YTL Foundation Launches Ilmu Fellowship To Nurture Future Cross-sector Leaders
KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- YTL Foundation has launched the Ilmu Fellowship, a 10-month national leadership programme aimed at nurturing values-driven emerging leaders from the public, private and civil society sectors to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and nation-building.
YTL Foundation programme director Datuk Kathleen Chew said the fellowship was created to address the growing need for principled leaders who can work across sectors amid an increasingly complex and divided global landscape.
“We really need to engage government as well as civil society. The role of this fellowship, what we hope is to bring together all these people from three sectors, can actually grow together, collaborate, and hold each other accountable during their journey as leaders,” she told reporters after the programme’s launch today.
She said the fellowship aims to build long-term relationships among emerging leaders early in their careers, enabling them to understand one another’s perspectives better and work together for the country’s future.
Chew said the programme differs from conventional leadership courses by focusing on developing participants’ inner values and purpose instead of merely equipping them with technical leadership skills.
She said participants would undertake reflective learning through initiatives such as the Good Society readings, which encourage fellows to discuss ideas on leadership and nation-building drawn from historical and contemporary thinkers.
According to YTL, the inaugural cohort will comprise 25 fellows with between five and 15 years of professional leadership experience from government, business and civil society, who will embark on a 10-month leadership journey culminating in a four-day residential programme at the University of Oxford.
Founded by YTL Foundation, the Ilmu Fellowship is delivered in partnership with the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, Acumen Academy, PEMANDU Associates and leadership coach Alvin Ung.
Meanwhile, Chew said YTL Foundation spent about a year developing the fellowship, including working with Oxford University to design a bespoke programme tailored specifically for Malaysia.
“They’re doing a bespoke programme for us; it is not something that you just sign on for. They actually are creating the course just for us,” she said.
She said the foundation intends to run the fellowship annually as a long-term initiative, with the goal of building a growing network of leaders committed to serving the nation.
Chew said YTL Foundation hopes the programme will strengthen trust between sectors by encouraging leaders to see one another as partners rather than adversaries.
“If we can sit on the same side of the table and collaborate and understand the problems that we are each facing, it will actually start a much better and deeper conversation, and you see yourself as allies,” she added.
Applications for the inaugural fellowship, which opened on June 22, will remain open until Aug 14, while the programme will begin on Oct 30.
-- BERNAMA