MDeC Training Program - UTAR PJ (Batch 2) - (Part 4)

GRADUATION CEREMONY

Students who undergo the MDeC Soft Skills Training program are required to plan, organize, and run their own graduation ceremony, and the event is normally done on the last day of the program. We trainers were also invited to the graduation ceremony and I would have to say that I was really really impressed with the way they organized this event. As mentioned in one of my earlier postings, I couldn't believe that the whole event was actually organized by the students. They did an absolutely fantastic job! The program flow was done very well and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We took alot photos during the ceremony...but I can't possibly post everything here...or else it would take me forever to finish this posting. Anyway, here are some of the ones I'd like to share with you readers...so, enjoy!


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This is Ms. Yap Siew Ting, the organizing chairperson...and here she is saying a few words on behalf of the students...I remember her well because she's always smiling during the training =)
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"OK...this is how u hold the weapon! and this was how my sifu (mentor), Bruce Lee taught me to hold it..." haha...this is the first group showcasing their Creativity & Innovation project. It's actually a Multipurpose Umbrella...which can also be used as a walking stick for old people...of course, there are other functions for this umbrella...but we're not going to go into the details...
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More explanation regarding their invention...
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This is Frank, the model and spokesperson for the 2nd group. Here he is, showcasing his group's invention, the Multipurpose Jacket. This jacket can be worn as a normal day to day use jacket...but in the event of a flood, this jacket can be inflated and converted into a life jacket, which will help keep you afloat and prevent you from drowning. If I'm not mistaken, this jacket can also protect the person wearing it from getting burnt in the event that a fire breaks out.
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This is the 3rd group with their invention...the Electric Handbag...The idea behind this handbag is to electrify those snatch thieves who attempt to snatch your handbags...by activating the alarm on the handbag, you can actually 'fry' your assailant. (interesting idea...just don't accidentally fry yourself when using this handbag...)
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This is Frank again....sharing his testimonials and experiences during the past 15 days...

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This is Poh Kee...one of the engineering students from UTAR. A very bright young man...I remember his name very well because he shares the same name as my grand father...

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This is Ms. Jamie Tan sharing how much she has benefitted from this program...we've since become good friends...she is one young lady who really believes in the spirit of giving, giving and giving...she's such a selfless giver....I've learnt alot from her...she has not only taught me the real meaning of sharing and giving...she has actually shown it to me by walking her talk...Thank you so much for enlightening me...

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This young lady, Ji Leng has got such a beautiful voice...here she is...mesmerizing the crowd with her song....I forgot the name of the song, but it was a malay song. She can really seriously sing!! and her voice is really powerful!....so...anyone of you want a singer to perform at any of your functions...just give me a call...I'm her self-appointed manager...you can deal with me...haha...

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'Kacang Putih... Ikan Bilis... Pisang Goreng... mari mari mari....siapa cepat...dialah yang dapat...' this was part of the sketch the students performed....

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This was a really interesting sketch...with one of the students...Willy, acting as an aunty...he even altered his voice to sound like those aunties in the market...*salute*!

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This was towards the end of the graduation ceremony...they sang a song and dedicated this song to all the guests who attended their ceremony...

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Look at their happy smiley faces....

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Here they are again...in a much more relaxed mood....how come I wasn't in this picture?*regret*

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The students with the trainers after the ceremony

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I have no idea when they took this photograph...but they looked really cute!!! haha...

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Another one of those cute photographs....they're really creative when it comes to taking photographs...I would never have thought of taking photographs in this manner! haha...interesting...
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These 2 beautiful ladies taking photos in front of the backdrop....If I'm not mistaken...they actually painted the backdrop themselves...very NICE!!!

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What's the guy doing at the back there? This was supposed to be an all girls photo!

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And finally, the last photo for this batch....this is actually a photo taken during the karaoke session...they went for a karaoke session after their graduation ceremony. We trainers were asked to join in, but being 'old' people....we decided not to...haha...

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I've learnt so much from this batch of students. They have taught me alot of things I didn't know I didn't know (this is what we call "unconscious incompetence" meaning...you do not know what you do not know)...and they have allowed me to grow and improve myself as a trainer. The feedback I received from them allowed me to understand my weaknesses and this in turn allowed me to further improve my training methodologies.

