THE British Council on Wednesday announced the recipients of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2021-2022 in Malaysia at The Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. In total, 15 UK alumni in Malaysia were recognised for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, and for their contribution to make a positive contribution to their communities, professions and countries.
Following in-depth evaluation with a team of judging panel, recipients were selected for the four award categories: Science and Sustainability Award, Culture and Creativity Award, Social Action Award, and Business and Innovation Award.
The prestigious international award celebrates UK higher education and the achievements of UK alumni all over the world. Now in its fifth year, the award received more than 1,500 applications, representing more than 140 UK higher education institutions across the UK.
Science and Sustainability Award was presented to Justin Jing Ho Chin, a graduate of Imperial College, London. Justin is the managing director of Gamuda Engineering and has spent his career building tunnels for Kuala Lumpur’s metro lines with multi-award winning engineering innovations. His experience studying in the UK has helped him emphasise on sustainability to deliver the 'Gamuda Green Plan' that has helped his organization to frontrunner the sustainability space, leading the industry charge in sustainable development in the fight against climate change.
Culture and Creativity Award was presented to Dr Nur Izzati Jamalludin, a graduate of King’s College, London, majoring in Ethnomusicology. Currently serving as the senior lecturer at the Music Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Dr Izzati has had the chance to gain insights on societal development documented from western viewpoint about the northern Malay states’ music medicine therapy back in the UK to support her goal, which is to continue to give a voice towards the rapidly declining performing arts within the northern states and to advocate health and wellbeing among the performing artists within the region.
The Social Action award was presented to Izza Izelan, a journalist, advocate and the executive director of Pertubuhan Pembangunan Kendiri Wanita dan Gadis (WOMEN:girls), a non-profit organisation that develops programs to support women and girls to reach their potential and become agents of change within their communities. A graduate from the Institute of Education, University College London, Izza has taken her experience in the UK to help over 19,000 beneficiaries across Malaysia from her non-profit organization and is looking forward to advocating for substantial changes in the Malaysian legal and culture system to form social policies to protect women and children.
The Business and Innovation award was presented to Melvin Poh, a graduate of Imperial College, London. Melvin Poh is the founder and Chief Operations Officer of Empirics Asia, an open-access knowledge sharing platform that seeks to facilitate the collective exchange of insights, ideas and experience throughout Asia. The platform provides a democratic avenue for practical knowledge to be collectively published, shared and accessed in the region.
His Excellency Charles Hay said “The UK offers academic excellence, as well as a learning environment that broadens perspectives and builds character. It is wonderful to see how many Malaysians have benefited from their UK education, and have gone on to great career success. I particularly wish to congratulate the finalists of the UK Alumni Awards. They have shown themselves to be leaders and trailblazers, making a difference in their profession and community”.
Ms Jazreel Goh, British Council Director Malaysia said “The awards allow us to celebrate the role international students play in making the UK one of the most diverse, dynamic and rewarding higher education destinations for international study. They also give us an opportunity to recognise the achievements and contributions that alumni from Malaysia and around the world have made to their communities. I am so proud of all our finalists who are working in a variety of pioneering areas and are playing a leading role in solving global challenges and shaping the world of tomorrow”.
Malaysia is one of the many countries that hosts the Study UK Alumni Awards. A similar ceremony is also held in 23 other countries such as India, Armenia and Qatar. This year's awards ceremony is the fifth edition since it was introduced in 2017.
Following the announcement of the winners of the Malaysian awards, the winners will have an opportunity to compete at a global level.
Another round of judging, by a panel of global judges, will precede the selection of top 30 applications from each region, including Malaysia. The judges will shortlist 28 finalists to compete at the global level, in the same four categories of the competition namely Science and Sustainability; Culture and Creativity; Social Action; and Business and Innovation Award.
Winners of the awards will each receive a GBP500 grant for professional development activities. They will also get an opportunity to reconnect with their UK university to explore further new opportunities.
Since its introduction, the Study UK Alumni Awards has received very good responses from many applicants globally. It is hoped that with the awards, more Alumni members will participate and help to bring innovation and better ways of doing things, in order to make the world a better place for everyone. – The Vibes, March 18, 2022
