IT is becoming increasingly common for tertiary students to take part in community projects or volunteer work during their study years.
Not only does this create empathy and understanding – if structured correctly – students can also develop a plethora of soft skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Universiti Malaya Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education director Assoc Prof Dr Vishalache Balakrishnan said students have become wiser and more articulate after going through a service learning course.
“The Service Learning Malaysia-University for Society (Sulam) module that they undergo makes them mature individuals who are more caring, compassionate, and appreciative of life.
“Their empathy level becomes much higher, and they become more confident,” she told StarEdu.
Throughout the course, students learn the skills to engage with society, she said.
They start by learning the theory and then practising it in real life as they approach communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out their projects.
Vishalache said they pick up soft skills such as communicating effectively, preparing proposals, planning a budget, doing crowdfunding, liaising with university officials on field work procedures and writing to different agencies for sponsorship.
More importantly, she added, they develop an appreciation for what they have and what they can provide to others based on their own capacities and expertise.
Vishalache said Sulam is experiential learning which is structured and embedded in the university curriculum, is course-based and credit-bearing.
“It is important for 21st century education because university students can apply what they learn within the four walls of the lecture room to initiate projects in society, do the appropriate needs analysis, communicate with society, and help resolve issues based on their expertise or what they have learnt,” she added.
Sulam is compulsory for public universities since 2019 while private universities have been encouraged to embed it in their curricula beginning this year.
Its guidelines are provided by the Higher Education Ministry but the execution and implementation are left up to the individual universities, said Vishalache.
“Students work in groups for their community projects, which require them to show care and compassion for each other, while building trust and rapport.
They grow to understand other cultures and learn to work independently,” she said, adding that their journey is challenging and exciting.Groups who face more challenges seem to come out stronger and more confident by the end of their projects, she added.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the students planned and conducted their projects virtually.
Vishalache said because of this, they became better at creating videos, expressing care despite the virtual platform, and becoming more adept at information technology.
She expressed hope that service learning would be expanded to schools the way developed nations like Japan, Finland and the United Kingdom have done.
All agencies involved must, however, be passionate about the idea as it involves holistic education.
“It is not just about grades and providing evidence that the project is done.“The entire Sulam programme prepares students to be better employees, employers, entrepreneurs, and responsible human beings,” she said.
What these students experience can be useful in their future careers.
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said many employers provide time-off for employees to take part in volunteer work and community services.
“Voluntary activities give employees the opportunity to work through real challenges and make meaningful changes.
“Employers may also mobilise their own resources for a good cause — for example, a web design business dedicating part of its time to building websites for charities.
“These transformative experiences encourage employees to confront moral dilemmas, investigate and provide solutions, and employ innovative thinking,” he added.
What students gained...
Sarawak. We taught them public speaking and life skills. Public speaking is a practical skill that they can use to express themselves clearly, with confidence and power, in any setting. Life skills help them overcome daily conflicts as these skills enable them to manage their emotions better by enhancing their emotional intelligence.
We aim to build their confidence through many activities that might ignite their interest and encourage participation, thus enabling them to express themselves more articulately.
Equipping them with these skills will help them overcome their anxieties and grow into adults who are better at engaging with those around them.
This will broaden their opportunities when they enter the working world.
My team and I gained invaluable insights from this project.
Handling community service activities and reaching out to underprivileged children and youths have boosted our empathy and compassion.
It is unfortunate that as humans, we sometimes can get wrapped up in ourselves.
The project has been a wake-up call for us to not forget empathetic practices.
Although there were uncertainties and challenges, we overcame all of them, thanks to the great teamwork and problem-solving skills that we developed along the way.
Muhammad Nazif Danish Karim, 21
For the Sulam project, we wanted to help the longhouse children and youths at Rumah Panjang Entulang Lalang and Pure Life Society by cultivating their interest in English.
Our group decided to teach children aged 11 and below how to take better care of themselves and their personal hygiene through songs.
We also taught them moral values through storytelling. Since this was done during the movement control order (MCO) period, we created videos for the children to view.
We read fairytales and sang action songs to encourage them to read and speak in English. We also recorded songs with activities for them to do.
Our project is not just about creating interesting videos, but also to impart knowledge to our young audience. We benefited greatly from the experience too.
This was my first virtual project. I want to develop my soft skills, and be more creative and resourceful as I aspire to be an educator when I graduate.
Cassia Ruby Luke Rudolf Luke Anthoni, 22
Since we could not be there to assist our learners physically, we had no choice but to conduct our project virtually.
We pre-recorded our activities so that they can watch the videos even after the project had ended.
We compiled all the videos in Google Drive and distributed them to the person in-charge at Pure Life Society and also the ketua rumah (chief) at Panjang Entulang Lalang.
Although we could not carry out our project physically, we were able to reach out to more students by making full use of technology.
As our team consisted of all Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) students, our videos were to promote English proficiency in a fun way.
We did not want to do boring grammar videos and opted to read to them instead.
Conducting this project made me realise that many are not privileged enough to receive quality education.
It made me more appreciative of what I have.
I also learnt that we should always look at things from different perspectives and have a sense of empathy for others as these values are crucial in a multicultural society.
Jamie Yat Lin, 22
It is a women-oriented project designed to empower, and bring a sense of comfort and belonging to, residents at a home for pregnant underaged girls in Ampang.
We decorated their home with a mural and conducted an English learning activity for the teens.
“English is Fun” was designed to teach them how to communicate in the language as part of their daily lives. We learnt and gained so much more from the girls.
For starters, we learnt that not everything we see in the media and dramas is a true reflection of their experiences – not all of them are there because they were disowned and abandoned by their families with no place to go.
On the contrary, many who are there were brought in by their families to learn life skills and make friends so that they do not feel alone.
These girls are very well taken care of and most have their families’ support.
The girls taught us a lot about being kind and welcoming, and to be strong no matter what we have to go through in life.
We learnt to communicate better with people from different backgrounds, to negotiate and put our thoughts into action, and to make friends with the vulnerable and treat them as one of our own.
Anne Michelle Anak Vince Rabing, 22
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