Although he just graduated yesterday, Muhammad Ijmal Mohamed Akbar, 25, a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship (2u2i Mode) graduate from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), has already been able to earn a monthly income exceeding RM15,000. Currently titled as a website developer, he is the first graduate of this program at UUM since its introduction in 2019. According to Muhammad Ijmal, he attended lectures for two years on campus and then spent an additional two years in the industry before completing his studies with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.87.
Before he pursued his studies at UUM, he learned business during the semester break and during his diploma. “From there, I became interested in delving into the field, especially in e-commerce and website development, which I learned from YouTube. I honed my skills gradually, and after getting married at the age of 20, I worked as a web designer with an initial salary of only RM1,500. With the skills I had at that time, I could only complete one website in just one week,” he said.
Gradually, he began creating his first product, Divi Xpress, which teaches users how to build websites. From there, he often received orders for website development services, charging between RM2,000 and RM3,000.
In 2022, he began taking care of and maintaining the websites of six companies, earning him a monthly income of over RM15,000. He also had the opportunity to run his own business. He also offered free classes to those new to and interested in venturing into the information technology business. With his skills and experience in e-commerce marketing, he has helped over 400 entrepreneurs build websites for their businesses since 2017, with some of them achieving profits in the five- to six-figure range after creating their business websites, he stated.
He mentioned that his family and wife have provided support during challenges. “The experience of participating in the 2u2i Mode program taught me about the realities of the business world, team management, customers, creating guidelines, and marketing. What I have achieved is not only obtained from classroom learning but also requires hands-on experience in the business world. This has made me more mature and understanding of what to expect in the future,” he said, expressing his desire to pursue further studies at the master’s and eventually the doctoral level to fulfill his dream of educating future generations.
