HELP University Hosts its 32nd Convocation to Celebrate Achievements of 3704 Graduands Since the Pandemic

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Press Release

Saturday, 26 March 2021, Kuala Lumpur – HELP University (HELP) is delighted to have its 32nd Convocation to celebrate the achievements of 3704 graduands, both Malaysian and international students after two years since the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in educational institutions shut all across the world. As a result, education has changed dramatically with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching and learning is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Despite all these challenges, these graduates demonstrated their self-discipline and determination to pursue their personal fulfillment.

At this year’s convocation, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics (honoris causa) was awarded to Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Tay Ah Lek, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Public Bank Berhad.

HELP awards Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek, Managing Director of Public Bank, the Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (honoris causa)

Tan Sri Tay is a distinguished and influential person in the world of finance in Malaysia. He is equally well-known as a generous person who has helped society and needy people. Doing good and giving back to society looms big on his agenda. He truly believes health and education determine the quality of life of a person. His many charitable works include the donation of dialysis machines; a necessity to many kidney patients to sustain their quality of life. Tan Sri Tay who comes from a humble background believes in hard work and perseverance and has always imbibed the principle that a journey of a thousand miles start with the first step.

He believes that education is the right of everyone and key to lifting people out of generational poverty. Tan Sri Tay has awarded full scholarships to students of his alma mater who would otherwise not have been able to realise their dream of tertiary education. He also partakes in scholarship schemes funded by his fraternity of close friends who share the same vision.

During the convocation, Datuk Dr. Paul Chan, Vice Chancellor, HELP expressed his joy “Armed with the intellectual and mental skills from HELP University, I am confident that you will continue to further your expertise, intellectual and imaginative powers through extensive study, accurate enquiry, thorough review, clear deductions and persevered practices to contribute to the advancement of your careers. You will also embrace your duties and responsibilities, accountability, fairness and integrity as values that guide your work experience.”

He continued expressing that he firmly believes the students have the resources and capabilities to bring about positive change to themselves, the community, the nation, the region and even the world. At the same time, they can add meaning, purpose and fulfillment to their lives.

Sarah Ann John, who completed the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), and won the 2021 Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Dr Hajjah Saleha Outstanding Achivement Award says, “It was an honour to receive the Tan Sri Award, and I am grateful that HELP has been a steady platform for me to learn and grow as an individual. My journey was not a lonely one, but was filled with support and love from family, friends, lecturers, and tutors. This award would not have been made possible without them, and for that, they have my utmost appreciation.”

Jasmine Lee Jia Min says, “”I am beyond blessed and humbled to receive the Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Dr Hajjah Saleha Outstanding Achievement Award. This award is not just for me, it is a reminder of God’s faithfulness in my life. I am immensely grateful to God, my family and friends who have played a big part in my life. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without their love and support. Thank you everyone who has been a part of my life journey, shaping me into who I am today. Let us all continue to run the race that is set before us with endurance. You got this!” Jasmine who completed her Bachelor of Business (Accounting)(Honours) and her ACCA in 2019, is now working at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The university is also proud that the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) has approved the HELP University to offer four of its postgraduate programmes via the APEL.Q route as part of the lifelong learning agenda. These four programmes are the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Entrepreneurship, and the Master of Science in Economics Crime Management.

APEL.Q focuses on recognizing prior experiential learning for adults who have relevant working and business experiences and expertise to complete a higher degree.

This year, Dr Abdullah Khalid bin Salaudin, is the first DBA graduate to have completed his degree through the APEL.Q pathway.

HELP University also awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award to Ir Dr Karl Ng, who is a Director at MDEC. Dr Karl Ng completed his Masters and DBA at HELP, and plays an active role in various corporations, and is a strong supporter of HELP.

Two years ago, HELP initiated the 4R Transformation to be future-fit. This exercise focused on reframing the university’s vision and roadmap, revitalizing its learning and management culture, realigning governance, infrastructure facilities and digitalization, and revitalizing its talent pool, learning-teaching approaches, and curricula. It was an opportune effort seeing that this change was necessary.

The university continues to develop to suit the current environment. As a social business enterprise, Dr. Paul said, “we are mindful of the difficulties facing many Malaysians to have an affordable quality education. We thus created the National Upskilling Program (NUP), which offers all our alumni and various groups affected by the pandemic significant financial assistance to study in any our 13 Masters degree with us. We have also designed a wide range of Micro- credential courses to upskill and reskill individuals to improve their employability, self-employability and mobility.”

As one of the pioneers in private tertiary education in Malaysia, HELP has always been innovative and entrepreneurial in improving appropriate education programmes, learning practices and learning outcomes.

About HELP University

HELP University was founded in 1986 and it has developed into a leading institution of higher learning in Malaysia. HELP University offers a wide range of social science, and humanities programmes, and is renowned for its psychology, accounting, business, law, education, and IT programmes. The university has embarked on a transformation journey to become the Analytics-Driven Entrepreneurial University.

In 2019, HELP University was awarded the Premier Digital Tech Institution (PDTI) status by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) for being a leading digital tech-focused institution that produces high quality graduates for the workforce.

In 2020 it was awarded an overall 5 Stars rating by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) an annual publication of university rankings. QS also awarded 5 Stars to HELP for the following categories: Teaching, Employability, Academic Development, Internationalisation, Facilities, Social Responsiveness, Inclusiveness, and Business and Management Studies (MBA). In 2021, HELP University was ranked No 1 among 650 universities in Asia for Outbound Student Exchange programmes by QS Rankings World University Ranking: Asia 2021.

HELP University is also a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International.

Visit https://university.help.edu.my for more information on HELP University.

Media Enquiries

Juliet Chan

Director, Corporate Communications
HELP University
E: juliet.chan@help.edu.my