GEORGE TOWN: Students and their parents seeking a glimpse of tertiary education options made a beeline to the Star Education Fair at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre.
Among them was Janice Khoo Zi Xin, who will be sitting for her SPM exam this year.
The 17-year-old said she wanted a preview of what might be in store for her after her exam.
Her mother Lu Soo Ling, 48, said they came to see what was being offered by the various colleges and universities.
“We met many exhibitors and were briefed about the options available. We now have a direction to pursue,” said Lu.
Khoo Lay Kai, who had just completed her SPM, said the exhibition helped confirm her tertiary education choices.
“Meeting representatives of the colleges helped. I aspire to be a mechanical engineer and I got answers to all my queries,” said the 18-year-old.
They were among thousands who turned up at the fair yesterday, open from 11am to 7pm till today.
The fair has been held for 35 years and during the launch Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow lauded Star Media Group (SMG) for its long-standing commitment to education.
He said SMG had exposed students to quality education material from an early age via its dedicated education segment in the newspaper.
“After more than 30 highly successful years of education fairs, I am thrilled to be part of this year’s installation. Beyond that, SMG continues to grant opportunities to young Malaysians through the Star Education Fund scholarship awards.
“The higher education sector is at the forefront of guiding Malaysia’s ambitions to becoming a high-income nation, and education fairs highlight the aspirations set out in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025,” he said.
Chow added that Penang had embarked on a number of initiatives to strengthen its position as the Silicon Valley of the East for the last 50 years, adding there were plenty of high-tech careers waiting for the younger generation in Penang.
SMG chief business officer Lydia Wang said the company had always been an advocate for education and lifelong learning.
“We believe that education opens doors to economic and social prosperity and pave the way towards a high-income nation.
“There are over 100,000 young minds in secondary schools in Penang alone, and we look forward to them being our future leaders.
“The plethora of options available for their tertiary education will equip them with adaptive life skills and creative potential.
“Experts in tertiary education will advise visitors to find the most suitable courses,” she added.
Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation president Dr Hari Narayanan said young talent is valuable as organisations move towards digitalisation.
“We provide programmes in engineering, computer science, businesses, product design and even psychology, for diploma, degree and post-graduate levels,” he said.
Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Penang campus head Assoc Prof Dr Janice Toh said the Covid-19 pandemic had changed the education landscape, requiring graduates to be more agile and adapt quickly.
“We need to embed technology into programmes to ensure students can adapt to the changing environment,” she said.
Disted College Penang chief executive officer Prof Dr Brian Imrie sees a lot of demand for work-based learning.
“From the restructuring that is taking place in industries, there has been a consolidation of colleges throughout the nation to re-examine what is really important.
“We see a future in working while learning, and this fair is a great conduit for students to explore the many options available,” he said.
INTI International University and Colleges assistant vice-president Patrick Ooi said he was glad to see the crowd returning to the education fair after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
“The fair is the right event at the right time, with SPM just around the corner.
“We received early applications even before the event officially started in the morning,” he said.
MAHSA University group managing director Datuk Dr Shahril Haniffa said being multi-skilled would improve employability in the market.
“We believe students need to be equipped with many skills to be more employable.
“By learning from various additional certificate programmes on top of their courses, they are able to acquire additional skills that increase their value.
“We focus more on practical learning, such as through internships, in laboratories and workshops,” he said.
Peninsula College group president Prof Dr Ian Robert Pashby was optimistic about the future.
“Demand for employees is strong and industries are struggling to get qualified workers.
“This will encourage more students to study relevant subjects to be engineers, logisticians and computer scientists,” he said.
A total of 42 universities and colleges are participating in the exhibition.
The 112-booth fair sees not just local educators, but internationally reputed institutions from as far as Ireland, the United States, Germany, China and Vietnam.
The Star Education Fair is one of the country’s pioneer education exhibitions and has continuously provided visitors with a wide range of local and international courses to choose from.
The fair prides itself as being a one-stop education exhibition for both foreign and local exhibitors offering educational programmes ranging from pre-university, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate to professional and vocational courses.
Visitors can attend Education and Career Talks and do a Career Interest Test if they have not decided which pathways to pursue.
Today is the last day of the fair.
It opens from 11am to 7pm, and admission is free.