The recently concluded London Global Classroom programme saw a total of 41 excited and bright-eyed students gain valuable experiences from their time in one of the world’s leading global cities.

All 41 students had individual assignments and projects to work on, but they were also divided into four groups to work on the biggest project they had. Each group was as diverse culturally as they were academically. Students from different areas—such as social science, architecture, business, IT and design—at different stages of their studies were asked to work together and contribute their respective expertise in the areas mentioned.

One month of industry visits and lectures, assignments, extensive consultation sessions by appointed mentors and hours of discussions with group members culminated in the final presentation.

Group 1 called themselves the Wings Digital Media Group and assumed the responsibility of turning Cyberjaya into the digital entertainment hub of the ASEAN region. Their strategic plan was nothing but thorough. Guided by expert advisers throughout the process, the students made sure that their strategic plan:

• Complied with government objectives
• Was economically-viable
• Included key recommendations on how to transform Cyberjaya—a key part of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor programme—into ASEAN’s leading digital hub and tourist attraction

Through their proposal, the Wings Digital Media Group showed that they were not afraid to make radical changes. The best example of this would be the renaming of Cyberjaya into Cyber Raya—inspired by the ‘Bunga Raya’, Malaysia’s national flower—to infuse the city with a distinctive national flavour as part of a branding exercise.

They also came up with a new high-tech city design based on the ‘Bunga Raya’ itself. It was clear how these students’ ideas were a direct result of what they picked up throughout a thought-provoking month in London, thanks to meetings with key industry people from visits to places such as the ‘Foster + Partners’ architectural firm that was founded by legendary architect, Norman Foster. That particular visit equipped the students with an understanding of how innovations in technology are transforming cities and urban design.

A couple of more innovative ideas that the group also came up with include a sports academy and a new mode of transportation designed to increase tourist arrivals and revenue to contribute to the city’s gross domestic product.

As an inter-disciplinary group, all members of Wings Digital Media Group covered different aspects leading to the realisation of the overall project outcome. Market research was carried out to support the development of digital media ventures with the potential to shift the economy up the value chain by promoting the growth of local entertainment as content for use in all relevant industries. They certainly took note of the lessons from a research tour of the BBC Television Centre that gave them an exclusive look into the BBC newsroom and studios as well as take part in making their own form of TV in BBC’s interactive studio.

They also made sure that all business, financial and sustainability planning as well as budgetary requirements were tailored to the government’s key goals to provide state-of-the-art facilities and an environment for world-class production of digital media. They also identified a slew of entertainment products in the process and designed promotional materials and a website to showcase their content.

For this group of students, the London Global Classroom programme offered them a chance to participate in a range of eye-opening experiences that helped them to make informed choices when working on their projects. It also taught them to rethink how they do research and consider the role that new technologies might have in their research.