Dell awards scholarships to nine young Malaysians

PHOTO - Dell scholarship recipients with (second from right) Steve Felice, president and chief commercial officer, Dell.

Global computer firm Dell has awarded scholarships for the first time in Malaysia with the sponsorship of nine young Malaysians as parts of its Malaysia Skills Enhancement Sponsorshop (MSES) programme.

MSES is an initiative to attract and develop new talent in selected local public universities and local campuses of foreign universities in Malaysia, said Dell Malaysia managing director Dato' Simon Wong on 19 March 2012. "More than 100 applications were received from students pursuing degrees in accounting and finance, information technology, business management, engineering, law, statistics, mathematics and economics."

"We believe in advancing human potential by developing and nurturing bright young talent," said Wong. "By providing access to opportunities and funding such as the Dell Malaysia Scholarship Awards, we help them manifest their potential and develop their leadership capabilities and skill sets."

He aid this year's nine recipients were awarded scholarships totalling RM350,000 [US$113,762] and, upon graduation, will serve Dell for a period of one to four years.

The scholarship awards were presented at a ceremony held at the Dell Global Business Centre in Bayan Lepas, Penang.  Four scholars attended the event: Lee Sau Lai and Cham Hong Weng from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and Shaminy Marutha and Farid Aswan bin Ismail from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). They were presented with cheques from Wong and Dell global president and chief commercial officer, Steve Felice.

The five other recipients are Suganthi Balakerisnan, a first-year accounting student at Multimedia University Malaysia; Mohd Tharmizi bin Daud, a second-year electric mechatronics student at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Joanne Wee Wei Ting, first-year accounting information system student at UUM; Sharifah Nurul Awwall binti Sayed Abdul Rahman, a first-year economics student at University of Malaya; and Nur Izzaty binti Zulbadli, a final-year international business management student at University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus).

UUM first year international business management student, Shaminy Marutha, said: "It feels great to be awarded with this scholarship and I feel so fortunate, especially in getting an offer from a well-known multinational corporation such as Dell. With such international standards and visions, I believe I would be able to have a successful career in Dell and make my dreams come true."

UUM final year international affairs management student, Farid Aswan bin Ismail, said: "It is an honour for me to receive this scholarship. I would like to express my highest gratitude to Dell for its scholarship programme which inspires me to work harder and challenge myself to the next level. I am so excited to work for Dell, share the experience and at the same time meet outstanding people. Although I do not come from a computer science or technical background, I know there are some roles I can contribute to Dell. I believe that a multi-faceted background is intrinsic for an organisation like Dell that continuously focuses on innovation and research in the development of technology."