A ‘base’ to secure scholarships

BASE Initiative, which has held numerous workshops and talks through the years, aims to create awareness about the types of scholarships available to school leavers and how to secure them.

MANY Malaysian students dream of one thing: to be fully funded for higher education at the university of their dreams, especially overseas. Securing a scholarship, however, is difficult when one is not quite sure how to go about it.

With this realisation, and to assist students who received their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results last Thursday, scholars have come together to create awareness and help make the scholarship application process easier for students nationwide.

Founded by four Yayasan Khazanah scholars in 2019, BASE, an initiative that stands for “Basic Aid for your Scholarship Essentials”, provides guidance on resume building, essay writing, tips for acing interviews, and more.

It also provides helpful tips from scholars with the experience of applying for scholarships from Bank Negara Malaysia, Yayasan Sime Darby and Mara, among others.

Its latest event, which kicked off yesterday, and ends today at Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, features sessions with scholars sharing their experiences and tips with Form Five school-leavers on how to secure scholarships, addressing concerns about scholarship applications, and providing explanations on the different interview stages.

In the past few months, BASE has reached out to upper secondary school students across the country.

As part of its outreach efforts, some 337 students have taken part in virtual workshops on how scholarships work and the types available, as well as resources to boost their academic profiles and interests.

BASE outreach manager Ahmad Syahmi Al-Zambri, who is a Khazanah scholar, said the initiative showed him it was possible to secure scholarships on the advice of those who had successfully secured funding.

“We want to pay it forward so more Malaysians are inspired to go after their academic goals.”

He said workshops where scholars shared their personal experiences and advice on applications after SPM 2021 were very helpful.

“Collaborations with other organisations have proven very fruitful for the initiative, as they provide upskilling opportunities to students who may not be exposed to quality co-curricular activities.

“This includes a research-based article writing programme in collaboration with Kolej Yayasan UEM’s Research Institute.

“Students were guided in teams to do literature reviews and write articles on their fields of interest.”

This year, BASE is led by Sara Surayan, with the goal of making the initiative more accessible to students who need assistance, especially high-potential ones who may go under the radar due to a gap in information.

“We aim to make BASE a conducive platform for high achievers and those who lack the support from schools. At the end of the day, the application process to various sponsoring bodies can be nerve-wracking, one that requires a lot of soul-searching and finding a purpose for yourself, your community and the nation.

“We want to extend a hand to help students achieve that level of introspection, in order to better navigate their tertiary education,” she said in a press release.