Business and Education ~ Malaysia-Russia and Russia-Malaysia
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What is Pedagogy? It is the science and art of education. Its aims range from the full development of the human being to skills acquisition. How can Business promote holistic Pedagogy which in the long-term helps Economic Development? I feel that experiential learning or empirical learning is a crucial aspect of learning and being educated. In my previous blog posting I made a call on behalf of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Government of Malaysia for Russia to sent youth to participate at the Malaysian International Youth Exchange Programme as part of the National Youth Celebrations held at Putrajaya Administrative Capital, Government of Malaysia over 3 days – 23 to 25 May 2014, attended by over half a million youth.
We are a private sector company, AOC-Razon Group, but as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility vision, we believe that business has a great responsibility in promoting Education for All and that Education should be a right not a privilege. Thus we were most happy to proceed with assisting in facilitating the participation of Russian Youth in this festival. At Short notice I contacted Ms.Maria Gurova of RIAC to assist with the promotion of this invitation by the Government of Malaysia. She and her colleagues did a very good job. It was an irregular process, the usual diplomatic route was not used, although we contacted and met with Russian Embassy Officials in Kuala Lumpur.
On the 25th I and one of my associates met with the three Students at the Festival Stand of Russia at the Putrajaya Administrative Capital. They were excited and happy, but the most important thing I heard from them is that they have learnt so much about Malaysia - Malaysian society and norms, the economy and values and lifestyle and desires of Malaysians. Experiential Learning was working at its best - a Value-Add (VA) to the pedagogical learning they has acquired through research of Malaysia and her society, economy and lifestyle prior to leaving Russia for Malaysia. One matter they raised was the lack of knowledge about Russia in Malaysia. This us prompted to discuss the how we can work together – in a tri-sector cooperation mode – Private Sector, Civil Society and Government in facilitating better Cooperation and Understanding between the peoples’ of both countries through the Education System of both countries. We decided that the student on return to Russia would consult their University Administrative structures, and I would consult with Government in Malaysia to establish a Private Sector-led and Supported Youth Exchange Programme between Russian and Malaysian Youth in the areas of Renewable Energy, Environmental Protection and Conservation, Enterprise, Arts and Culture and Sport.
We, AOC-Razon, have immediately sought and received unofficial support from the Deputy Minister of Works, Government of Malaysia who is from the state of Sabah East Malaysia. And will communicate with the Chief Minister of Melaka, West Malaysia on his return from the Peoples’ Republic of China for support.
Such a programme can begin in September or October 2014 with the first delegation of Russian Students coming for the 1st Thematic 2 week Youth Exchange Programme focusing on learning, sharing ideas, brain-storming and on new modalities of cooperation in the area of Renewable Energy use.
The Private Sectors in both Countries must be involved – sponsoring such a programme, as should governments and CSOs – Academic sector in this case. This is can be a joint-attempt between Russia and Malaysia to continue to make educational exchanges more relevant and a benefit to all sectors – Private, Public and Civil Society. The Return on Investment (ROI) will be extremely good, forming a new framework and mode for Cooperation between Malaysia and Russia and Russia and Malaysia in the short, medium and long-term. I hope our Russian counter-parts in Business, the Civil Society and Government will welcome and support this new initiative.
