Eager to share: (from left) Dr Sharifah Zureena, Chen and Roshan.
MyHeart initiative a gateway for professionals to share their skills and knowledge.
FOR many members of the Malaysian diaspora in the United Kingdom, gaining valuable knowledge and skills is a priority before eventually returning to Malaysia.
Consultant obstetrics and gynaecology specialist Dr Sharifah Zureena Syed Abdul Jalil, who has been residing in the UK for almost 30 years, is one of them.
With a specific interest in urogynaecology, she aims to gather as much knowledge as possible in the UK before making her return.
She hopes to continue practising in Malaysia and also plans to enter the academic field to help train Malaysian doctors.
“One of the challenges I fear when I go back is that I might not be able to practise the skills I’ve learned here. I think public education is important.
“I may want to work with university hospitals as well to train more people in the specialty and educate our doctors so that we have specialists in the country rather than having to look abroad for trainers,” said Dr Sharifah Zureena who is based at Hinchingbrooke Hospital Huntingdon.
She was among 300 Malaysians who attended the recent Malaysia at Heart (MyHeart) Salam Dari Malaysia outreach programme organised by TalentCorp Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp), an agency under the Human Resources Ministry.
She described the programme as a great platform for people like herself to reconnect not only with the Malaysian diaspora in the UK but also with professionals back home.
“The programme was good because of the engagement with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) which can help provide guidance to medical practitioners like myself.
“With TalentCorp stepping in, it will open bigger doors to understanding how the government wants people to return home. Some people feel lost when planning to go back and need extra guidance,” she added.
Similarly, mental health practitioner Joanne Chen, who is based in Watford, found the event insightful.
She was glad that, beyond encouraging people to return, TalentCorp has also shifted its narrative to supporting the growth of Malaysians overseas.
“It is a splendid idea to ask how we can contribute back to the country using our expertise and experience,” said Chen, who has been in the UK for about six years.
Tech entrepreneur Roshan Tamil Selvan said that while the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape in Malaysia was booming, it still lacked a talent pool to further boost the industry.
“After my studies in the UK and United States, I returned to Malaysia to set up a company but it was not sustainable due to the skills gap.
“So I returned to the UK and started again. I believe I have the knowledge and want to help Malaysians back home; it’s just a matter of finding the right channel,” said the co-founder and chief technology officer of AdvisoryAI.
Roshan attended the event organised by TalentCorp for the first time and was hopeful that the agency could become the right channel for building connections and helping Malaysians despite being abroad.
“I want to help Malaysians contribute back and become thinkers. I didn’t know the right channel to bring the skills home. But with TalentCorp here, I believe they can help,” he added.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, who graced the event last Saturday, introduced MyHeart Innovate, a three-month programme for Malaysians abroad aspiring to establish sustainable and scalable startups in Malaysia.
A collaboration with Cradle and BEYOND4, the initiative aims to offer a structured pathway for aspiring startup entrepreneurs to acquire entrepreneurial skills, deepen market insights and gain access to seasoned mentors, industry experts and potential funding.
“Our aim is to facilitate Malaysians’ potential contributions and provide opportunities for them to serve the country, regardless of their decision to return to Malay_sia or stay abroad,” Sim said.
Malaysians overseas can apply to join TalentCorp MyHeart Innovate, while those at home can apply for its sister programme, the TalentCorp MyNext Innovate.
Sim said the event will not merely be a “makan-makan” programme as he was determined to gather feedback from Malaysians abroad on how the government could help.
“We want this programme to be very practical and it’s not just about being a talk shop. I think there is value in the networking and facilitation.
“There is value in us speaking to them to get feedback and using this as an input to policy-making,” he added.
Also present at the event here were Malaysian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Datuk Zakri Jaafar, TalentCorp’s newly-appointed chairman Wong Shu Qi, board member Raja Hamzah Abidin Raja Nong Chik and group chief strategy officer Nazrul Aziz.
To learn more about the initiative, visit myheart.my.
