Maybank

Over 2,000 students of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) grabbed the chance to participate in a series of innovative learning interventions organised by Maybank Group at their Main Campus in Sintok, Kedah.

The two-day weekend with Maybank @ UUM event was a part of the CEO @ Faculty Programme (CEO@FP), an initiative by Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education. The CEO@FP invites prominent industry leaders from the industry to share knowledge, experiences and best practices in steering their respective organisations to success. The programme also encourages collaborations and knowledge transfer between the selected universities and industry.

Maybank’s Group Chief Human Capital Officer, Nora Abd Manaf is the selected industry leader for UUM. Nora emphasised Maybank’s commitment in developing future generation of leaders and shared her valuable life experiences and how to achieve success professionally and personally. “It is important for students to be well equipped with skills and expertise to be workplace ready for the future. I always believe that personal branding is very important for you to excel in the workplace. Bear in mind, personal branding is not about what others expect of you, but it is what you expect of yourself. To know who you are, never limit yourselves. Explore, try new things and learn from failures to find your interest, passion and sense of purpose.” She also urged the students to be agile and adaptable in the evolving environment, as well as to grab opportunities that come along the way for them to further harness their potential.

Other than the CEO Lecture Session, the students’ participated in various activities one of which was the Maybank UUM Pitch Talent, which saw 70 final year students honing communication skills as they had to pitch ideas in front of a panel of judges in a TedTalk style. “It challenged me to share my thoughts concisely in just two minutes! It was nerve-wracking but it pushed me out of my comfort zone!” said Foon Lung Wei, the Champion of the Maybank UUM Pitch Talent.

At the same event, Nora was conferred with an Honorary Adjunct Professorship from the School of Business Management, UUM College of Business. The Adjunct Professorship for a period of two years from 1 October 2016 till 30 September 2018 was presented to Nora by UUM’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak.

Another activity was the “Maybank Go Ahead.Race”, a mini version of the award-winning Maybank Go. Ahead Challenge (MGAC) which witnessed over 200 of students taking on a 10 km challenge around the Main Campus. The Race ranged from physical challenges such as Go Kart Race, Archery and a swimming relay to business case studies.

A CSR themed initiative - 'Maybank GHC Pay it Forward’ which leveraged on the free market charity concept successfully collected over 4000 items for the event. To pay forward, students were encouraged to either contribute RM5 to sponsor free meals for their peers who are in need, participate in a car wash to raise funds or sign up for any UUM CSR activity to receive an item from the UUM-Maybank Free Market. Items from the Free Market were donated by UUM students and Maybank employees.

Nora highlighted that the ‘Pay it Forward’ concept encourages the positive practice of continuous good deeds in our lives. “The Pay it Forward cycle creates a butterfly effect for sustainable impact and it strongly resonates with the bank's mission of Humanising Financial Services,” said Nora.

A recruitment booth was also set up for students to enquire about internship opportunities at Maybank and CVs were submitted during the event.