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KENINGAU: A Virtual Remote Live (VRL) project developed by Dr Sirhajwan Idek, an English teacher at Keningau Vocational College (KVC), Sabah, was selected as a finalist for the British Council’s ELTons Award in the local innovation category.

The results will be announced on Nov 20, this year, during the ELTons Festival of Innovation in the United Kingdom.

The VRL project, is an internationalisation project conducted through online sessions since 2020. Out of over 200 entries received from 60 countries, four projects were shortlisted as finalists in the category.

The list of finalists can be accessed through the British Council’s website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/english-assessment/eltons/2024-finalists/local-innovation.

The ELTons innovation award is the most prestigious award in the world for English language innovation in teaching, learning and assessment.

It is organised annually by the British Council which welcomes entries from all over the world in five categories.

Dr Sirhajwan’s project known as “Virtual, Remote, Live”, or VRL, enables students and teachers to interact with their counterparts from other countries through various online activities such as masterclasses, conference presentations, cultural exchange classes and virtual chats.

The project benefitted over 2,000 students and teachers from Malaysia and several other countries who participated in the programme.

The online sessions offer them an easily accessible platform to learn about various topics and present their work in English language.

Many students applied what they learned from the programme’s activities and subsequently expanded the impact of their own projects.

Dr Sirhajwan is delighted with the project’s nomination as a finalist because it is a testament that VRL has made a positive impact on the education world.

College Director, Nordin Akup, congratulated Dr Sirhajwan for his dedication in exploring various opportunities to encourage the students to develop their English skills and general knowledge.

The project earned Dr Sirhajwan the 20 to Watch award from the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE), which is headquartered in the United States in early 2024.

It has been also recognised as one of the best practices in TVET education in Southeast Asia by Seameo Voctech, an educational organisation specialised in vocational education based in Brunei in August 2023.