Tea Meeting with UTAR President

Prof Ewe greeting the students

The Department of Alumni Relations and Placement (DARP) held its virtual “Tea Meeting with UTAR President” via Microsoft Teams on 28 July 2021 with the aim to give an opportunity to graduands of the upcoming March 2022 Convocation to attend a sharing session with UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat.

In the meeting, Prof Ewe shared information on the preparation for career advancements, convergence of technologies, challenges from robots and AI, next wave of technology and digital skills.

He spoke about technology revolution, “The technology revolution from the cultural and industrial is physical-based because we produce physical products. And in the digital age, in addition to the physical products, we also produce all those digital-based products. As we know, with artificial intelligence, human interactions over social media and cyberspace, you can provide great product and services needed by the customers which will benefit the market and society.”

Prof Ewe also spoke about available jobs during the challenging time. “In the future job market, there will be a continuous change in terms of demands for the job and knowledge workers. With the ongoing new technology, it would be best if you have the growth mindset. You should also be willing to pick up new knowledge that is needed in your job. That is the best preparation for your job.

Prof Ewe emphasising the need for growth mindset and 21^st century skills

“People with growth mindset believe that as long as they put in effort, they can learn new things; as long as they desire to learn, they will acquire new knowledge to face challenges and overcome problems. We can actually develop our growth mindset by being more open minded, willing to take challenges and showing curiosity to learn new things. It’s important for us to understand that the challenges of 21^st century education are no longer limiting ourselves to the knowledge learnt in schools and universities. It has to do with something beyond that because we will be facing jobs that have not been created and technologies that have not been invented. As long as we equip ourselves with knowledge and soft skills, we will be able to advance ourselves better,” added Prof Ewe.

Prof Ewe said, “Two skills that are needed for the future are adaptability and lifelong learning. You also need to have mental balance and emotional intelligence. The key skills in CVs are transferable skills, job-related skills and adaptive skills. Transferable skills are skills that have been acquired in one setting but can be used in many different sorts of businesses while job-related skills are specific skills that are required in a certain line of employment or trade and may require you to receive training to perform. Adaptive skills refers to aptitudes that are sometimes less obvious and harder to quantify because they rely on personality traits rather than learning.”

“It is very challenging to secure a job during this time but there are opportunities and hopes. Don’t give up. Be willing to try; there will always be companies that will continue to hire. Continue to increase your productivity and have a growth mindset so that you will be able to compete in the global market. Also, it is important to always keep abreast of the technology. Human-nature interaction is very important in developing a harmonious environment. Have good ethics, attitude and be positive,” advised Prof Ewe.

Also present at the meeting were Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science Dean Ir Prof Dr Goi Bok Min, Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan, Institute of Chinese Studies Dean Assoc Prof Dr Chong Siou Wei, Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) Dean Dr Au Yong Hui Nee, Faculty of Science Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Dr Sit Nam Weng, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Dr Choo Peng Yin, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Dr Tan Kok Tat and Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Kok Hui Meian.

To know more about virtual career fair:

The session was further continued by the Department of Alumni Relations and Placement (DARP) staff Naaresh Arumugam, who gave a brief introduction on DARP and Alumni Association of Malaysia.