By Fang Yi Xue, Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts
INTI International University successfully hosted the National Students’ Leadership Conference (NaSLeC) 2022 from 2-4 December 2022 organized by the Higher Education Malaysia Association (HEYA), supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Department of Higher Education, and INTI International University.
With the theme Post-Pandemic Era: Adaptation, Reconciliation & Transformation of Malaysian Education, 111 student leaders from 20 public and private universities participated in this conference..
The conference aimed to devise robust solutions for education equality, employability, and mental health through diverse youth community engagement; advocate solutions to policymakers for sustainable integration of quality education and national policy through higher education reforms; and to form an advocacy coalition that would enhance youth’s citizen responsibilities by instilling youth’s civil society awareness.
The three-day conference featured talks and speeches from subject matter experts on the post-Covid era in Malaysia, education equality, employability, mental health, and civil awareness. Participants were able to engage in discussion-based analysis with the experts in the relevant fields.
On the first day, participants attended a talk titled Covid 19: Changing the Future of Malaysian Youth, followed by Education Equality: Inclusive and Quality Education for All. The first caucus was held in the evening and focused on education equality.
The following day, there was a talk on Securing the Future: What do Youth Need to Know, followed by a caucus on employability to be continued with a discussion on Youth Involvement in National Policy Conversations and Remodeling SRC: Stepping out of Comfort Zone. The evening’s final caucus focused on youth empowerment.
Finally, on the last day participants attended a sharing session on Combating Accessibility and Inclusivity: A Barrier-Free Future Education and presented the final framework from the caucus discussion.
Dr. Lai Yin Ling, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Operations) of INTI International University witnessed the final framework pitching and graced the closing ceremony.
The outcome of the conference delivered a call for action through the HEYA National Students Leadership Conference (NaSLeC) 2022 Declaration to bridge education inequality, increase students’ employability, and enhance youth empowerment and participation in policymaking by the participants.
To read more on the NasLeC 2022 Declaration, please visit: https://bit.ly/NaSLeC2022declaration