Sunway University Career Mentoring Programme The Future Leaders’ Academy (FLA) has been successfully launched with strong support from talented Sunway Alumni representing the global brand leaders.
The FLA is a five-month new leadership development programme aiming to develop an all-rounded, confident, and future-ready talent.
The FLA’s objective, as a uniquely designed mentoring and talent programme, is to train student leaders with necessary skills so that they can impact and influence the society of tomorrow, with 121 mentees on board for this batch. The mentoring is conducted on a one-to-one basis with a few mentors taking on two mentees.
In this programme, the mentee required to complete four Masteries Programme including Personal Mastery – a virtual workshop on personal growth through principles of purpose, grit and growth mindset; Professional Mastery – a career mentoring with Sunway Alumni sharing their workplace experiences; Industry Mastery – an experiential learning hosted by companies; and Meet the Masters – a networking and inspirational session to hear from the top industry leaders.
Present at the virtual launch were Professor Graeme Wilkinson, Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University; Lee Siok Ping, Director of Student LIFE; participating mentees and mentors. There were also mentors joining from overseas including Abu Dhabi, Australia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and many more.
Professor Wilkinson said, “Mentors know what are the important skills needed in the job market and with their advice, mentees will be prepared for their careers after graduating.”
The programme also serves as a platform for Sunway Alumni to give back by sharing knowledge and experience in the workforce with their juniors. The programme is not industry specific as it focuses on the general transition to the workplace upon completion of their studies.
Lee Siok Ping, Director of Student LIFE, thanked the mentors for their participation to share their expertise and knowledge with the young students and said, “Over the years, our past mentors and mentees had gained a lot over the whole experience. For the mentors, do be generous to share and learn to hear from the students and be willing to learn from them. They might give you new insights.”
With 106 mentors volunteered to support the mentees, this cohort has the highest number of participants since the mentoring programme began in 2013. The mentors who are now serving come from a variety of sectors and disciplines, with some having graduated from the old Sunway PJ State Campus.
Meanwhile, Rishalini A/P Siva Kumar, a final-year BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance student who participated in FLA previously shared, “I’m grateful to have this mentoring session during my internship period. With the help of my mentor, Vincent Wong, I got to know myself better as I reflected on each of my strengths and weaknesses, which helps a lot in my personal development.”
Additionally, returning mentor Vincent Wong, from Waikato Twinning Programme said, “For all the mentees, don’t be afraid to ask questions and to ask good questions to your mentors. They will give you their insights and guidance to help. To the mentors, while we guide our mentees, adopt reverse mentoring. We can learn from the young students on critical thinking, story-telling, social media and many more.”
All the successful Sunway Alumni are representing acclaimed global brand leaders such as Accenture, AirAsia, BDO, Chanel, Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), Fonterra, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, KPMG, PwC, Mastercard, Nestle, Nike, Samsung, Shell, Walt Disney Company Malaysia, and UOB Bank.
