Group Photo

Forum panelist

Case Study Competition – Champion team pitching

Case Study Competition – Champion Team and guest

Case Study Competition – First Runner Up Team and guest

Second Runner Up Team and guest

By UOW Malaysia KDU

The computing degree students at UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College were introduced to career opportunities at Jabil Global Business Shared Services (GBS) in tandem with key technological shifts, at a recent virtual UOW – Jabil Bootcamp. The virtual bootcamp, designed to foster industry-academic relationships with the express purpose of preparing talents for a global market, was led by Jabil’s senior leadership in partnership with the computing faculty members.

Opening the two-day session was Professor Dr. Chong Beng Keok, Vice-Chancellor of UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College, who shared the need for students to better understand current industry trends, and how to equip and ready themselves for jobs upon graduation. In particular, with the advent of Industry 4.0, she emphasized the tailored, real-world approach of the computing programs at UOW Malaysia KDU in providing a strong foundation in digital technology, interconnectivity, and the Internet of Things (IoT), business intelligence, and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Through UOW Malaysia KDU’s existing industry partnership with Jabil GBS, students have the opportunity to engage with an international manufacturing services company in initiatives such as industry research and development projects, career talks, bootcamps, and internships.

This year’s bootcamp had several activities and kicked off with a keynote address titled “Next-Gen Workforce in Redefining Manufacturing Services of the Future” by Kim Chin Kuang, Vice President and Segment Chief Financial Officer, Jabil EMS; followed by a sharing session by Patrick Yeoh, Senior Manager IT, Jabil GBS on how technology is driving the shared services sector, paving the way for a more digitalised, agile and resilient manufacturing industry.

Concluding the opening formalities was the forum – “What you want is what I have? Discussion on Computing knowledge gaps for a job-ready market”, moderated by two panelists from Jabil and two academic panelists from UOW Malaysia KDU. During the forum discussion, Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Tan Chin Ike and Dr. Lim Chia Yean delved into the academic landscape’s readiness of GBS career pathway, whereas Patrick, joined by Gary Teh, Human Resources Manager, discussed current hiring needs, critical soft skills and talent gaps in shared services, and opportunities with the growth of highly-skilled jobs as big data, analytics, automation, and customer-centric services become prevalent. Jabil panelists took the opportunity to share the much-talked-about corporate culture, giving students a perspective from one of the biggest multinational product solutions companies in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

The highlight of this bootcamp was the IT business case study competition which saw students working in groups of four to five to formulate an innovative and effective hybrid work model for Jabil GBS IT.

Students discussed the case studies and presented their proposed solution to the Jabil management team on the second day of the bootcamp with the top three winning solutions receiving prizes from Jabil. Commenting on the participants’ engagement in the brainstorming session, the Jabil GBS team was impressed by the technical maturity and innovative thinking of UOW Malaysia KDU computing students.  Beyond a behind-the-scenes understanding of Jabil’s international, 24/7 manufacturing operations, students also learned the art of pitching and presenting to a corporate and technical audience.

In closing the two-day bootcamp, Associate Professor Dr. Yeap Gik Hong, Head of School of Engineering, Computing, and Built Environment underscored the importance of computing knowledge and practical skills required for GBS-related roles as well as the important soft skills to be nurtured as part of one’s professional journey. He hopes that students will be able to better prepare themselves for the future job market as they complete this stage of their education and encourage them to often ask themselves “Is What You Want is What I Have?”

The response, based on the outcome and results for the two-day bootcamp, was a resounding “Yes!”.

About Jabil

Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a manufacturing solutions provider with over 260,000 employees across 100 locations in 30 countries. The world’s leading brands rely on Jabil’s unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise. Driven by a common purpose, Jabil and its people are committed to making a positive impact on their local community and the environment. Visit www.jabil.com to learn more.