Published:
During the end of July 2022, 81 students from the July 2022 cohort of Malaysia Foundation Programmes had undergone the Fit-For-Future programme which lasted for five days. Throughout the programme, various workshops and activities had been conducted to help students develop a strong sense of self-confidence and a clear sense of purpose, which would empower them to be successful graduates who are not only leading in their specialised fields but also strong global citizens who are better able to cope with the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
Within the week, the students learned to apply the techniques for a successful mindset. They identified their strengths, passions, and potentials through various personality tests and learning style questionnaires. Students also learned the importance of being empathetic and having effective communication skills in helping them to overcome challenges that they might face. From one of the workshops, they crafted their SMART (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. Apart from the workshops, students were also required to produce a short video as a group project within a limited timeframe which allowed them to learn about teamwork and apply the skills they learned from the workshops. Aside from that, aligning with the positive education approach, students also posted their daily reflections and wrote gratitude notes throughout the programme to help foster the importance of positive thinking and gratitude.
On the last day of the programme, a closing ceremony was held to showcase the students' achievements. Some students presented their SMART goals, while others talked about their reflections and takeaways from the workshops. Adneen, who wished to master the sign language, outlined her SMART goal to achieve this target, and also taught the audience to sign “Together, we can!”. This resonated with the audience, including our Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Williams, who proceeded to teach the audience to sign “Welcome to Heriot-Watt”. Aside from student sharing, Clarice Gan, a student from the Foundation in Business programme also performed the song “All of Me” by John Legend, which touched everyone and had the floor of audience raising and waving their cell-phones simulating concert lights that created a very enjoyable atmosphere.
Overall, the programme was a great success. From the student testimonies, it was evident that positive education practices adopted throughout the programme helped shape students into confident individuals.
Some of the students' testimonials:
"FFF is helpful in allowing us to get to know new friends, understand more about ourselves and the importance of skills like communication, and how university life would look like." - Bryan Low Zhao En
"My SMART goal is to be able to master the sign language, Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) by the age of 26. The reason is because I have a cousin who is partially deaf, so the whole family is starting to learn. I believe it's a beautiful language to learn and useful skill as well. To achieve this, I will join the sign language class, once a week. Once I have completed my ‘Basic Introduction' class, I will practise my skill with the Deaf Community, called RC Deaf Mission Malaysia." - Adneen Hanafi
"My SMART goal is to become an Indian classical dancer by 2026 at Annamalai University, India. To gain these skills I will be attending courses from April 2024. Through this, I can proceed to become a full-time dancer, tour around the world, and perform at events in front of an audience with a passion for art." - Kiruthigaah a/p P Ramesh
Well done everyone!