“LIFE-CHANGING” is how Sina Amini described his experience at the Maybank GO Ahead. Challenge (MGAC) 2019.
The Monash University Malaysia student, who hails from Iran, was crowned the global champion of MGAC after an intense 10-day competition.
Now into its eighth year, MGAC is an innovative recruitment platform to spot, build and nurture global talents among higher-learning students and fresh graduates.
After three selection stages, 60 participants in the final were not only tested on their business acumen, but also had to literally put their survival skills to the test by spending time in nature.
The finalists were greatly tested on their endurance to discover their true potential.
Themed “Challenge of Choice” this year, MGAC saw the finalists demonstrate their abilities to make decisions, from choosing their teammates to the challenges they accept, which added a greater depth to the competition.
“I’ve become a well-rounded person throughout the competition,” said Sina.
“MGAC has definitely taught me a lot at every level, from campus to the global finals. The experience and steep learning curve that I’ve been through in the past 10 days were incredible and an eye-opener.
“Throughout the final, we barely had any sleep. I didn’t think that my body or my mind could take this, but we were all functioning fine. We were presented with many tasks and I learned how to develop resilience to keep moving forward,” said the second-year business analytics student.
As the global champion, Sina was awarded an opportunity to pursue a two-week internship at any Maybank office around the world.
He decided to do his internship at a Maybank branch in Malaysia, which he believed was best for his personal growth.
“I owe it to Malaysia because it is the first country that I ever been to after leaving Iran. Malaysia has always been the country that I will come back to as it has helped me to grow so much in the past years.
“I’m excited to continue learning and ready to start my journey with Maybank Malaysia,” he said.
Meanwhile, team Transformers, comprising finalists from Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand, emerged as the global champion in the team category. Its leader, Lee Dai Wei, said although the members were off to a rocky start, they managed to ace every task.
“There was a lot of simulations, where we were a part of a company with our own job titles. During the simulations, we had to answer to the board of directors and different stakeholders to complete the task. This kind of activity really gave us a taste of what’s it like to be in a corporate world.
“Throughout the challenges, I think it’s important to be resilient when you are not in control. Often, you won’t know what is going to happen.”
Lee, who is a first-year student studying mathematics at Imperial College London, said his team members came from various backgrounds.
“Despite our differences, everyone was willing to help each other. We were able to come together and work as teammates for a single goal.
“For me, personally, everything that we did about business and finance were foreign to me as I am studying mathematics. Later on, I realised that it was a great opportunity to learn something new.”
Another team member, Byron Kweh Tze Min, who is studying computer science and software engineering at Inti International University, said the challenges became tougher as they progressed to the next level.
“It is amazing because in school, we learned that we have to start working for somebody at a low-level position. But what we learn here is how to get promoted and to do more in a business setting.
“The experience is a reflection of what we will be doing later on in the future. People from the industry gave us some valuable insight, too.”
The winning team walked away with an all-expense paid trip to attend the Future Festival Chicago in the United States — a conference that gathers top innovators to showcase future trends.
Disruptive ideas have been conceived in its award-winning innovation workshops, some of which had helped the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency to produce a prototype for its Mars mission.
Inti International University, with almost 2,000 of its students participating, was announced as the winner for The Best MGAC 2019 University Award.
The competition provides an invaluable opportunity for the finalists to learn how to manage a full business cycle in various industries, such as airlines, automotive, robotics, food and beverage, and artificial intelligence.
On the fourth day of the competition, the finalists made a trip to the Jungle School Gombak in Selangor to experience the Orang Asli life.
Each team was assigned an Orang Asli mentor to teach them how to start a fire, forage for food and catch fish for their dinner.
The ultimate reward is a conditional offer to join Maybank’s entry-level pipeline — the Global Maybank Apprentice Programme (GMAP) — after they graduate.
The two-year rotational management trainee programme offers in-class development, on-the-job training and assigned coaching by Maybank’s senior management. Trainees will get the opportunity to undergo assignments at any Maybank offices in 18 countries.