INTI College Sabah’s School of Business conducted the Care and Share Food for Children Donation Drive, an employer project in collaboration with Majlis Perkhidmatan Masyarakat Sabah (MPMS), in support of the ongoing community projects run by the council to provide underprivileged children in Sabah with nutritious food.
From April to July, 29 students from the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Accounting and Finance and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Business Administration programmes in collaboration with University of Hertfordshire, UK, carried out various online and physical activities to collect donations for food charities. This includes arts competitions, online game competitions, e-waste collection, sales of cookies and beverages on campus, collection of food donations, and more. During the final project presentation, a donation of RM7,000 was handed to Joeanne Lee, Executive Secretary of MPMS.
INTI College Sabah chief executive Roselyn Chua, management and students pose for a group photo with Joeanne Lee, MPMS Executive Secretary, and other council representatives.
The amount will go towards preparing food packages for 50 families registered under the council. The food packages include items such as rice, eggs, rice vermicelli, cereal, biscuits, cooking oil, chocolate malt drinks, milk formula, and diapers for those with infants and toddlers.
According to Joeanne, establishing cooperation with the private sectors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as institutions of higher learning is one of the council’s goals in executing the food programme.
“We welcome community service projects organised by institutions of higher learning to encourage volunteerism and a caring society. The food donation drive organised by students from INTI College Sabah not only empowers students with critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills, but also helps to promote community service,” she said.
Care and Share Food for Children Donation Drive project coordinator Jaccie Koh handing the donation collected to MPMS Executive Secretary, Joeanne Lee.
Meanwhile, Jaccie Koh, who is an Industry Partnership lecturer and project coordinator at INTI College Sabah, said employer projects are part of the academic assessment for students. She added that employer projects also aim to foster a positive relationship with the business community and enhance government relations as well as expose students to real world experiences.
“I believe it is important to educate and develop students to become future leaders who have values like empathy, responsibility, respect, and love. They also benefit from the development of the 4C’s – critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. These experiences will be of use when they join the workforce and also hold a special place in their heart after graduation,” she said.
Students at the final presentation of their employer project.
As part of their programme syllabus, INTI students are divided into teams with complementary skill sets and assigned to projects that critically test their knowledge and allow them to develop and apply their soft skills to actual business scenarios. These projects allow students to experience first-hand challenges faced by businesses while learning to apply industry best practices in actual conditions faced in the real world. Upon graduation, an INTI student will have a decisive edge with a storehouse of practical experiences and worldwide employability.