AN industry guest lecturer recently commented that overseas graduates are better than local ones because they possess stronger soft skills.
This sweeping generalisation understandably riled my local students, who expressed their disagreement to me in private.
The incident got me reflecting on the merits of an overseas education.
Education is not just about obtaining facts, figures, technical skills and academic qualifications. Learning occurs not only in classrooms, lecture theatres and laboratories, but also indirectly – through our interactions with others, adaptations to social situations, adjustments to group dynamics, personal challenges and exposure to a myriad of environments.
Soft skills encompass communication, critical thinking, social skills and emotional intelligence, and they are developed from a combination of direct and indirect education.
Direct education based on formal instruction and curriculum content is generally similar among local and overseas universities. The difference comes from indirect education, and this is where overseas graduates have an advantage.
Studying overseas exposes one to a wider range of circumstances, practices, lifestyles, communities and belief systems, providing fertile ground for cultivating soft skills via indirect education.
To thrive in a foreign land, one must be both “book smart” and “people smart”. One must meaningfully interact and engage with one’s surrounding community to maximise the benefits of an overseas education.
Some might be ensconced in foreign student ghettos, rarely mixing with other communities and therefore missing the opportunity to optimise their overseas education experience.
I have observed Malaysian students at foreign universities whose command of English remains unchanged from when they left home, due to minimal interaction with non-Malaysians.
The key consideration is not your physical location but your social engagement, and this is where local students need not lose out.
Local students have ample opportunities for indirect education and soft skills development through engagement with the surrounding community, beyond academic and classroom settings.
We are blessed with a multiethnic community where we can learn from each other. Many local campuses also host many foreign students, providing further cultural diversity and vibrancy.
There are also opportunities for short-term overseas studies via student exchange and summer schools. As such, the soft skills of a fully engaged local student can be on par or even surpass their overseas counterparts who are less engaged.
Nonetheless, I have encountered many local students who lack soft skills – as, perhaps, has the aforementioned industry guest speaker, prompting his sweeping statement.
All else being equal, it is desirable to strive for an overseas education – and “overseas” need not necessarily mean crossing national borders. The key factor is social interaction and engagement, and studying away from the comfort and familiarity of one’s hometown – in another city or state within Malaysia – can also suffice.
A student from Penang studying in Kota Kinabalu will have ample opportunities for indirect education and soft skills development, provided he or she is socially engaged with the local community.
Rantau, or wandering afar to seek knowledge, skills, wealth and wisdom, is a traditional cultural practice rooted in this region.
Historically, rantau is routinely practised in the fluid and borderless maritime world of the Nusantara (Malay Archipelago) before the emergence of modern national boundaries.
People went on rantau to further their dreams and ambitions, to satisfy their wanderlust, to seek status and prestige, and to pursue their education.
As such, pursuing an overseas education continues the time-tested practice of rantau – for personal development, social enrichment, and as a rite of passage.
DR WONG TEIK AUN
Principal lecturer
Centre of Australian Degree Programmes
INTI International College Penang
