Watch the video to know more Patrick’s journey as a PFF Scholar and his experience working with Penang’s industry!

https://fb.watch/683cZUCwUC/

Penang Future Foundation (PFF) is a scholarship program awarded by the Penang State Government to Malaysians who are pursuing their undergraduate studies in Malaysia. I am one of the lucky students that have been selected to receive this illustrious scholarship. I am delighted to be given such an opportunity as it will ease my family’s financial burden while I pursue my undergraduate degree in UTM’s Bachelor of Electrical Engineering.

This scholarship means a lot to me as it allows me to have a better focus on my academic and achieving my goal of being financially independent. In addition, all the countless hours and efforts that I have invested to improve myself everyday has made this scholarship even sweeter. On top of that, this scholarship allows me a greater chance to be involved in Penang’s renowned industrial hub. I trust that by receiving this scholarship, it will spur me with the motivation and a sense of higher responsibility to continue achieving greater things in life.

I went through an uphill of challenges growing up and that has shaped me to what I am today. It is my earnest hope that I will be able contribute in developments of products that will benefit the society in their everyday life. It is important to play our part as citizens in accelerating the nation’s development and to improve the standard of living in our country. Personally, I encourage students to apply for this scholarship as I believe there is endless possibilities for us to develop and achieve our personal goals. Patience is always the key to success and good things come to those who wait. I stand by the quote that “There is always a rainbow after the rain falls”, and one should never be afraid in making mistakes or in facing failures as lessons learnt from the mistakes or failures will make us a better person.

I would like to express my gratitude towards the Penang State Government for its Penang Future Foundation (PFF). It has been an honour to receive the scholarship award from PFF that is assisting me financially in my academic pursuit. This is especially meaningful as I am the first person in the family to pursue tertiary education.

The scholarship is important to me in many ways. Coming from a single- parent family with financial difficulties, pursuing studies in private university requires a lot of financial assistance, including loan and tuition fee waiver. However, these measures did not provide sufficient monetary aid to cover the remaining tuition fees as my mother, my pillar of strength has reached her retirement in the private sector with no pension received for her sunset years. Living off savings, PFF scholarship has provided me the opportunity to continue my degree study without financial worries by paying off the remaining tuition fees. Furthermore, the scholarship that comes with living allowance has enabled me to take a step back from part-time jobs and fully concentrate on my studies. Moreover, one of the criteria of the scholarship is to maintain good academic results. Therefore, this has become part of my motivation and has significantly made me realize the importance of maintaining strong academic grades.

I have never stopped myself from continuously pursuing goals to achieve my career path. Even though living in financially harsh environment, I have been managing my time and spirit well to work while studying and have achieved great results. Results aside, PFF encourages scholars to contribute their talents and expertise in Penang. I enthusiastically support this objective as Penang is well-known for its expanding industrial zones and home for multiple international companies.

As one of the selected PFF scholars, I feel honoured and proud of receiving this opportunity. Beside the mentioned financial assistance given by PFF, my experience as a PFF scholar so far has been greatly rewarding. I want to give a special shout-out to the PFF secretariat members who are always ready to assist in any matter relating to the scholarship.

Separately, one of the personal achievements that made me proud is my academic achievement in my final year project. Thanks to implementing new technical knowledge that was not academically taught in my course, my supervisor saw the potential of the project and has proposed for me to participate in the Innovate Malaysia 2021 competition. I am currently participating in the competition in a group formed by the lecturer, allowing me to be more exposed and experienced in competitions relating to my technical field. I am also proud in developing my know-hows as a part-time programmer. As the co- founder of the company’s mobile app and involved in the start-up and maintenance of an application that is currently up in Google Play Store, this episode has provided me with opportunities to learn, grow, and gain experience from the projects.

Working in Penang has always been my first and only choice. As a Penangite myself, I look forward to play my part in contributing my knowledge, technical skills, and labour to make Penang better than it already is. For interested students, grab this opportunity and apply for the PFF scholarship! Your future is Penang’s future.

PFF scholarship has given me immense benefits in all the ways it could present itself. To me, being a PFF scholar is extremely crucial as it mainly helped me to reduce my mother’s burden in providing financial assistance for my education. As a single parent and a mother of three, helping her by attaining this scholarship has reduced our financial worries in so many ways. Growing up, I have always dedicated my time and passion towards education. When I was in high school, I came across the famous saying by Nelson Mandela that states “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. That impactful saying inspired me to pursue education in the means of making a change for the betterment of the world. With that in mind, I focused in giving my best to ensure that I gain the knowledge taught with the utmost respect and understanding towards it.

As I progressed, my beloved teacher introduced this scholarship to me while I was pursuing my undergraduate studies. With my situation and potential in mind, she encouraged me to apply for this scholarship. As applying for scholarships also means that you have to be prepared for the rejections, I gave it a go by reminding myself that trying is always better than being hesitant about it despite the results. To my disbelief, I received a callback for the interview and that day was definitely a turning point in my life. Up till now, my education journey has always included the experience of leading and mentoring which taught me that inspiration given in the form of education to the people around you that needs it, is an extreme blessing. This scholarship has reinforced my purpose in ensuring that my potential and talent are used for the betterment of my state, Penang. Keeping that goal in mind, that I am here to serve a purpose, has made my journey so far thrilling and fun.

