A torchbearer for equality, Anne Rajasaikaran is changing tertiary education one child at a time
Over her vast career, the female entrepreneur has had her fair share of difficulties stemming from being a woman in the pursuit of academic equality; from being mandated to learn Mandarin to qualify as an eligible scroll recipient to having her capabilities undermined due to her young age.
These hurdles only bred a resilient spirit that, matched with her passion for learning, worked to serve her well when she was appointed as the Principal Officer of The Budimas Charitable Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to change the lives of children in Malaysia’s underprivileged communities by providing welfare aid.
Under her guidance, the foundation has supported more than 10,000 underprivileged children across Malaysia, leading her to clinch several awards for her ground-breaking work in championing equal rights of these children to a better chance at life, which she believes starts with a quality education.
Her latest endeavour sees her take the reins as a leading lady in the educational tertiary sector as president and chief executive officer of Imperium International College, a product under the Edumaax Education Group—where she also holds the title of the chief executive officer at—next to esteemed institutions St. John’s International School and Pusat Tuisyen Kasturi.
Under Anne’s leadership and strong vision, St John’s has seen significant growth and development. This is especially so in the number of students who have enrolled in the school, with a burgeoning waiting list to boot, further maintaining the institution’s commitment to excellence.
As her work in the tertiary education sector focuses mainly on providing quality education to students from all walks of life, Anne makes it a point to ensure that the principles of Imperium follow suit; this was seen in full force at an event held at the college during a visit from the students of SMK Puteri Titiwangsa, where they got a chance to better understand the college’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDG).
But the main highlight of the entire programme involved an insightful talk by Anne herself, where she shared her views on gender equality and women empowerment, a topic close to her heart as a female entrepreneur and business leader. When she is not being a feminist powerhouse and leading the institution to glory, Anne is a doting wife, and mother of three beautiful children.
Despite wearing a multitude of hats throughout her career, Anne does not regret a thing. Her resilience and go-getter attitude are what allows her to continue being an advocate of change, fighting the good fight for causes that she has been a part of since her early years.
Under Anne’s guidance, the Budimas Charitable Foundation has supported more than 10,000 underprivileged children across Malaysia.