Curtin Sarawak AIESEC members build leadership skills at national seminar

Miri – 27 March 2015 – Student members of the AIESEC chapter of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) recently took the opportunity to build their leadership skills at the annual Malaysia Leadership Development Seminar (MyLDS) 2015 held at University Putra Malaysia, Selangor.

MyLDS is the largest national seminar organised by AIESEC. This year, 25 members from the AIESEC Curtin Sarawak Chapter participated in the seminar themed ‘United We Dream, Together We Fight’ with over 600 youths from Malaysia and other countries.

MyLDS, a launch pad for AIESEC members to jumpstart their AIESEC journey, aims to expose delegates to a vigorous learning environment revolving around the concept of experiential leadership development.

The six-day event included activities such as Global Village, a concept that brings together delegates from various countries and cultural backgrounds to celebrate diversity, multicultural experience and global citizenship.

The delegates also participated in the Malaysia Youth2Business (Y2B) Forum focused on youth involvement in the nation’s development and exploring areas such as entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, sustainability, education and community.

The forum featured corporate workshops that allowed delegates to network with leaders from national and international organisations such as Unilever, iM4U, Espressolab, Shell, Intel, MaGIC, Ernst & Young, Bursa Malaysia, MDeC, SolsTech and Teach For Malaysia.

Senior member of AIESEC Curtin Sarawak Chapter and third-year chemical engineering student Isaac Ng had the honour of being selected to be a group facilitator for MyLDS. Facilitators were handpicked from AIESEC chapters across the globe through an interview process.

“Being a group facilitator gave me the opportunity to enhance my potential as a future young leader. It not only allowed me to inspire others but also to be inspired by other accomplished individuals,” said Ng.

AIESEC Curtin Sarawak Chapter chief delegate, second-year civil and construction engineering student Ann Wong, and assistant chief delegate, third-year accounting and finance student Charlie Chong Wen Fah, were also glad to have participated in the seminar.

Wong said that although her role was challenging, she was able to learn a lot about leadership while Chong commented that despite the hectic schedule throughout the event, he was greatly encouraged by the AIESEC spirit and positive learning environment.

According to Carven Yong Jui Ming, the chapter’s director of marketing and communications, growth and betterment of oneself were the key messages at MyLDS 2015.

“The seminar was a very rewarding learning experience. It was purposeful, action-oriented and highly collaborative,” remarked Yong.

AIESEC is a non-profit Global Youth Leadership organisation run by students and recent graduates of institutions of higher learning. Curtin Sarawak was the first higher education institution in East Malaysia to have an AIESEC chapter.

Present in over 124 countries and territories and with over 86,000 members, it provides an international platform for youth to explore and develop their leadership potential through experiential learning and volunteer experiences.

Members of AIESEC Curtin Sarawak Chapter who took part in the Malaysia Leadership Development Seminar 2015.

Delegates from Curtin Sarawak participating in one of the activities.