Nilai U provides extra modules to improve students’ soft skills in an effort to improve their marketability
“It is one thing for interview candidates to claim they have the requisite soft skills and quite another to back it up with a certificate from a well-known organisation specialising in that field,” declares Datuk Dr Megat Burhainuddin, Nilai University (Nilai U) Vice-Chancellor. “Communication, teamwork, grooming and personal etiquette, leadership – these are just some of the soft skills which students here will get to learn and improve upon.”
Dr Megat was speaking after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Chap One Sdn Bhd for the latter to deliver classes on grooming and personal etiquette. They join a long and esteemed group of organisations which have been carefully selected by Nilai U administrators to add value to the students’ varsity experience. These include internationally-recognised Dale Carnegie and Outward Bound.
These added value modules are very much in line with Nilai U’s philosophy of ‘Enrichment for Life’. Dr Megat is quick to expound on this by saying that students will not just be leaving with academic qualifications at the end of their tenure here. “They will also be equipped with all the life and social skills which we hope will make them, not just dynamic employees who are highly sought after, but also model citizens who will make positive contributions to their respective societies,” he explains. Degree students at Nilai U have to complete a total of 120 credits, including four mandatory university modules in subjects detached from their core fields of study. Hence they are given choices on a variety of topics such as Ethics, Critical Thinking, Entrepreneurship and Public Speaking (please visit www.nilai.edu.my for complete listing).
Dr Megat is also keen to add that apart from enhancing their marketability, many of these modules are extremely fun. The most obvious example would be the Introduction to Golf which is run by the Mizuno Golf School at the nearby sister company Nilai Springs Golf and Country Resort. “Where else does a university provide students with the opportunity to learn a new sport which also acts a useful business networking tool?” he enquires. Judging from student feedback, the Introduction to Theatre and Acting is another module which is hitting all the right notes. This module is designed to build confidence, improve communication skills, build team players and, most importantly, cultivate an appreciation of the arts in students. Students who enrol in this module will have to stage a play all on their own – write, produce, direct and act. “I have met students before and after they joined this module and have seen their personalities transform for the better. They are certainly more confident and even the shy, reticent characters come out of their shells,” smiles Dr Megat.
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He also points out that Nilai U runs a Fencing programme under the purview of the Ministry of Education, with the aim of promoting this niche sport as well as to unearth the next generation of champions. “Where else can you find a university which provides the facilities for this training? We have even engaged a coach from France to train the national fencers who are studying here (on scholarship) and students who are interested in taking up this sport,” he says.
The Dale Carnegie Skills for Success and Outward Bound Survival Skills modules are also very popular with students. The former appeals mainly to the Business studies students as it speaks directly to them regarding corporate conduct. “Go-getters who want to stand out from the crowd are advised to attend this module. Dale Carnegie is world-renowned and a certificate of completion from them will embellish any résumé,” says Dr Megat. He firmly believes the week-long programme which pits students in the wilderness of the Outward Bound campus in Lumut is designed to nurture leadership skills as well as to encourage them to think on their feet and beyond their comfort zones. “As they say ‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going’. This Outward Bound module will turn them into stronger characters,” exclaims Dr Megat.
To further underline Nilai U’s commitment to provide students with every opportunity to learn and mature into dynamic, young citizens, the institution is also proud to host and organise the Future Leaders Camp and 1World Culture events. Both are designed to give students better understanding of their fellow students and also to learn more about the pressing topics of the day, such as ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Cultural Understanding’.
The key message is that a Nilai U education will give students much more than mere paper qualifications. “We prepare students for life,” as Dr Megat puts it succinctly. “We do everything to ensure that we have kept our promise to the parents that we return their children in better shape than we received them.” Few, if any, other institutions offer such choices or opportunities for students to grow and mature into young adults equipped with the right skills, knowledge and values. That is why Nilai U has ‘Enrichment for Life’ as its motto.
For more information on Nilai U, please visit www.nilai.edu.my or call 06-8502308 / 07-2262336 / 03-79603089.
