On September 23, Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. held a kick-off ceremony to mark the beginning of the company's first scholarship program. Part of Canon Opto Malaysia's Social Contribution Activities, this program focuses on providing support to high-performing students from across Malaysia.

The scholarship provides students with 9,000 Malaysian ringgits (approximately US $3,000) a year, which can be used for such expenses as school fees and learning materials. In addition, the scholarship recipients have been offered positions as new Canon employees upon graduation. With this program, Canon Malaysia aims to promote cooperation between industry and academia.

At the kick-off ceremony, Human Resources Deputy Minister Senator Dato' Maznah Mazlan and other government officials, the students' families, and school officials joined the eight students who passed the scholarship test to celebrate their achievement.

Canon Opto Malaysia Managing Director Hiroshi Oshida said that the start of this program is only one part of the company's Social Contribution Activities in Malaysia, and that he hopes that the scholarship recipients will work hard during their studies so that, upon graduation, they will be able to contribute to the development of Malaysia as employees of Canon.

In addition to the scholarship program, Canon Opto Malaysia welcomed 15 college students to work as interns from August of this year, allowing them to gain experience working in a company.