Sun Life Malaysia has launched its inaugural “Nurturing Sun Brighter Talent” scholarship award, to nurture next-generation talents and drive growth for the company as well as the insurance and takaful industry.
The life insurance and family takaful provider is partnering with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to administer the program worth RM130,000 for two undergraduates.
The two recipients, Nor Halizah Md Yusop and Hng Chong Khen, from UKM’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science & Technology, received their awards at a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between Sun Life Malaysia and UKM at Sun Life Malaysia’s 1 Utama branch office recently.
Each recipient was presented with a scholarship award worth RM65,000, a certificate and a MacBook.
In addition, the awardees will receive an internship placement and a permanent employment contract with Sun Life Malaysia upon graduation. Sun Life Malaysia will also support the professional examination fees of both recipients.
Sun Life Malaysia CEO and president/country head Raymond Lew said the people are the company’s most valuable asset.
“We constantly invest in our people with the ultimate aim to help them unleash their full potential. Through this award, apart from helping more aspiring students to pursue their dream education, we are also committed to advancing knowledge by providing the opportunity for local talents to explore building a career in the insurance and takaful industry,” he said.
Lew added, “We are privileged to be partnering with UKM, which is highly regarded for its research excellence and students’ employability, for our first scholarship award. With new demands and opportunities arising within the industry, we want to support students in their academic aspirations, and enable our homegrown talent to always be ahead in a rapidly changing world.”
The award recipients were shortlisted after a thorough assessment process which included an interview and presentation session to Sun Life Management Committee members to evaluate their academic merits, leadership quality as well as their soft skills competencies.
UKM Faculty of Science & Technology dean Prof ChM Dr Ishak Ahmad said, “We have always been passionate about nurturing our youth to take on the role of future leaders. We thank Sun Life Malaysia for supporting UKM in empowering the younger generations to excel academically and for affording opportunities for holistic learning experiences for our students to be industry-ready,” he said.
Nor Halizah Md Yusup said she is thrilled and honoured to be a recipient of the “Nurturing Sun Brighter Talent” scholarship award.
“I would like to thank my family, lecturers and everyone from the university who have supported me and of course to Sun Life Malaysia for the financial support. I greatly appreciate the scholarship and I believe Sun Life Malaysia will be the right workplace to fuel my creativity in the field of data science,” said the 21-year-old from Johor Bahru.
