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Sabah: KOTA KINABALU: It was an intense learning experience for a group of 18 Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students who cut short their mid-semester break to join a specially curated programme called the PETRONAS BeDigital Bootcamp.

The participants emerged from the two-week session reporting higher self-confidence, better ability to collaborate in a team, and with wider perspectives on how to transition into the working world in a digital environment.

“When I first came to know through my lecturer that PETRONAS was organising a bootcamp, I thought I should grab the opportunity to see what I could gain from it,” said Dexter Lim, who hails from Tenom in the interior of Sabah.

“And what a bootcamp it was. It really pushed our mental strength. The biggest learning for me is to be able to work as a team, and to be steadfast in facing challenges and not give up,” said the 23-year-old student.

The learning was rapid for the participants as they paced through the modules from morning until night, with only one Sunday in between the two weeks as a rest day.

Bootcamp modules

They began their modules on 1 March 2022, and it gradually became clear that the bootcamp was anything but business as usual.

The participants expected it to be one on the oil and gas industry or about coding. Instead, it took them to another level, exposing them to the concept of design thinking, data science and artificial intelligence, as well as data visualisation, and developing reports and dashboards.

“I thought the programme was about software and coding, but it was something else. I have zero experience in office work and soft skills. I was on the verge of quitting but one of the trainers encouraged me to stay on,” said Ivan Lim Choon Kiat from Kota Kinabalu. He stayed on, kept up the momentum and was eventually named the best camper.

 

    

Dexter... steadfast in facing challenges, Ivan...best camper, Melven...building confidence

 

Teamwork and communication as well as the ability to identify solutions based on the customer’s pain points, Ivan said, was his biggest learning.

The participants also delved into data storytelling, impactful visual presentations, transitioning to the working world, brushing up their resume, and facing a job interview as well as securing a job in a digital world. They also learned the concept of technopreneurship, creating and scaling a business venture, and ways to monetise it.

Pitching to the sharks

The bootcamp culminated with a “shark tank” session where the students worked in groups to pitch ideas to a panel of no-nonsense evaluators, who challenged them on the viability of their ideas, and provided alternative perspectives to their proposals.

“My group was slow at first,” Dexter said. “But we had frequent discussions and worked on improving our deliverables. It surprised me that in the second week, we managed to complete our tasks, and we actually won second in the shark tank session.”

The bootcamp, which aims to strengthen the students’ digital literacy to meet the demands of current and future job markets, was held in collaboration with the Center of Applied Data Science (CADS), Microsoft, Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

The students in discussion at the bootcamp

It contains digital-oriented modules conducted by volunteer trainers from PETRONAS Digital Sdn Bhd, SEEd.Lab, Petrosains and PETRONAS Leadership Centre.

“I don’t normally like to talk and present in front of an audience,” said Melven Tuesday from Kinabatangan, a district which houses the country’s second longest river, Sungai Kinabatangan. “But the bootcamp taught me about confidence in speaking up.” 

The bootcampers were also all praise for the safety precaution and adherence to SOPs during the session.

“The rooms were sanitised on a daily basis and we were required to conduct self-tests daily before joining the bootcamp,” they said.

On the bootcamp trainers, the students were in unison in their impressions – that they were all well-versed, helpful, and approachable.

Cracking the employment code

During the bootcamp’s opening, PETRONAS Chief Digital Officer Aadrin Azly said, “The code we want to crack is, ‘How can we enhance the employability of Malaysians?’ and digital is the obvious option. The BeDigital Bootcamp was designed with the key goal of enhancing young Malaysian talent’s employability before they enter the workforce.”

The bootcamp might have just cracked that very code. Since the completion of the bootcamp, five participants have received conditional employment offers from PETRONAS while another five have received employment offers from TCS. 

In addition, the remaining participants were invited for interviews with the rest of the bootcamp partners for possible work placements or industrial training opportunities.

Students working as team