Minister launches youth empowerment plan
DEFENCE Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein launched KDU University College’s Youth Empowerment Plan, together with KDU vice-chancellor Professor Dr Hiew Pang Leang and deputy vice-chancellor of academic Associate Professor Dr Hon Wei Min, at the Institute Onn Jaafar (IOJ) Volunteer Appreciation Day held recently at KDU’s Utropolis Glenmarie campus.
The non-government organisation’s Volunteer Appreciation Day saw almost 1,000 student-volunteers honoured for their participation in and contribution of IOJ’s JOM BEKPES morning soup-kitchen campaign, where volunteers served and ate breakfast with homeless people and underprivileged kids in Kuala Lumpur in 2016. Hishammuddin, who is also Institut Onn Jaafar patron, was present to hand out awards for Best Volunteer and Best University.
“We stay true to our ethos of real world education meeting real world needs, and ensuring our students become all-rounders. This is an ongoing process within KDU, so the empowerment plan is actually not something new to us.
“However, there are always continuous measures to strengthen it. Therefore, the KDU Youth Empowerment Plan is a reflection of that — our continuous effort to ensure our students develop the skills and attributes necessary for them to hit the ground running,” Hiew explained.
Continuing, he said: “The National Education Philosophy’s vision aims to educate graduates to be ethically and morally upright, spiritually grounded, compassionate and caring; appreciates sustainable development and a healthy lifestyle.
“Our Youth Empowerment Plan is built around the Malaysia Eduction Blueprint and what it hopes to achieve.”
As part of their commitment towards IOJ initiatives, KDU also pledged to channel its students taking Corporate Social Responsibility as a subject towards charity programmes organised by the NGO. KDU interacts with a variety of communities and instills in its students the skills required to work with these communities effectively through compulsory subjects, such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-Curricular Activities & Community, in its programmes.
“We stay true to our ethos of real world education meeting real world needs, and ensuring our students become all-rounders.”