KUCHING – 15 talented tertiary-level students from Sarawak were selected from over 3,000 applicants to receive the coveted Shell Malaysia scholarships. These students were the first tranche of scholarship recipients for the 2015 cycle, pursuing undergraduate programmes in various disciples. Seven awards were for students in local universities while another eight were for students pursuing their education overseas.

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Hj. Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, Sarawak State Secretary gave out the scholarships, accompanied by Chok Chee Tsong, Sarawak Shell Berhad general manager represented the company.

Speaking about the scholarships, Chok stated that the scholarship awards were Shell’s biggest social investment as part of the company’s commitment to develop Malaysian talent. Elaborating further about Shell’s complementary role in the nation’s capacity building agenda, he said, “We recognise that as Malaysia advances towards becoming a high income economy, it will need a larger pool of professionals who are highly qualified and able to make the country more competitive.”

In the last 40 years, Shell has invested over RM400 million to promote educational excellence through scholarships and bursaries to outstanding young Malaysian students. According to Chok, Shell Malaysia chooses its scholars based on a combination of academic ability and other life-skill capability, such as leadership, achievement and relationship.

Besides this scholarship programme, Shell also invests in other human capacity development initiatives. In support of the government’s vision on technical and vocational education, Shell has invested over RM4 million in improving the skills of 800 welders in Sarawak over the past 26 years through its ProjekLINK programme. The programme, a collaboration with local vocational colleges addresses the need for highly-skilled welders in Malaysia.

Shell’s other collaborative programmes with local institutions include a memorandum of understanding (“MoU”) recently formalized with Yayasan Sarawak as well as a partnership with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (“UNIMAS”). Through the MoU, Shell would provide internship and employment opportunities to eligible Yayasan Sarawak scholars to help prepare them for success in their careers. Working closely with UNIMAS, Shell helps improve Malaysian graduate employability by engaging undergraduates to develop a better understanding of the oil and gas industry.

Shell also collaborates with Talent Corporation Malaysia to attract highly qualified and expert professionals who are currently working overseas to return home and help elevate the oil and gas industry in Malaysia.

For further Media Enquiries, please contact:

Zulkifli Baba Noor

Upstream External Relations, Shell Malaysia

Zulkifli.BabaNoor@shell.com

About Shell

Shell is a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology and is working to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, infrastructure, and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment. Malaysia is one of Shell’s heartlands. The history of Royal Dutch Shell in Malaysia started more than 120 years in Miri, Sarawak. Shell currently has a strong market presence in the upstream and downstream sector in Malaysia.