Deloitte-Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) empowering students to drive and accelerate University Social Responsibility projects

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 September 2020 — Deloitte Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) on 17 September 2020, to collaborate on various student development initiatives. A key component of this collaboration will be the Deloitte-UTP Kickstarter programme.

The Deloitte-UTP Kickstarter is a mentorship programme aimed to guide and accelerate student-led corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. The programme matches Deloitte consultants to a UTP student in a mentor-mentee relationship, with the hope to enable students to become successful social entrepreneurs.

Open to selected students, the project will lift-off with a Virtual Kickstarter, which will look into equipping students with the know-how in executing a social enterprise. It will comprise of a 2-day online course where consultants provide advice and coaching to students, as they embark on their projects.

According to Kavita Rekhraj, Deloitte Malaysia Consulting Leader and Deloitte SEA Consulting Executive Director, it was a natural fit to formalise this partnership as Deloitte has had a long relationship with UTP as a strategic transformation partner. There were also clear synergies between UTP’s University Social Responsibility programme and Deloitte’s WorldClass programme, a global firmwide initiative with an ambitious plan to empower 50 million futures by 2030. Deloitte WorldClass supports three pillars – Education, skills development, and access to opportunity that contributes to quality education and decent work and economic growth.

“It is heartening to see the passion from UTP students in wanting to serve their communities. In particular, during these challenging times, their projects truly embody the “Malaysia Prihatin” spirit.  Deloitte is proud to provide support to contribute our skills, knowledge, and business acumen to help students make an impact that matters in our communities,” added Azhar Hussin, Deloitte Consulting SEA Executive Director who is the Program Lead.

Under the ‘new normal’, more than 20 Deloitte consultants specialised in different areas of technology and business consulting, will be interacting live with the 40 UTP students online, where Deloitte consultants and UTP students will be dialing in from different parts of Malaysia.

“This MoU is another prime example of UTP's profound career connected learning and industry collaboration. From the work we do, we foster long-term relationships with our global social-impact partners to prepare our students, people and researchers as global citizens,” said Prof Mohamed Ibrahim, Vice Chancellor for UTP.

According to him, the university continuously looks for ways to provide a transformative educational experience for its students.  One of the ways is through the University Social Responsibility (USR).

“We place great importance on our USR thus we embed it in the university’s overall vision and mission.  It demonstrates the significance of our students being part of a community. This helps enrich our academic activities and gives impact on the economic, cultural, social and environmental development of the community. We emphasise on long-term and sustainable change in the lives of our target communities.

“Through our partnership with Deloitte, specifically the Deloitte-UTP Kickstarter, it will further guarantee that our graduates are well-rounded equipped with critical thinking, entrepreneurship, business acumen as well as communication and social skills.

The MoU was signed by Kavita Rekhraj, Deloitte Malaysia Consulting Leader and Deloitte SEA Consulting Executive Director; and Prof Ts. Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib, Vice Chancellor for UTP. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Azhar Hussin, Deloitte Consulting SEA Executive Director, and Prof Dr Nor Hisham Hamid, Deputy Vice Chancellor Student Affairs at UTP.

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