The Colombo Plan Staff College and Labtech International Ltd. extended the benefits of its partnership by holding an online in-country program on Automotive Technology Using Virtual TVET in Malaysia. Held from May 23-26, 2022, the program tapped 29 automotive trainers and instructors for a period of four days. This program of similar nature and modality was previously held in the Philippines, Fiji, Bhutan and India.
Supervising the program are Prof. G.L.D.Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General; Dr. Steven McKee, President of Labtech International Ltd; and Ms. Zainab Ahmad, Director General of the Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education (DPCCE), Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE), Malaysia. In addition, the program’s resources and logistics were facilitated by Mr. Brad Kerr, General Manager of Labtech Academy while Ms. Nawwar Adibah Binti Wahid provided her support as the local Program Coordinator. Mr. Ian Andrew, Consultant and TVET Specialist at Labtech International, also provided additional resources as a program lecturer.
The opening ceremony of the program was held on May 23, 2022 and was graced by the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Philippines, H.E. Norman Bin Muhamad. His speech centered on the friendship between Malaysia and the Philippines and the need for both countries to strengthen their bilateral cooperation for the benefit of their respective economies.
Meanwhile, Ms. Zainabl Ahmad, the Director General of DPCCE, outscored the importance of this program as a way for Malaysia to continuously invest in its human resources as a strategy to maintain its economic growth. She also emphasized that despite the pandemic, DPCCE has been very active in the implementation of its activities and implored its continued use of online means to do so.
Held via Zoom, the four-day program covered topics related to the introduction to automotive systems such as basic engine fundamentals, electricity, and electronics, braking systems, wheels and drive systems, steering and suspension systems. It also goes into developing the students’ knowledge and skills, leading to more advanced studies such as petrol and diesel fuel, systems, engine management, transmissions, and hybrid vehicles.
Screnshot of one of the virtual modules used by the instructors during the session.
The closing ceremony was held on March 26, 2022 and was attended by key guests including Mr Roslee bin Yahaya, Senior Director of Competency at DPCCE. During his speech, he was able to provide his positive feedback regarding the program and looks forward to further activities of CPSC that involve Malaysian TVET practitioners, especially in the automotive sector. Furthermore, the program was positively regarded by the participants during the feedback session.
Screnshot of guests and participants during the opening ceremony.
