KOTA SAMARAHAN: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) students should have outstanding communication skills along with their academic excellence, UiTM Sarawak rector Prof Datuk Dr Jamil Hamali said.
According to him, they (UiTM) do not want to produce students who just have first-class Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
“We want to produce dynamic and versatile students.
“Therefore, students should be grateful for the opportunity to participate in this ‘Coffee Table Talk: Empowering Youth Voice Through UPC’ programme today.
“In such a programme, you can ask panellists any questions that you are curious about — there are no such smart or dumb questions.
“Asking panellists questions will help you learn how to communicate effectively.
“Take this opportunity to train yourself to be an excellent communicator,” he said at the forum closing ceremony at UiTM Samarahan Campus 2 here, yesterday.
Further elaborating, Prof Jamil added that these communication skills are very important in any interview.
“That is why I always interpret the interview process as a temugoda (an act intended to seduce) — this is because you have to ‘seduce’ the interviewer with the communication skills that you have in order to succeed in the interview.
“These communication skills are the most important, and then your CGPA,” he explained.
Attended by about 200 students, the event was moderated by Assoc Prof Dr Saudi Narani while the panellists were MPC technical expert Datuk Ooi Say Chuan and Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies student Nur Alysha Irena Redzuan.