Would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to the students and to let them know that I'm EXTREMELY PROUD of them!

MDeC Training Program - UTAR PJ (Batch 2) - (Part 3)

CREATIVITY & INNOVATION

The next module we had was 'Creativity & Innovation'. This is a 4-day module, aimed at helping students understand what Creativity is, how to apply Creativity in Problem Solving and Decision Making, and most importantly, how to Think-Out-Of-The-Box when solving problems in their daily lives and professional lives.


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Look at how serious the students are...There's no need to be so serious! Relax and have fun!
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After lunch during the 2nd day, one of the students, Frank, "Volunteered" (or rather..he was volunteered, to be more exact) to entertain us with a song. He gladly came to the front of the class to showcase his talents...he started slow...but as he continued...the class started joining him...one by one his friends joined in...and very soon...the whole class was singing together...holding hands and waving their hands in the air. Too bad I didn't get a photograph of that. But it was truly a wonderful sight, I must say!
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Creativity is about making things / tasks better and faster. So, here we have one of the students, Siew Ting, learning how to fold a T-shirt in under 3 seconds. Amazing?
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Another student giving it a go...
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This picture was taken during the 3rd day of the program...during the 'EGG game'. This is the first group...showing off their masterpiece...a structure made of straw and some masking tape. This structure is supposed to break the fall of an egg which will be launched from a height of about 7-8 feet.
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The 2nd group showing off their masterpiece...look at how elaborate their structure is! It's extremely stable...thanks to the 2 engineers in their group...
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And finally, this is the 3rd group...this group is full of Creative energy because they have 7 girls and only 1 guy in the group (in general, girls have more creative energy in them, whereas guys have more logic and reasoning power).
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That ends this posting...next, we're going to see the students in action during their graduation night...so, stay tuned!

MDeC Training Program - UTAR PJ (2nd Batch) - (Part 2)

STAND UP & SPEAK


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The students really DO STAND UP & SPEAK! To the extent of standing on their chairs just to prove that point.
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Of course, we even had a session on 'Stand Up & Sing'. Btw, the young lady in the picture is Ms. Jessy Man, one of the finalists in the reality show (Malaysia's Most Beautiful). We had a Celebrity trainee with us during the training!
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Seeing how well Jessy sang, the guys insisted on doing a duet also. So, we had a 'Stand up and Duet' session. *Applause* (I'm proud of you, guys!)
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MDeC Training Program - UTAR PJ (2nd Batch) - (Part 1)

December 2006, roughly 6 months after the first batch graduated from the MDeC soft skills training program, the next batch of students signed up for the program. This time, the program was offered to students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), main campus in PJ. About 28 students signed up for this session.

Training this batch of students was really enjoyable. They were very responsive, eager to learn, keen to develop and improve themselves, and the most important thing was that they showed alot of enthusiasm when applying the key ideas and concepts that were taught to them during the 15-day training.

Part of the program requires the students to organize their own graduation ceremony. What really impressed me about this group of students was that they did an EXCELLENT job in planning and running the event. If you were there, you wouldn't believe that the event was actually organized by the students. *Impressive!*

I really enjoyed sharing my ideas with them, and helping them make certain changes in their lives. To know that I have impacted their lives gives me the satisfaction that's impossible to describe with mere words. I've made so many new friends from this training. They're just absolutely beautiful souls. I'm still very much in contact with a lot of them through MSN messenger. I sincerely hope my friendship with them will continue to grow and strengthen over the years.

Well, enough of me babbling non-stop....here are some photos taken during the training...(Oh yeah...I was actually involved in 3 modules for this program; Self Mastery, Stand Up & Speak, and Creativity & Innovation. So, there'll be quite a number of photos...enjoy!)

SELF MASTERY (Cermas Agro Park, Bentong)

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uV with the bunch of macho, handsome guys...

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uV with the beautiful young ladies...

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This was supposed to be another 'uV and the beautiful young ladies' photo...but somehow, 2 macho handsome guys decided they wanted to be called beautiful young ladies too...so, here I present to you, erm...uV and the beautiful young ladies & beautiful young guys-cum-ladies? haha..

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This activity is called the 'Acid River'... aww... see how close they are...hugging each other...

