The BAC Education Group has spent the past year revolutionizing its education ecosystem to ensure students from all over are able to continue their tertiary studies, with minimal pandemic-related disruptions.
And their efforts have paid off!
The Group recently won the Online Services – Education award at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2021! This achievement is incredibly exciting and truly well-deserved.
Their education initiatives comprised a major portion of their award submissions. The Group expressed its firm belief that education is a fundamental human right and that no student should be left behind. Which is why, when the pandemic first hit, they immediately focused their resources on ensuring the shift to online studying was seamless.
BAC Education has always put their students’ welfare first in any situation, ensuring they receive quality education and are able to achieve their dreams. As a BAC student myself, I recognise how fortunate I am – to have unlimited access to books and resources, to have had the constant support of my lecturers and to have been nurtured to my utmost potential. My BAC experience has been nothing short of spectacular and I’m now future ready.
To give you an insight into the life of a student at BAC Education, here are a few initiatives the Group has incorporated in their mission to transform lives through education (even during a global pandemic!)
Global Faculty
Studying at BAC entails unhindered access to a global faculty. The Group has partnered with 26 universities in the UK and Australia. Through these partnerships, we can choose to either spend a year or two abroad or stay in Malaysia, but still have the opportunity to learn from international academicians and experts.
If you choose to remain in Malaysia, you still receive a world-class education. Guest lecturers frequently teach classes, examinations are marked by experts and academicians in the UK, and you can join international competitions, like moot or debate, allowing your network to grow globally.
International academicians, lecturers and experts have continued to conduct classes for BAC students throughout the pandemic.
This unfettered access to a global faculty is truly one of the best aspects about studying with the BAC Education Group.
Spending a year or two abroad is of course a magical experience, giving you the chance to explore yourself, learn independence and study from leading academicians. However, this does not mean that the Group stops supporting you. I remember when I spent my final year at Queen’s University, Belfast and the pandemic hit. Lecturers and coordinators at BAC immediately reached out to see if I was faring well or if I needed help getting home. The feeling of support was incomparable at a time like that.
Hybrid Campus
This ingenious creation came about after the pandemic hit and operations had to move online. The Group had to seamlessly switch from face-to-face classes on campus to online classes, without causing massive disruptions to the learning process. With Hybrid Campus, this was easily achieved.
In this new normal, BAC’s hybrid campus has enabled us to access lectures, tutorials, resources, student engagement activities and so on, all from the comforts of our home. Although we miss our physical facilities, the hybrid campus makes it feel like we can still have some semblance of a campus life.
Mooting and several other competitions were held virtually, with hundreds of students who were eager to participate.
In fact, with the introduction of the hybrid campus and the utilisation of BAC Learn’s state-of-the-art Learning Management System, our education experience has been enhanced. Now, if you need to go back to a lesson, you can access the recordings and rewatch lectures! Combined with the numerous books, journals and resources available via ABACUS, the BAC Education experience has become truly incomparable.
Throughout the pandemic, BAC Education hosted multiple webinars/lecture series to ensure students still had access to important information.
Fun was also on the agenda of BAC Education’s seamless switch to virtual platforms! Students were beyond enthusiastic about activities such as this FIFA20 Knockout Series.
Coursera and Global Tech Giants
When I attended the CLP induction sessions after spending a year abroad, I was wide-eyed when BAC Education Chairman Raja Singham introduced the many new aspects BAC Education had incorporated for our benefit. I was especially excited about the unlimited access to Coursera and other global tech giants.
Through Coursera for Campus, we can now earn micro-credentials from the world’s best universities, such as Yale University, Duke University, John Hopkins University and many more. So, in the midst of completing our Degree or Master’s, we can add to our bank of knowledge and earn additional credentials to furnish our CVs.
In addition to Coursera, The Group has also partnered with other global tech giants such as Amazon, LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft. Students can also get certifications from these major companies. To top it off, they can learn from some of the world’s foremost experts and thought leaders, such as Professor Anil Gupta and Guy Kawasaki, thanks to over 17,000 video courses on LinkedIn Learning.
Raja, constantly reminds us that our degrees by themselves are no longer sufficient. We need to diversify our skills and prove to prospective employers that we’re capable of contributing in more ways than one. And to follow through on his advice, Raja has ensured that these additional micro-credentials are accessible to all students, at no extra cost.
Learn Different
Arguably one of the most unique and interesting aspects introduced by the BAC Education Group, Learn Different is the ultimate next gen holistic education experience designed to prepare students for the challenges of tomorrow. It is made up of 4 pillars – Learn, Work, Play and Impact. Each pillar has been meticulously curated to guarantee that we become the best version of ourselves and own our futures.
BAC Education realised that the learning aspect alone is insufficient to create future-ready graduates, who are prepared to take on the world’s many challenges. With Learn, we obtain quality education through the many resources provided by the Group (as mentioned above). And they also work to ensure that BAC alumni continue to learn and grow.
Then comes Play – this is where we can let our hair down and have some fun. With over 200 clubs and societies, student hubs and activities, BAC Education goes above and beyond to ensure we make friends for life and experience the wonders of youth.
Who says Halloween can’t be celebrated virtually? The Group made sure to organise a stream of virtual engagement activities and events for their students.
The Group doesn’t just leave us on our own when it comes to careers. Through Work, specialised job portals, apprenticeship programmes and upskilling classes have been created to ensure that we are able to find suitable jobs and work experience during our time at BAC or after we graduate.
GiveBACk has organised various fundraisers over the past year, catering to marginalised communities
Finally, we have Impact. This is probably my personal favourite of the four Learn Different pillars. Raja Singham has always encouraged us to participate in community and social outreach activities. To make it easier for us, the Group has three major platforms (the Make It Right Movement, GiveBACk.my, GoodNews) that enables us to become active members of our community.
Food distribution is a major part of GiveBACk’s fundraising activities, especially now with so many communities going hungry due to the lockdown.
Although BAC Education has won numerous awards, such as the MTEA, thanks to their unyielding dedication to transforming lives through education, they are nowhere close to being done. This is easily seen through their unrelenting efforts above and how they revolutionised their ecosystem over the past year to adapt to the new normal.
New initiatives and aspects are constantly being introduced to create a holistic, accessible education experience, so no one gets left behind. If you want to be a part of the BAC Education family on your path to getting future-ready, visit Career Advisor or bac.edu.my to start your journey!
Click here to watch the Singapore Business Review’s interview with Raja Singham on the Awards.
