Although Felda students Syarmila Mohd Yunos, 19, and Hafizul Hakim Zakaria, 18, are glad to be back home after spending a full semester in London, they can’t deny that the experience was tremendously fulfilling.

“The trip to London has definitely opened my eyes. I was exposed to a different and exciting kind of architecture which broadened my mind scope,” said Syarmila, an interior design student.

Hafizul found London to be refreshing. “The people and environment in London are different. They are very well-read and willing to help us out,” he said.

The two students were from a group of 19 who studied under Limkokwing University of Creative Technology’s Generasi Baru programme, which is designed to empower Bumiputera students with skills to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban youths.

The trip was made possible through the university’s specially created scholarship fund worth RM10 million.

So far, some 1,300 students have trained under the programme. They are set to be part of a new generation of knowledge workers who would assist the Federal Land Development Authority in eradicating poverty and transforming the rural economic landscape.

“In the past, such students were ‘trapped’ in vocational and polytechnic training institutions and few learned English. Now, we have a new generation of students doing skill-based LAN approved programmes to show for,” said the university’s president Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing.

“It’s a ground-breaking effort to transform the mindset of Bumiputera students and help them compete in the real world. It is designed for rural students but we hope to deliver it across the country.”