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Of course, when the guys take part in the 'Acid River' activity, they don't hug each other like the girls do...they 'CARRY' each other...MACHO! I wonder how they still manage to pose with such style even though they were carrying their friends. Oh, btw, this photo was featured in 'THE STAR' newspaper, together with a write-up about the GKWP training program.

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The lead trainer for the 'Self Mastery' program, Encik Zul, looking very MACHO here!

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Finally, a group photo with all the students. After this, it was time to head back to Kuala Lumpur for more Fun learning!

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MDeC Training Program - MMU Melaka (1st Batch)

Somewhere in June last year (2006), I had the privilege to conduct a training for the undergraduates of Multimedia University (MMU), Melaka, under the Global Knowledge Worker Program (GKWP) initiated by Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia, with the support of the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and the K-Workers Development Institute (KDI). The students selected to undergo this training were trained on the relevant professional skills and knowledge to enable them to operate effectively in the real-world environment with the ultimate goal of helping them transform themselves into "Knowledge-Workers" and "Results-Driven Professionals" in their respective industries.

There are 6 modules in the overall training program; Self-Mastery, Stand Up & Speak, Innovation and Creativity, Business Communications, Customer Service Excellence, and Workplace Etiquette. Altogether, the training took 15 days, and the 'Innovation and Creativity' module itself was 4 days.

I had the privilege to conduct the 'Innovation and Creativity' module for the undergraduates. I must say that I thoroughly enjoy myself during these 4 days. To be able to share some of my ideas with the students on Creative Thinking and to actually see them grow, see them significantly change their mindsets and see them master the skill of thinking out-of-the-box. No amount of money could ever buy the sense of satisfaction that I get from helping these students make certain changes in their ways thinking, in their ways of doing things and ultimately in their lives. And the best part of all is that, I made so many new friends. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to take many photos, so...here are just a few of them.



Helping the students Think-Out-Of-The-Box. The girl on the left is thinking really really hard *scratch head*...





Getting the students to move their bodies abit and massage their friends after a heavy lunch. *ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzpy* Actually I was the one who was ZzZzpy... and yes, I was also the one who had a heavy lunch...



Turn around and massage the person at the back! Some of them laughed hysterically and said "Geli-lahhhhh". Personally, I can't take someone massaging my shoulders. *GELI*...That's why I always facilitate this activity...so that I don't have to get involved. Haha...



*No comments*...Forgot what I was sharing here. That was like 1 year ago! 12 months! 52 weeks! 8760 hours! 525,600 minutes! 31,536,000 seconds! *no wonder I can't remember*

Token of Appreciation from MIM

As promised, this is the token of appreciation that I received from MIM for my 'No-Fee' talk. It's actually a device that helps promote Creativity. There are unlimited ways to assemble this device. The challenge here is to find the best and fastest way to put it together from scratch. As I always mention in my Creativity trainings, Creativity is about 'Doing Things / Tasks Better & Faster'. The better and faster you can assemble this device, the more Creative you are!

Fig 1

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Fig 10

When I opened up the box that housed this device, I found 7 pieces of weird shaped parts (Fig 1 & 2). There were 3 red parts, 3 white parts and 1 red platform(Fig 2 - Fig 6). On my first attempt to put it up together, I was all hand and legs. It took me 20 minutes just to figure out how the whole thing works (Ok...I'm a slow starter!). As I was about to give up, I remembered one of the definitions of Creativity that I share with my fellow participants during my Creativity trainings; Creativity is about saying 'YES' to Impossiblities. So, I persevered and another 20 minutes later, I was beaming proudly at the end result of my 40 minutes of hardwork (Ok Ok! I admit, I'm an extremely slow starter!). Of course, after a few rounds of practice, I was able to reduce the time needed to assemble this device. Last I tried, it took me less than 15 seconds (So, I guess I'm getting more Creative? Haha). Fig 7 & Fig 8 shows the approach that I used to assemble this device. I experimented with quite a number of ways and up until now, this is the fastest way I've found to put this device together. I'm still searching for more ways though! Never stop looking for better and faster ways of doing things! Striving for Continuous Improvement is one of the keys to Excellence! Fig 9 shows the device (which is actually a round shaped savings box) and the platform on which it rests. Fig 10 is the final product!

Oh, btw...you can actually buy this device from MIM if you're interested. I don't know the price though....I got it as a token of appreciation, remember?