Community Involvement in an English Classroom of a TVET Institution in Malaysia: An Application of CDIO for Non-Engineering Program and Modified Design Thinking Model

In December 2020, a mini-pilot project was conducted by students of the Commerce Department, namely the students of Diploma in Marketing, Diploma in Secretarial Science, and Diploma in Accounting. This project aims to test students' coursework integration with the community and encourage students to care about the environment through eco-friendly products. The integration of community-based learning followed by CDIO (Conceive- Design- Implement and Operate) for Non- Engineering Courses and Modified Design Thinking Model. BARE Concept Bulk store, the company that responded to the students' request for collaboration, had their business owner as the Subject Matter Expert of this project. A list of online companies was contacted based on their responsiveness in Shopee, online learning, to gauge their interest in participating in the collaboration. A new startup company: the BARE Concept Bulk store responded. The business owner, who is also an expert in waste management, indirectly became this project's Subject Matter Expert in Eco products. The company will also feature the three best Oral Presentation Videos in the company’s Instagram story and the sponsored prizes. The project provided motivation for the students to try harder to impress their clients. The videos presented were aligned with the assignment requirements and were presented creatively. This project showed promising results but required proper execution protocol with the collaborator.