided by ICDL.
“I do not yet know how the competition will be carried out during the Grand Final Round, so I am doing what I can now to prepare myself. Data analytics is something new to me, so I am giving myself a head start by familiarising myself with the topic,” she shared. “Once I start my new job, I plan to spend at least an hour and a half each day after work to revise and prepare for the competition.”
The ICDL Asia Digital Challenge 2021 is the fourth edition of this competition and is held virtually for students across the Asia Pacific region. Geared towards practical digital skills required for various professional work in the workplace today and for the future, the competition exposes contestants to emerging technologies, data analytics, design and use of office application tools.
Including Seh Er, this is the second time a TAR UC student has advanced to the Grand Final Round. Previously, one TAR UC student won a bronze medal in the ICDL Asia Digital Challenge 2018 Grand Finals held in Bangkok, Thailand after emerging as national champion.
Tan Seh Er will be representing Malaysia in the ICDL Asia Digital Challenge 2021 Grand Final Round in September 2021.
