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KENINGAU: Efforts to address the digital skills and employability gap among rural communities received a boost with the launch of the Skolar Borneo Tour (SBT): Canva Edition 2026 at Institut Pendidikan Guru Keningau.

The free digital learning tour, organised by Skolar Malaysia in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah and IPG Keningau, attracted more than 300 participants including educators, IPG students, small entrepreneurs and content creators.

The programme was led by Canva Verified Experts Don Skolar and Dr M Tazli Azizan, who conducted a five-hour session focused entirely on hands-on learning.

Participants were introduced to Canva not only as a design platform but also as a practical tool for building teaching materials, preparing resumes and portfolios, planning marketing content and organising daily tasks more efficiently.

A distinctive feature of the programme was its “Learning Stations” approach, which replaced the traditional lecture-style workshop format. Instead of a one-way session, participants rotated between several learning stations based on their individual needs.

Through this method, participants were able to produce tangible outputs during the session, including resume drafts, social media content, teaching templates and productivity work plans – outcomes rarely achieved in conventional digital training workshops.

Dayang, a teacher from a rural school near Keningau, said the programme provided a more practical learning experience.

“Usually digital courses only show theory. This time I immediately prepared PdP materials that I can use in the classroom. That is what we need as teachers,” she said.

Meanwhile, IPG Keningau student Muhammad Irfan described the initiative as valuable exposure to real-world work expectations.

“We always hear about ‘21st century skills’, but rarely do we get training that really teaches us how to build a portfolio and develop the skills employers are looking for. This programme opened my eyes,” he said.

Organisers noted that many digital literacy programmes fail to create lasting impact because they tend to be too general and not based on real-world tasks.

The Skolar Borneo Tour takes a different approach by focusing on practical skills that participants can immediately apply in classrooms, small businesses or when preparing to enter the workforce.

The programme in Keningau marks the first stop of the initiative. Throughout 2026, the tour is expected to expand to seven additional locations across Borneo to ensure quality digital training reaches communities beyond urban centres.

Organisers believe the initiative has the potential to evolve into a scalable digital learning model through collaboration between educational institutions, industry and policymakers, helping to reduce the skills gap and unlock the potential of rural communities in the increasingly competitive digital economy.