Life as a Fellow

Your journey as a Fellow begins with the Pre-Service Programme, and continues over the 2 years while you serve in a high-need school.
You’ll find that classroom leadership as a full-time teacher, while also studying a postgraduate level diploma, builds a foundation for long-term impact.

  • From Monday to Friday and certain weekends, you will be teaching one or more subjects during either the morning or afternoon session. Fellows are involved in extracurricular activities as well.
  • Every fortnight, you will meet up with your Leadership Development Officer (LDO), a TFM coach for development tracking and support to accelerate your growth.
  • In your first year, you will be required to attend classes for your Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) conducted by Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia (IPGM) together with other Fellows in your region. Expect to attend classes on weekends twice a month and during school holidays.
  • In your second year, you will work on a project directed at broadening your impact in the classroom to the wider school or community. Often, different Fellows work together on these project that sometimes grow into social enterprises that continue after the Fellowship.
Find out more about the life of a fellow.
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  • "The strongest element of the Fellowship is the leadership training and support given by my Leadership Development Officers. As this was my first job after university, I thoroughly benefited from the mentorship and support that was given. Not many new employees in any other companies are given this personal level of mentorship our coaching."
    Jasmine Ong (2012 Alumna)
    LLB Law, Aberystwyth University
    Master of Arts in Education Management, King’s College London
  • "It is through this very journey, that I truly learnt to find myself again. To fail, to pick myself up, and to persevere. Embarking on the Fellowship with my amazing cohort was an amazing life detour I never expected to take. It has empowered me to be a better person, teacher, colleague and friend. In turn, it allowed me to empower the students I had the privilege of teaching."
    Ngui Sui Yang (2017 Alumnus)
    Bachelor of Arts in Accounting & Financial Management
    University of Sheffield
  • "The Fellowship experience was truly memorable and somehow I wish each step that I took throughout the journey was recorded by a secret CCTV so I can watch it over and over again. There were definitely many highs compared to lows. I got goosebumps every time the quiet students pushed themselves to speak in front of the class. I went speechless when once a student said, ‘Thank you, miss. Without you, we will be left behind."
    Ras Atiqah (2017 Alumna)
    Bachelor or Science in Economics and International Studies
    Iowa State University

Preparing for the Fellowship

We recognise that Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. In order to maximise your growth and impact during the Fellowship, we run a comprehensive training programme to ensure all Fellows are fully prepared for service.

  • Pre-Service Programme

    This intensive residential programme marks the start of your leadership training. The Pre-Service Programme is designed to equip Fellows with the fundamental skills and competencies necessary to teach and to lead in the classroom. You will first go through a comprehensive crash-course in pedagogy to build up your foundational mindsets, knowledge and skills as a teacher. Additionally, you will experience hands-on practical training teaching actual students and receive daily feedback and support, to sharpen your skills and accelerate your growth.

  • Placement Orientation
    During this time, you will visit the region you have been placed in to serve, so you will have the opportunity to understand the local context of the community where you will serve and settle during the Fellowship.

Fellowship Information

We believe that classroom leadership builds the foundation for long-term impact. Throughout the programme, Fellows work full time as a teacher with full salary and benefits.

Serving as a Fellow
Duties as a Teacher

Fellows are assigned to teach from Mondays to Fridays, and occasionally weekends when required by school authorities. Like other teachers, Fellows are expected to be involved in extracurricular activities and carry various responsibilities throughout the Fellowship.

Placement: Where do Fellows teach?

Fellows will be placed based on high-need vacancies within the government education system. Over the years, our Fellows have been placed in different regions including Johor, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor. Upon accepting your offer, we ask for you to be ready for the placement (and relocation). Our team will be readily available to help smoothen the transition such as facilitating housing search.

The 2022 Cohort will be placed in Semporna, Sabah, and we will be expanding to place our Fellows in primary schools for the first time to continue bridging the education gap in Malaysia’s highest-need region.

Subjects: What do Fellows teach?

Similar to placement locations, the subjects that Fellows are assigned to teach are based on high-need vacancies in placement regions. Typically, your field of study along with other factors will be taken into consideration on this matter.

You may be assigned to teach a subject that is not your preference, or that you do not feel confident to teach. As a Fellow, you will have access to support networks in your school and Fellowship peers, and from your Leadership Development Officer.

Salary

Our Fellows receive a competitive remuneration equivalent to a graduate teacher’s salary in the public school.

Leadership Development

Every month, you will meet with your assigned Leadership Development Officer, a professional coach who will help you to track your development and support you to accelerate your personal, pedagogical, and professional growth.

Additionally, you will be expected to attend workshops and events as part of your leadership and pedagogical development. It is also an opportunity to meet up, learn, and bond with other Fellows on the same leadership journey as you. These friendships will sustain you during the Fellowship, and often long beyond the 2 years.

Running an Initiative

In Year 2 of the Fellowship, all Fellows are expected to lead an initiative that benefits the broader communities they serve. You will be tasked with developing a sustainable solution a localised problem faced by the community in your region. Often, Fellows work collaboratively on these projects, and a number of initiatives have become successful social enterprises after the Fellowship (Eg. MYReaders, Closing The Gap).

Accommodation

Our Fellows tend to share houses together and have time and support from us before the Fellowship to secure housing.

Having A Family

Being both a teacher and a parent is an extremely enriching experience! However, the decision to join the Fellowship does not only impact yourself but also your family. At TFM, we support parents to join the Fellowship, but we would like you to be aware of the potential implications, such as your child’s schooling and child care during your work hours. Our recruiters are more than happy to talk to you about it.

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Snapshot of the Fellowship

Fellows go through an intense but highly developmental 2 years as they teach, study, and lead initiatives to catalyse change in the community they serve.

  • Johanan Wong, 2015 Cohort
    Johanan shares some candid anecdotes of highs and lows with his students during his Fellowship in Miri, Sarawak.
  • Nadia Nicole and Juan Magrita, 2016 Cohort
    Follow Nadia and Juan to school in Pasir Gudang, Johor, as they discuss what they have learnt in their roles as teachers.