“I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand” – a famous quote by Confucius who advocated learning by doing and it remains the axiom that has withstood the test of time.
At Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (“TAR UC”), learning by doing has been one of the teaching approaches to enable students to learn effectively and it is deployed in the form of coursework assignments. This includes doing presentations, campaigns, events or projects and is often conducted within the classroom or campus community.
Each programme curriculum is designed to equip students with knowledge, skills, competencies and experiences beyond education. Besides helping students learn and understand the fundamentals, students are given the exposure and opportunity to work with industry professionals and experts in their field of study. These are often executed through real-world coursework assignments. Two examples of such assignments are the month-long digital campaigns titled Influencing Businesses: Fashion and Nuke-Clear: Youth Against Nuke. Both these campaigns were organised by the students from the Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries (‘FCCI’). This may be a common and easy way. However, a well-structured and well-planned assignment can also help students build their portfolios and resumes as well as provide them with valuable experience which will give them the competitive advantage in their careers.
The online campaign of Influencing Businesses: Fashion is a coursework assignment by the students of the Diploma in Advertising who collaborated with TAR UC’s industry partner and full-service influencer marketing agency, KOLs.Asia. The virtual campaign consisted of a series of online initiatives to create awareness among businesses in the fashion industry on how a form of social media marketing called ‘Influencer Marketing’ can help promote and grow fashion businesses. This form of marketing includes endorsements and product placements by influencers who have immense social influence. The campaign initiatives included a showcase of successful case studies of brands using influencer marketing, content creation for social media, contests and giveaways as well as hosting online talk sessions.
Chong Wing Tung who was the team leader shared what he had learnt in completing this assignment. “The experience working on this campaign was invaluable as I learnt so much about advertising and digital marketing from industry experts, especially on their and the client’s expectations. In addition, having hands-on experience in organising and managing various tasks related to the campaign such as hosting an online talk show, organising virtual contests and giveaways as well as planning and producing social media content are valuable skills which will be a good foundation for our career,” he explained.
He also shared about the various challenges the team faced and the important lessons from these challenges. “My team and I had to deal with a real client from the industry and it was challenging to meet their level of expectations. In addition, the other challenges were sourcing for sponsorships and having to redesign our artworks several times to meet the client’s requirements. These challenges have taught us how to communicate effectively with clients and sponsors. We have learnt the importance of understanding clients’ requirements and expectations thoroughly as well as clearly communicating and convincing sponsors of the value of our campaign. It was very demanding but at the end of it, my teammates and I have learnt the value of perseverance and good teamwork. In addition, it is very fulfilling to receive good feedback from the CEO of KOLs.Asia acknowledged the good effort we had put into the campaign and his satisfaction with the work and outcome we produced for the campaign,” Wing Tung shared.
Nuke-Clear: Youth Against Nuke is another well-organised campaign by TAR UC students which garnered encouraging response and support from local as well as international audiences. Organised by Bachelor of Public Relations (Hons) students, the campaign was a huge success comprising various activities such as drawing competition, talks, performances, a virtual 3D art exhibition and public speaking contest. In addition, the campaign garnered the support of respected organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peace Boat and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum from Japan as well as Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) and it’s initiative “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” or Rakan TPNW as well as Tarinao.
Wong Sze Teng who led the public relations and marketing team of the campaign shared some of the valuable experiences she gained from this campaign. “Although our campaign is about anti-nuclear which is a topic not directly related to Malaysia, we still feel that it is important to create awareness about nuclear bombing and its devastating effects. But this was a challenge to us as we were concerned that our campaign would not get much attention. However, we asked ourselves why we had to restrain ourselves geographically when we were organising a virtual social awareness campaign? So, we decided to expand the reach of this campaign to include the international audience and it was a huge success. Our media relations team was very dedicated in carrying out their tasks and their hard work paid off with having the ICRC and Peace Boat from Japan be part of our campaign. With their involvement, the campaign caught the attention of Malaysians and international audiences from the United Kingdom and Japan. On top of that, the sharing of a survivor of the nuclear bombing increased the impact we sought to achieve for this campaign,” she said.
Jessmyn Yong who was the Student-Director of the campaign elaborated how the experience she gained would be helpful in her future career and life. “Taking the lead in this campaign has not only given me and my course mates the opportunity to use our knowledge and skills to organise a project but the many interactions with various stakeholders and coordination with various individuals have strengthened my communication and interpersonal skills as well as trained me to be professional in my interactions. I learnt the importance of mutual respect and understanding to ensure the campaign ran smoothly and the expectations of all our supporters and partners were met. The experience has also strengthened my adaptability toward unpredictable changes which are common at work and also life. This is important as being flexible allows us to process the problems at hand and work towards seeking effective solutions,” she explained.
To find out more about the TAR UC’s programmes in communication and creative industries, please visit www.tarc.edu.my/fcci.
TAR UC’s 2022 intakes are now in progress! Prospective students can submit their applications online at www.tarc.edu.my. Attractive scholarships are also available at TAR UC on the basis of academic merit and sibling discount for qualified students.
