UTAR President gives a talk at Hin Hua High School

An informative talk by Prof Ewe
(photo provided by Hin Hua High School)

UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat was invited to give an informative talk to the high school students of Hin Hua High School on 4 August 2022. The title of his talk was Career Planning under the Epidemic – Your Future Path. The meaningful talk, which aimed to prepare the students for their future career paths, saw the attendance of more than 500 high school students.

Prof Ewe said, “The challenge faced by education in the 21st century is due to the rapid economic and social change. Therefore, schools need to prepare students for jobs that have not been created and technologies that have not been invented.” He highlighted the need for students to acquire content knowledge in the context of 21st century which included information; media and technology skills; vocational skills, and learning and innovation skills.

He emphasised, “The first two important skills that will be needed in the future are adaptability skills and continuous learning skills; these are followed by emotional intelligence skills. In addition to all these skills, students are also required to acquire transferable skills, work-related skills and adaptive skills. All these skills would be an advantage for students to convince their employers during their job interviews.”

Prof Ewe also shared the top five digital skills that employers would seek now and in the coming years. The top five digital skills included digital marketing, big data and analytics, databases, e-commerce, and software and application development. He also mentioned that employers look for soft skills such as problem-solving skills; the ability to work under pressure; the ability to work independently; the ability to communicate and the willingness to learn.

He then encouraged students to uphold a lifelong learning attitude; develop and learn new things and knowledge to equip themselves. “At the same time, having a healthy body and exercising regularly can also strengthen one’s learning ability,” he added. Before ending the talk, Prof Ewe taught students about the importance of perseverance.

In addition, Prof Ewe was also invited by Hin Hua High School Parents and Teachers Association (PIBG) and SJK (C) Hin Hua Board of Management to share the topic “Cultivating Children’s Core Competencies for the Future” with more than 200 parents. The organiser hopes that the school and parents can communicate with each other through this sharing and join hands to create children who are ready for the future.

Students actively participating in the Q&A session
(photo provided by Hin Hua High School)