Back row, from left: Lee, Lim, Koh; Front row, from left: Lim Swea Jen, Dr Choo
UTAR graduates Koh Fang Han, Lim Kai Huei and Lee Jia Jun were among the selected 18 out of 84 graduates interviewed for employment with Huawei United Arab Emirates (UAE). The three fresh graduates are the first batch to commence work in Dubai and are probably the highest paid UTAR fresh graduates with a monthly salary of Emirati Dirham (AED) 12,000 per month (equivalent to about RM 12,262) with Huawei UAE. They will commence work on 1 July 2015 at the Huawei UAE office in Dubai.
“I’m really excited. This is an opportunity for me to look forward to a change in my life in a foreign country and in a completely different environment. I look forward to the experience and I am very thankful to be given this opportunity which I think is a rare opportunity for a fresh graduate. Through UTAR, I was given this opportunity. I am happy to say that UTAR really is my choice,” said Kai Huei, a petrol-chemical engineering graduate.
Meanwhile, Fang Han felt that the job was a good career opportunity. “I think this is huge potential growth for me, and I view the risks I’m taking as a long-term investment in my future. The career prospects look good with a fair chance for promotion. The web-based learning system in the company will make it easier for me to learn more about the operations and our supervisor will be our mentor so we won’t feel so lost,” he said. “There were three rounds of interviews; the first two being the most important because it was a test of our command of the Mandarin language, our communication skills, problem solving skills and our personality,” added Fang Han, a civil engineering graduate.
Jia Jun, a graduate in IT Communication and Networking, said that, “Huawei is a reputable IT company and my family encouraged me to take on this offer for a chance to explore working overseas to gain the experience and exposure for my future career. I would like to add that I have no regrets studying at UTAR and now being given this wonderful opportunity. I must say that the lecturers in the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology are really knowledgeable and experienced. We are constantly kept informed of the latest in the industry and the lecturers share so much knowledge with us. I feel the quality of education is high and I am glad I chose UTAR.”
Huawei UAE approached UTAR through Dr Choo Peng Yin, Deputy Dean (Student Development and Industrial Training) of the UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) after Huawei UAE did some background search and consulted an internal senior engineer who cited UTAR as the top choice.
“I was really surprised at Huawei’s offer to UTAR students. I thought it was too good to be true so just to confirm, I made a few phone calls and did some checking. The next thing I knew was that a team from the Huawei Human Resource Department flew in from Dubai for the recruitment interviews. So, I quickly helped to arrange for interviews at both UTAR Perak Campus and the Kuala Lumpur Campus. Altogether about 84 students from the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Business and Finance, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology and the Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science attended the 3-stage detailed interviews,” said Dr Choo.
Dr Choo learned later that Huawei was very impressed with UTAR graduates who can communicate in both Mandarin and English proficiently and confidently. Throughout the interview sessions, the students were assigned various tasks including a debate and open discussion session among the interviewees.
The other selected graduates from UTAR will be heading to Huawei offices in Kuwait and Bahrain later on in batches.
Huawei UAE is part of Huawei Technologies Company Limited, a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It was founded in 1987 and has offices in 140 countries around the world.
