English language teacher Dr Sirhajwan Idek (pic) from Keningau Vocational College (KVC), Sabah, has won the British Council ELTons Innovation Awards 2024 for English language teaching.
He is the first Malaysian to receive the prestigious annual global award for innovation in English language teaching, learning and assessment.
His project, Virtual, Remote, Live (VRL), won in the Local Innovation category, which recognises initiatives created to address specific local needs of learners and teachers.
Sirhajwan, who has a string of accolades to his name, including the Youth Achievement Record from the Asean Future Generation Business Forum last year and the National Charismatic Youth Icon in 2022, expressed his delight at his project being selected as this year’s winner.
“It is a testament to the positive impact VRL has made on the education world,” he said.
Attributing his achievement to his mother, Bintek Abdul Rahman, a former teacher, Sirhajwan said she has always guided him in the right direction, no matter the circumstances.
The win was announced on the ELTons Innovation Festival website on Nov 20.
Four projects were shortlisted as finalists in the Local Innovation category.
VRL, which triumphed over initiatives from Malawi, Somalia and Benin, is an internationalisation project conducted through online sessions.
Sirhajwan’s winning project enables students and teachers to interact with their counterparts from other countries through various online activities, such as masterclasses, conference presentations, cultural exchange classes and virtual chats.
The project has benefited over 2,000 students and teachers from Malaysia and other countries.
The online sessions provide an easily accessible platform for participants to learn about various topics and present their work in English.
Many students have since gone on to apply the knowledge gained from the programme to expand the impact of their own projects.
KVC director Nordin Akup congratulated Sirhajwan for his dedication to exploring opportunities that encourage students to develop their English language skills and general knowledge.
