Notes from the IRM’s First Fundamentals of Risk Management (FoRM) Course in Malaysia
The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is proud to have successfully launched its first Fundamentals of Risk Management (FoRM) course in Malaysia, welcoming participants from both Malaysia and Indonesia. Designed to build foundational knowledge in risk principles and practical approaches, the course attracted professionals from various sectors, including compliance, consultancy, and operational risk.
Below, our lead trainer, Shantini Paul, shares her reflections on the experience, the engagement from the participants, and the unique challenges and highlights from this inaugural session.
Delivering FoRM in Malaysia: A Trainer’s Perspective
The recent FoRM course in Malaysia marked a significant milestone — not just for the IRM but also for myself as a trainer. While I’ve been conducting training sessions since 2014, this was my first time delivering the FoRM programme developed by IRM, which made the experience both fresh and fulfilling.
To contextualise the content, I complemented the official course materials with additional insights specific to Malaysian governance disclosure requirements and local challenges in embedding risk management within organisations. This helped participants relate global risk principles to their regional and sector-specific realities.
The cohort included eight participants, two of whom had travelled from Indonesia, all bringing a variety of risk management experiences. Their roles spanned compliance, operational risk, and consultancy, adding depth to the discussions throughout the course.
Making Risk Management Engaging
I’ve always believed that learning should be enjoyable, especially when dealing with a subject as often misunderstood as risk management. The session was designed to be highly interactive, with group activities, quizzes, and even a video screening on risk management to keep things lively. One of the favourite activities was the Bus Stop Activity, where teams worked collaboratively on rotating questions – a great way to encourage movement and teamwork, although venue space limitations meant I had to creatively rotate flipchart papers rather than participants!
Of course, no friendly competition is complete without rewards — chocolates were handed out to the winning teams, which added a fun and motivational twist to the day.
Participant Curiosity and Common Themes
Throughout the session, participants raised thoughtful and insightful questions — a strong indication of both engagement and the real-world complexity they face in their roles. Key areas of interest included:
- Risk evaluation – especially how risks are plotted and how their movement on the matrix is interpreted.
- Risk control – who is responsible for developing, maintaining, and applying control measures?
- Risk ownership – a recurring theme, with participants sharing stories of unclear accountability within their organisations.
- Risk appetite – one interesting question asked whether governments have an explicit appetite for risk and how this translates across different sectors.
These questions sparked meaningful conversations and peer learning moments, allowing everyone to reflect on both theory and practice.
Wrapping Up with Purpose
Delivering the course was a personally rewarding experience. It was especially gratifying to see the participants score well in the end-of-course assessment, indicating that the interactive approach helped solidify their understanding.
As I concluded the session, I left participants with a final thought:
“Knowledge is of no value, unless you put it into practice.”
As IRM continues to expand its reach in Southeast Asia, we look forward to supporting more professionals in building robust risk management capabilities. The success of this first Malaysian cohort sets a strong foundation for future training sessions — and we’re just getting started.
