UTAR Leadership Camp (ULC) 2019 was another success with participation from 137 secondary school students from 15 schools across Perak and Selangor. The annual camp, held for the fourth time, was organised by Department of Programme Promotion (DPP) from 25 to 27 May 2019 at UTAR Kampar Campus.
Present to officiate the opening ceremony were Head of Student Affairs Department (Kampar Campus) Chiang Jeng Fong representing UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Head of DPP (Kampar Campus) Tan Choon Wah and Organising Chairperson Christie Cheang Kar Yan.
The participating schools were SMJK Ave Maria Convent Ipoh, SMK Perempuan Perak, SMK Perempuan Methodist Ipoh, SMJK Pei Yuan Kampar, SMJK Shing Chung Sg Siput, SMJK Sam Tet Ipoh, SMJK Tsung Wah Kuala Kangsar, Shen Jai High School Ipoh, SMJK San Min Teluk Intan, SMK Bandar Baru Sungai Long, SMK Taman Desa, SMK Taman Desa 2, Hin Hwa High School, Chong Hwa Independent High School and SMK Seri Kembangan.
Aimed to develop participants’ leadership potential and enrich personalities, ULC also served as a platform for participants to develop social responsibility and desire to involve in volunteer projects that benefit the building of a better world. The camp also benefitted the participants with opportunities to enhance their leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills, as well as to experience the university life and develop a desire to pursue higher education. It enabled them to expand their networks as they made new friends from interacting with one another. While the participants also learnt about the diversity of each participant, they also learnt to put aside differences and work together in contributing to society.
Welcoming the participants in his speech, Chiang spoke of the camp as a good platform that enables participants to hone skills that are important for their future working life. “I am glad to know that the camp is continuously receiving positive responses from secondary school students. As our future young leaders, it is important to equip yourself with essential skills. It is going to be a challenging world but through this camp, you will gain improved leadership skills, problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills. As you make new friends, you are also building upon your human relation skill, which is equally important when you communicate and relate to people from various backgrounds,” said Chiang.
Tan, in his speech, commended the camp for enabling participants to gain knowledge and soft skills, and to understand the importance of teamwork and trust. Meanwhile, Cheang in her speech, expressed her hope for participants to make use of their time in the camp to learn more about the culture of other countries.
Participants’ experiences were further enriched at the camp with a series of activities, such as ice breaking, “Find the World” group matching game, and “Colours of the World”, a station game-cum-campus tour.
Participants having fun during the games session
Other activities included a family feud game and a leadership sharing session, “Lead the World”, whereby Kampar SRC Chairperson Loh Jia Hui shared his experience as a student body leader and keys to becoming a successful leader. A leadership workshop was also conducted in the form of a game, which required leaders of each group to direct their members to an appointed destination in foreign words that members have memorised prior to the game. The workshop was meant to test their teamwork and leadership skills.
Loh (in black jacket) sharing his experience with participants
Apart from teamwork and leadership skills, participants were also tested on their creativity skills. The “Right Brain Creation: The World, My Home” was a creative thinking activity that required participants to create buildings or models of houses that represent the country they were assigned. Participants were allowed to express their creative exhibit in the form of decoration, design or sculpture.
Talks at the camp included “Share the World” by AIESEC, and “Brain Power 300%”. The speakers at the AIESEC talk spoke about the factor of leadership qualities. The factors listed were self-awareness, solution-oriented, empowering others, and becoming a world citizen. Meanwhile, at the “Brain Power 300%” talk, invited speaker and Malaysia Memory Sports Organisation Chairman Teo Kim Foo introduced to participants the various techniques and skills to improve mental literacy. At the end of the camp, participants showcased their best performances at the “Beautiful World: Show Time” talent show.
Teo testing the memory power of participants
The youth leader speakers from AIESEC speaking on the qualities of a good leader
The camp ended with a closing ceremony, attended by Tan, Chiang, Cheang and Vice Chairperson Ng Lee Ling. In her speech, Ng thanked the organising committee and participants for making the camp a memorable and meaningful event. She also encouraged the participants to continue pursuing education and recommended UTAR as their choice for tertiary education.
When asked for the feedback, participants responded positively to the camp. SMK Perempuan Methodist Ipoh student Ramyasree Suria Naidu commented “I enjoyed the station games very much because it’s designed not only for us to have fun and know our teammates, but the game was designed to enable us to learn interesting elements of different countries. Through that game, I not only learn about the various cultures of the countries but have also gained additional knowledge about the countries and about my teammates.”
“The camp has taught me a very meaningful lesson about leadership. It taught me that being a leader is not about ordering others around, but it is about getting involved in the team and doing my part for the team to succeed. The same applies to our future works as well because in an organisation, we need to be able to work as a team and to lead effectively,” commented SMJK Pei Yuan Kampar Chan Chee Rou.
Meanwhile, SMJK Sam Tet Ipoh student Yong Wei Jian said that being a good leader also requires one to be open minded. “Being a good leader is also about listening to your members and accepting their feedback. As a leader, we must be ready to accept ideas and opinions from others and improve. That said, it is also important for a leader to have good communication skills so that he or she can convey the message effectively to the members,” said Yong.
Participants performing at the “Beautiful World: Show Time” talent show
Read about the previous camps below
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