BAC Student Goes
Above and Beyond

by Shenoj Kuruvilla

The BAC Education Group strongly believes in continuous learning to improve one's self. The 'Learn Different' philosophy is a revolutionary idea that transforms the way education is delivered at the different colleges under the BAC Education Group. Introduced during the pandemic, Learn Different is built on four pillars - Learn, Work, Play & Impact.

One of the main pillars - Learn, revolutionises the academic and learning aspects of a student's experience. To help students build awesome competencies, the Group has partnered with several online learning organisations such as LinkedIn Learning, Coursera and Skillshare, all of which offer expert-led courses ranging from development in professional, transferable and soft skills. 

One student, who truly seized the opportunity to learn and grow was Shiva Shanker A/L Ragula.

Shiva, a student of BAC Singapore, is currently pursuing his 2nd year of the Advanced Diploma in Law. In the midst of his studies, he made a tremendous achievement. Shiva was accepted into the Malaysia Book of Records: ‘Most Number of Online Learning Certificates Obtained by an Individual.’

Though his application notes his benchmark at 224 certificates, Shiva explained that his own self record is nearing 300 because he even spent some time learning things from other sites like YouTube. 

When asked about what motivated him to start learning, Shiva mentioned 'curiousity'. He wanted to focus on building skills in four areas in particular: communication, business, entrepreneurship and digital marketing.

When the opportunity presented itself, with BAC introducing LinkedIn Learning and Coursera, he decided to start. Shiva mentioned that over time, the need to learn something new everyday developed into a habit. So much so, that he would feel slightly guilty if he didn’t spend time on learning or self-development each day. 

Many people claim they do not have enough time in a day to commit to self-learning. To this, Shiva’s advice for them would be, "To start small. Even spending 15 minutes listening to one lesson while you are commuting is a good start. From there, you can add a little more time to your session, and little by little, it will build up."

Shiva himself spends one hour a day, learning online. Discipline was key. Growing up with a father who used to be in the army, Shiva was brought up in a household that respects discipline.

His suggestion for anyone who felt they were lacking in discipline is, "Set a consequence for yourself." As for himself, if he missed a day of learning, he would always replace it the next day. 

Shiva also suggested starting with a topic that interests you. He explained that it would be much easier to invest that time every day into learning something which is of interest to you. Eventually, you would be able to branch out and learn many other things.

Shiva's philosophy is "If you see it, own it." In this case, he saw this as an opportunity to learn and better himself, so that he would be able to contribute something, and be of relevance to the job market, and society.

He further explained that he sees his basic education as his shield and his self learning as his sword, both of importance, when he goes into ‘battle.’

Shiva is extremely thankful to the BAC Education Group for providing him with this opportunity that kickstarted his own journey of growth. His last piece of advice for any interested party was to download the mobile apps for softwares like LinkedIn Learning and Coursera, because a study desk is not as necessary as it seems to be. With these apps, you can learn on the go.

In future, Shiva plans to write a book with the tips and tricks he learned over the years to encourage others to embark on a journey of growth as he did. He hopes that many others are able to improve themselves and learn continuously.