By UOW Malaysia KDU

Ms. Sumiko Cheng Chun Yi, in the UOW Malaysia KDU Penang School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts (SHTCA), is an accomplished lecturer, having been awarded UOW Malaysia KDU Penang’s Best Lecturer in 2018 and with many other awards under her belt: Microsoft Innovation Educator Expert 2019-2020, MIEE 2020-2021, and the UOW Malaysia KDU Innovation Award 2020, to name just a few. On 1st March 2021, Sumiko bagged yet another award when she was a recipient of the Global Inspiring Women’s Award 2020 in recognition of her achievements in relation to excellence in education.

During the pandemic, educators have been faced with many challenges, from the need to master online teaching instead of physical classes, to ensuring students pay attention to the lectures. It is even more difficult for lecturers who have young kids around the house, who need to juggle their roles as lecturers with child care. Despite all these challenges Ms Sumiko innovated and rose above the lockdown through effectively blending technology with continued engagement with students, recognizing that all students have a different learning approach. She firmly believes that as an educator, it is her responsibility to develop students to live their best lives upon graduation. Central to achieving this is building a trusting relationship with students where they feel confident to take risks in their learning journey. She views it as critical that university academics teach students to face their fears and to never be afraid of failure, to learn from mistakes, and last but not least to transfer their skills and knowledge to others. Meanwhile she also aspires to be an influencer constantly influencing colleagues in a positive way. It has been said “to be an innovator for tomorrow, we transform, we improve, we adapt, and we create.”

Sumiko Cheng Chun Yi, lecturer from UOW Malaysia KDU George Town, Penang Campus winning Global Inspiring Women’s Award 2020

The Global Inspiring Women’s Award 2020 is Inspire Malaysia’s first-ever International Award Ceremony to celebrate inspiring women who impact their world in conjunction with International Women’s Day. The award ceremony co-organizers included Inspire Malaysia, International Women’s Day Organization, Abdul Kalam Organization, and Life Skills Studio.

Inspire Malaysia 1st Global Inspiring Women’s Award with inspiring talks from five successful women

The award ceremony began with the Inspiring Women Forum. Speakers included Dr. Azma Abd Hamid, CEO of Content Capital Sdn Bhd, Nadezhda Ivannova, an MIEE teacher trainer, Gartatik Sukahar, a teacher from Indonesia, and many more. Each speaker shared their success stories in transmitting knowledge to students and their resilience in overcoming the many challenges they faced on their journey. A common thread that each speaker emphasized was the importance of providing a solid education in order for young women to have a better future.

Mr. Rooban Arumugam, CEO of Inspire Malaysia, nominated Sumiko to participate in this competition. And she attributed her win to the mentorship of Ms. Cindy Loh, Head of the Department of the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts (SHTCA), “Ms. Cindy guided and supported us and always encourages us to groom professionally.”

Again, our heartiest congratulations to Sumiko on being a recipient of the Global Inspiring Women’s Award 2021. May she continue to inspire more women to be innovative and creative in teaching the next generation.