NEWS & UPDATES
207 In Sarawak Energy's Third Year Of Scholarship Programme
KUCHING, 5th AUGUST 2016, FRIDAY: A total of 61 young and bright Sarawakian students at colleges and universities in Malaysia will receive Sarawak Energy scholarships this year while 79 more have been short-listed and are pending approval. This brings the number of students funded by Sarawak Energy to 207.
The 61 new scholars make up the third batch of scholars who will be pursuing higher learning under Sarawak Energy's scholarship fund, which has an annual allocation of RM 8 million.
A special scholars get-together session was held this week at Menara Sarawak Energy to introduce some of the new and current scholars to the management team of Sarawak Energy, with a view to future placements in the organisation. Group CEO, Datuk Torstein Dale Sjotveit and members of the management team in persons met and mingled with the students in a casual atmosphere. The Sarawak Energy management team took time to talk to the students, provided advice, shared experiences and challenges in their respective professions and in working for the state-owned energy development company and utility.
In his welcome speech, Datuk Torstein said, "Sarawak Energy has built a strong talent pool of expertise in the fields of hydro, thermal, transmission, distribution and corporate services. Our employees are now able to handle large projects such as Murum HEP, Balingian coal power plant and we are in the midst of completing the 500kV backbone transmission line project.
"We are also working with the Northern Province of Kalimantan to explore partnership opportunities in power generation projects to exchange technical expertise and at the same time to formulate strategy to improve their power supply infrastructure. These are only some of the important milestones that Sarawak Energy has achieved. We welcome young Sarawakians like you to join us in this interesting journey to make Sarawak a developed state by 2030. Study hard and be top scholars!" he said.
Sarawak Energy introduced the scholarship programme to external candidates in 2014 and has since been providing tertiary education funding for 207 students, pursuing their qualifications in both technical and non-technical fields ranging from finance to various engineering disciplines. Sarawak Energy is a strong supporter of youth development and education, having identified 'Education and Young People' as one of its key focus areas to support community well being.
In addition to this scholarship programme, Sarawak Energy also partners with the Bakun Charitable Trust to provide further education support for Penan communities in the Belaga district, especially those directly affected by the newly completed Murum Hydroelectric Plant. This special education fund worth RM200,000 annually, parked under the Bakun Charitable Trust, will be utilised to support the education needs of this community.
