KUCHING – Several companies that had engaged undergraduate students to help address the issues they face have praised the students for the ideas and strategies they had proposed.
The companies, including cable television provider Astro, Sarawak Convention Bureau and Transpaint (Youn Kong) as well as Kuching North City Hall (DBKU), had engaged the final year business students from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus to provide solutions and recommendations to the challenges confronting their organisation.
“The students presented an exceptionally well-researched document and proposed interesting marketing strategies for Astro on how to retain, defend and grow customer base in East Malaysia.
“Overall, the team has shown good analytical skills. This can be seen from the effort they put in to come to a detailed understanding of our current business and the market expectations for the future,” said Alison Lau, Regional Manager for East Malaysia.
“The team has excellent communication skills, their presentation is clear and concise, as well as interesting recommendations put forth. Some of the students show their oral articulateness in the presentation which is a key element for stepping into the working world.”
“I was impressed by their findings and suggestion. Above all, the students demonstrated confidence in their presentation skills to convey their findings. The co-ordinator of this unit must have invested a lot of time and effort to groom them to this high standard,” said Basil Wee, Head of Community Relations and Development Division at DBKU.
The three-year business degree at Swinburne Sarawak requires students to take up projects with organisations in the field of accounting, finance, marketing, human resource, strategic management and project management as part of their studies to gain industry exposure.
In this context they assume the role of business consultants and analysts tasked with providing practical solutions to the problems and challenges unique to the companies.
Dr Lee Miin Huui, Associate Professor and Dean for the Faculty of Business and Design at Swinburne Sarawak, encourages more companies to engage the students for such an exercise.
“It is an excellent opportunity to task a small group of students to investigate an important strategic management issue an organisation faces. Organisations that commission our students for research or consultancy will benefit from the insight and energy of our students,” she said.
The findings and recommendations are formally communicated to the host organisation through a presentation and a written report.
“Such projects connect the university to industry practices. So, for the students it is an important opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in a real and practical setting,” Lee added.
Projects students had undertaken in the past ranged from financial feasibility studies to marketing strategies and the development of business plans.