The advent of digital disruption in many organisations and the increasing amount of time spent indoors as a result of the pandemic has brought about a boom in industries such as e-commerce, esports, online groceries, and technology1. Tan Lin Nah, Chief Executive Officer of INTI International University & Colleges (INTI), shares how INTI is preparing its students for these industries and providing them with the right skillsets needed to thrive in the ‘new workforce’.
Tan Ee Jack, who completed his Bachelors in Information Technology at INTI International College Penang, is currently working as a web designer in Exabyte.
When asked how the pandemic had impacted INTI, Lin Nah explained that INTI had begun its blended learning journey ahead of most institutions in Malaysia, hence they were able to swiftly conform to the new ways the pandemic called for teaching and learning.
“Online teaching and learning quickly became a necessity. Thankfully, we were able to immediately shift more than 700 assessments online within a short span of time which allowed all of our students to continue their studies online facilitated by the Blackboard Learning Management System,” shared Lin Nah.
She added that the platform provides a host of digital tools such as Kaltura and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra which promotes student engagement and encourages group work. This way students are constantly engaged and have the ability to collaborate and interact with both their lecturers and peers despite the physical distance.
Jack currently works from home and is responsible for managing Exabyte’s internal website.
Lin Nah also shared that INTI’s continued collaborations with their 450 industry partners through initiatives such as INTI’s Virtual Leadership Series, webinars, conferences, employer projects, among others, encouraged mentorship, networking, guidance, and support between industry professionals and INTI’s students while detailing the expectations, realities and challenges of the ‘new workforce’.
Tan Ee Jack, who completed his Bachelors in Information Technology (IT) at INTI International College Penang and is currently a web designer at Exabytes Malaysia, a leading Cloud Service Provider in Southeast Asia that provides various web hosting services, shared that his time at INTI has helped him thrive in his current role thanks to INTI’s quality of teaching and curriculum.
“I think the lecturers are doing a tremendous job in imparting knowledge to students and the curriculum exposes us to necessary skillsets required to succeed at work. I appreciated that I got to develop my technical skills, such as Photoshop and understanding of JavaScript, CSS and HTML through my lessons and that my projects with industry allowed me to hone my creativity and attention to detail,” shared the Penangite who added that the skills mentioned are highly pertinent to his current role in Exabyte.
With the demand for web designers and other jobs on the rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack lauded INTI for continuously working hard to ensure its graduates are not only relevant for the current job market but are also equipped to tackle challenges that may come their way.