Being selected as one of the PFF scholars made me feel extremely blessed and grateful. I always remind myself that this award that is honored to me has to be put to good use by ensuring that my expertise is used to assist my state in strengthening the economy down the road. My experience as a PFF Scholar has been amazing so far as I was able to attend the events organized by Penang Future Foundation such as the Press Conference for the presentation of the PFF Scholarship Award and the webinar titled “Onwards & Upwards: Explore New Careers #1”. Interesting subjects were discussed such as the discovery of new job opportunities and advancements of careers in Penang. Such insights definitely gave a bigger picture on how the industries in Penang work.

Besides this award, I’m proud of being the recipient of “Tokoh Murid” award in primary school, representing Malaysia in the Youth Environment Forum held in Singapore, being a two time gold award winner in the Malaysian Young Inventors Olympiad, receiving the Pride of School award for the achievements gained in the field of music, business and innovation that was organized at international, national and state levels, emerging as champion in a videography competition organized by the Federal Government of Austria, and also recently championing the Avant Garde Competition organized by my university. I’m also currently chosen as Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador that aims to network and connect with a global community including students and Microsoft employees around the world to gain experience working with the team to equip us with leadership skills and share knowledge and expertise with the community around us.

My intention right after completing my studies is to return to Penang to work in one of the prominent industries that aims to maximize the potential of data that will identify new opportunities to increase profit which will create a more efficient environment in return. I aspire to use my knowledge in Data Analytics to help the society solve some of the most crucial issues that could help to fulfill the goals for sustainable development. My advice to all the aspiring students who could possibly be future scholars of PFF is to never hesitate to apply and stay positive throughout the journey! As Jonas Salk once said, “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” Grab this chance to work towards a better future!

Receiving the Penang Future Foundation (PFF) scholarship was an unexpected oasis in my family’s desert of financial difficulties. Given that my mother is no longer able to work due to health issues, my father became our family’s sole breadwinner. With three daughters studying in universities, the fees alone would take a huge chunk of his income. As a daughter, I am exceptionally thankful that being awarded the PFF scholarship would mean alleviating my father’s financial burden. As a university student, the PFF scholarship inspires me to give my very best in achieving scholastic excellence. The day I received the e-mail notifying that I was successfully chosen as one of the PFF scholars will always be remembered with gratitude.

I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Game Design. The course requires students to be equipped with top-of the-range laptops as we will heavily utilize software for editing and designing projects. This unfortunately translates into additional expenditures, which I could not afford on my father’s income alone.  I had tried to use my old laptop but it was simply impossible to support the software that my lecturer requires us to install. My laptop worked its hardest but it was honestly not a match for the heavy projects that I had to execute.  I found myself having to redo the projects again and again as the laptop would just automatically shut down before I could press the ‘Save’ button. Thankfully, the monthly allowance I receive as a PFF scholar came in handy for purchase of a new laptop as well as settling my university dormitory rent! No longer beset by earlier frustrations, I  can now freely illustrate my design ideas with a peace of mind.

Apart from academic pursuit, I am also active in sports. My favourite sport is Taekwondo, which I joined since  primary school days and participated in many tournaments. I was even selected to participate in the 2014 SUKMA which was held in Perlis. Continuing my involvement in Taekwondo, I joined the Sultan Idris Educational University’s Taekwondo team and represented my university in tournaments. I take immense pride in being both a PFF scholar and a Taekwondo athlete at the same time, proving that you can study and play hard!

As a PFF scholar, it is a requirement that we fulfil a service bond upon the completion of our studies by working in Penang. I don’t find this daunting as Penang has always been at the forefront in being a melting-pot of talents. By being a Penangite myself, I am constantly exposed to Penang’s campaigns, including “My Penang, My Workplace”. Apart from me contributing towards my beloved state, Penang punches well above her weight with the presence of many multi-national companies on both island and mainland. I am confident that I do not need to leave Penang’s shores for a better future, as a world of opportunities is right here at my feet.

My future career plan is to be a mobile game developer. With a passion for designing and developing mobile games, I hope to explore innovative and groundbreaking ideas in the world of game development. Although I have a few more years before I complete my studies, I keep myself abreast with updates of prospective Penang-based employer companies. One of these companies  focuses on constructing, developing, and marketing their dream mobile gaming app. Their mission reads “We work towards bringing mobile game enthusiasts closer to the  gaming world as we are well engraved in the heart of the community”, resonating well with the love I have for designing and developing mobile games.

For those who would like to apply for this scholarship, my advice is to go for it!  Financial assistance aside, being a PFF scholar pushes you to go beyond what you think is your limits. Students are required to maintain semester results above the given threshold, which is no mean feat. This challenge necessarily means that scholars will have to work hard, but the fruits of success is ours to enjoy. All the best!

Life & career opportunities in Penang!