business

10 APU lecturers visited Menara Maybank and were welcomed by Datin Morni, the Head of Group Resourcing from Maybank, joined by Sophia Ang, Head of Talent Attraction, Surin Segar, Head of Group Technology and the Global Maybank Apprentices. 

The aim of the visit is to introduce about Maybank and current opportunities the Bank has for APU students. The Bank has also invited the Global Maybank Apprentices, fresh graduates who have graduated long too long ago who are now working with Maybank to share their working experiences thus far with the Bank. In fact, two of our APU students, both Arina Kungeibayava and Olga Zhuk from Kazakhstan are enrolled in the programme right now. 

The Global Maybank Apprentice Programme is the Bank’s award-winning apex Programme for graduates, a specially designed two-year on-the-job rotation programme which includes a three-month international assignment to encourage cross-border exposure and network among young talents. The beauty of this programme is that the Maybank Apprentices are able to customise their rotations based on their interest and personal preference and foster personal growth through mentoring. The program is not limited to only graduates from business disciplines but also attracts graduates from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and of course, we recruit both Malaysians and non-Malaysians as well. 

Apart from the normal route of application, many of their Maybank Apprentices from their award-winning graduate management trainee programme, Global Maybank Apprentice (GMAP) are recruited through the Maybank GO Ahead. Challenge (MGAC), a student competition organised by Maybank since 2012, in which APU has been a strong supporter and hosted the competition since 2014. Throughout the visit, the APU lecturers experienced a small part of the MGAC Campus Levels case study, the exact same challenges that the students went through! 

The essence of MGAC differs from other business case competitions as it is the first student competition in the region that challenges participants in both financial and non-financial disciplines. MGAC has first started in 2012, and the number of applications closed off at 37,000 across 104 nationalities last year.  A series of obstacles tests their business acumen, problem-solving skills, emotional and cultural intelligence. Participants are exposed to real-life pressures and expectations of a high performing organisation, like Maybank. 

MGAC encompasses a fair mix of 50% technical and 50% non-technical challenges. Both these components have been weaved into the case studies and the challenges. For example, while the participants harness their technical skills by building their companies from scratch and going through the cycles of business, we ensure we inject non-technical challenges such as a virus attack that completely wipe off their work hours before their presentation to the ‘Board of Directors’. The virus was planted to test their resilience and the ability to think off their feet. The teams had to resort to using typewriters and overhead projectors – tools that the millennials nowadays had no experience with. 

The application for MGAC 2017 is now open and we do encourage all students to join! For more information & application, visit http://tiny.cc/mgac2017.  

A group of 28 students and lecturers from the APU Media, Tourism and Services Cluster of the Faculty of Business and Management (FBM) embarked on a learning journey outside the classroom on the 19th of August 2015 (Wednesday), as they explored the majestic caves of Batu Caves and admired the Malaysian history of the tin industry at the Royal Selangor Pewter Visitor Centre. This educational trip was held to educate the students on the concepts and execution methods required to operate a tourist attraction, as well as the tips and techniques required to conduct an efficient and effective guided tour at renowned tourism attractions.

The caves expedition was an eye opening experience for the students; as it was not only an adventure into the unknown, but also a combined history, biology and geology lesson about the formation of Malaysia as a landmass and how the elements worked together to create a wonderful specimen of a time warp, with a living fossil (the Trapdoor Spider, Liphistius batuensis) being preserved for research and future generations. The heart and soul of the experience was the amazing dedication and knowledge of the guides who were truly dedicated and passionate towards preserving a living ecosystem. 

The next stage of the trip was a glimpse of another part of the history of Malaysia. A guided tour of the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre did not only showcase the history of tin mining and its subsequent flourishing enterprise, but also the artistry and processes that enabled high quality, handmade products to be produced with minimum waste and maximum efficiency. 

The overall trip was an AWESOME experience for the students as they enjoyed learning outside the classroom in the truest sense. Hopefully more trips like these can be organised in the future, to benefit our students as they are able to attain knowledge in a more interesting and creative way.