Eleven local tech talents have been selected by Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) for its Tegas Tech Immersion Programme (TTIP) 2023: Cohort 1.

They are Nurhaliza Munir (junior community executive for FutureLab), Nurhafeezah Ali (junior front end engineer for Borneo Digital), Prescilia Elsie Honchin (junior business development for Timogah), Siti Nazihah Rahman (junior web analyst for Timogah), Faiqah Jasmi (junior digital marketing for Timogah), A’isyah Basyirah Selbi (junior digital marketing for Blankskript Consultants), Nestren Anthony (junior digital marketing for Satok Bridge Digital), Jordan Salim (junior digital marketing for Satok Bridge Digital), Matt Jefferson Janting (junior web developer for ERMPlanet), Siti Hafizah Suaidi (junior business development for UAS Mapping), and Winnie Francis (junior business development for WAT Academy).

These participants had gone through an EQ test as well as interviews with Tegas, ecosystem partners and programme alumni (startups and social enterprises) during the selection period.

Deputy Natural Resources and Urban Development Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh said during the programme, participants will be in charge of projects such as improving the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of a website, developing digital marketing strategies and campaigns as well as designing and developing new products.

“Participants will also have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves with the startup that they are working with by being in charge of implementing a project within the startup, which in return becomes an added value towards their professional growth as well as portfolio,” he said in a statement issued through Tegas.

Len Talif, who is also Tegas chairman, said the benefits of the programme include a monthly allowance of RM1,500; access to FutureLab online mentoring platform; as well as access to Tegas Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri.

“We would like to thank our strategic partner, Yayasan Peneraju and all Tegas alumni as well as ecosystem partners for supporting this first of its kind residency programme in Sarawak.

“Our best wishes to all the participants for a successful journey ahead in the programme,” he said.

TTIP has been designed to offer local tech talents an end-toend experience, from enhancing their existing skill sets, whilst expanding their mindset and experience through real-world projects, mentorship and training.

The programme provides a tech skilling experience that connects tech talents more readily with new job opportunities.

TTIP seeks to empower unemployed and fresh graduates to jumpstart their career in the digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in line with the Sarawak Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.

Tegas, through its Tegas Digital Village and Digital Innovation Hub, is partnering with Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (Yayasan Peneraju) for the 2023 cohort.

The programme runs from March to August this year in collaboration with Tegas ecosystem partners and programme alumni, namely FutureLab, ERMPlanet, Timogah, Satok Bridge Digital, Borneo Digital, Blanskript Consultants, UAS Mapping and WAT Academy.

They will provide business and technical exposure and mentorship as well as empower participants with technology skills for employability.

TTIP was first introduced as a pilot programme in 2022.

It gained the support from Yayasan Peneraju who became Tegas’ first strategic partner for the programme in 2023, while Yayasan Peneraju is an agency that has been mandated to increase the quality, quantity and relevance of Bumiputera talents in a high-income economy through academic education, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), professional, technology, and specialist certifications funding programmes.

The programme is open to Sarawakian Bumiputeras who are unemployed and fresh graduates with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.50 and above.

Other criteria also require participants to be able to commit throughout the six months and be passionate about digital innovation and entrepreneurship.