By CLARISSA LOI PUI LING Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, sharing a moment with TU School Of Architecture, Building And Design student Christal Wong Ching Ling, 18, during the brush-lettering session held at Jelajah Kampus @ Taylor’s University. | Photo Credit : Allisamazing Photography SUBANG JAYA | Students and staff of Taylor’s University (TU) revelled in a day full of exciting activities during the Jelajah Kampus @ Taylor’s University roadshow on 20 October.
The campus was abuzz with plenty of free workshops, gallery exhibitions, talks, bazaars and live music performances by home-grown talents happening simultaneously throughout the event. Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, was also present to officiate the event. Featured acts like Talitha Tan and An Honest Mistake entertained the crowd, while inspiring personalities such as fashion designer Michael Luis Herrera and local actress Marianne Tan shared their stories during the Meet and Cerita sessions. TU is one of the six higher education institutions across the nation selected for the programme as an avenue to showcase youths’ talents on a grassroot level. “TU was chosen as its own programmes and activities were a great complement to Jelajah Kampus’ content,” said Press Secretary to the Youth and Sports Minister, Regina Lee. Jelajah Kampus is an initiative by the Youth and Sports Ministry to revamp the Rakan Muda programme that aims to engage youths in the fields of entrepreneurship, environment, community, arts and culture, innovation, and entertainment. “From the music performers and workshop organisers to the Meet and Cerita personalities and gallery artists, we engaged inspiring youths who would appeal to the crowd and inspire them to develop their own talents,” added Lee. Lee said the overall response for the Jelajah Kampus event at TU was terri c, with workshop slots filled till noon. “We’re thrilled that the participants were just as excited as we were to experience the activities we had in store,” she added. School Of Liberal Arts And Sciences lecturer Norshaila bt. Mohamad Razak said the workshops provided a space for Taylorians to try something new without fear or hesitation. “We need more events that emphasise on practical activities as they are able to mobilise more people to come together,” she added. Workshops conducted by local entrepreneurs featured unique craft and artisanal activities such as brush lettering, woodworks, chalk art, silk screening and leather making. Taylor’s Business School student, Nur Natasyah bt. Md Yunos, 20, said she was happy to support local artists and their crafts which emphasised application rather than theory. “With practical work, you tend to gain a better appreciation for stuff made with your own hands, as you understand the value and memories attached to it,” she said. The workshop organisers were also floored with the positive responses. “We were worried that the tools and materials prepared would not be sufficient; however, it turned out really well overall,” said co- founders of Attached Leather Co., Nurhidayu Lamien and Mohamad Faiz Rosli. Organisers of the leather-making workshop also said there was a sense of satisfaction knowing participants genuinely enjoyed themselves during the process of creating their own products. Jelajah Kampus wrapped up its run for the year with two final stops at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) on 7 and 21 November respectively.
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By ILI RUZANA IQBAL Augustine tries playing chess with different opponents to improve strategic planning skills. SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University (TU) Chess Club President, Jonathan Augustine Francis, has clinched the first prize at the International Medical University’s first Open Chess Competition on 5 November.
The 21-year-old School Of Education student emerged champion out of 110 players from universities such as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sunway University and Kolej Tuanku Jaafar, including 13 TU representatives. Augustine, who walked away with a trophy and RM200, said the journey was not about winning, but more of becoming a better chess player. “Winning or losing doesn’t matter as long as we get the experience and meet other chess players. “The more competitions we go to, the better we improve in terms of training to compete in more prestigious chess competitions in the future,” said Augustine. TU Chess Club member and Business School student, Nicholas Koh Choo Kiat, 23, said he joined the competition to get are invited to play the game from the opportunity to play against students from other universities and to discuss different chess strategies. “There are many good players out there,” said the 23-year-old Taylor’s Business School student. Taylorian chess enthusiasts are invited to play the game from 1pm to 6pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in front of the library. by ILI RUZANA BT IQBAL Muhammad Imran b. Abdul Razak (second from the right), 22, with his friends at Penn State vs. University of Minesotta American football match. | Photo Credit: Muhammad Imran. SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University’s (TU) American Degree Transfer Program (ADP) students are concerned about pursuing their studies in the United States (US) after Donald Trump’s presidency election win. “It is sad to see the magnitude of Islamaphobia in the US, and with Trump being president, it is not going to be easier for Muslim students,” said fresh TU ADP graduate, Sureshram Mathurayar Ramayiah, 23. Former TU ADP student, Muhammad Imran b. Abdul Razak, 22, who is currently pursuing his studies in University of Pennsylvania, said it was definitely going to be tougher now for Muslims to get into US. “Trump’s election was emblematic of a much larger problem, which shows Americans aversion towards outsiders,” said Muhammad Imran. He said the support by Americans towards Trump’s xenophobic sentiments is a huge reality check. “I fear for the lives of Muslim Americans who managed to build a life here but are now being more marginalised than they were before,” said Muhammad Imran. With Trump’s immigration policies all through his 17-month campaign, there are possible consequences on international students’ visas. School Of Liberal Arts And Sciences Acting Dean, Assoc Prof Dr Anindita Dasgupta said the US has a rooted democratic system which is difficult for an individual to cast aside. “I remain optimistic about the future of higher education in the US, and believe that it (Trump’s policies) will most likely not have negative impact on international students,” she said. She added that they have been contacting their alumni currently studying in US and the US embassy in Malaysia for important updates. “Our US alumni expressed concerns about the future of the OPT (Optional Practical Training) which allows international students to work for a year in the US upon completion of their degree. “But it is far too early for us to come to any conclusions at this time,” she said, adding that there are still students who want to experience the high quality holistic education system in the US. “In recent years, we have also seen a surge in students seeking to transfer to Canada and Australia,” she said. She added that they are widening transfer options for students so that they can choose a destination that fits them best. by TAN TEE MAY From left: Harvey Tan Shyan Yih, Andrew Ng Khai Wen, and Hailey Chung Wei Kye proudly showing off their trophy. | Photo Credit : Hailey Chung Wei Kye SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University’s (TU) Team Destiny won third place in the Unilever Future Leaders League (Unilever FLL) competition finals held from 24 to 27 October at Pullman Bangsar Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
Team Destiny members consist of leader Andrew Ng Khai Wen, 20, Hailey Chung Wee Kye, 21, and Harvey Tan Shyan Yih, 19. TU School Of Computing And IT (SOCIT) student, Ng said there were originally 150 teams that passed the first round which was an online audition. “We were one of the top 10 teams chosen from the 150, so I feel very honoured to be given a chance to participate in this competition,” added Ng. The finals were a three-day camp where the top 10 teams had to present their final presentation of an improvised Rexona brand campaign to the judges. After narrowing the list down to the top five, the teams had to present their campaign again to a different panel of judges. Throughout the camp, participants were introduced to workshops such as ‘The Art of Storytelling’ on social media, customer development, e-commerce and a Perfect Store tour. Team Destiny broke the stereotype that the competition is catered for business students, being the only team that did not come from a business course. “It made me nervous because I didn’t know much about nance and marketing, yet the excitement in me grew with every stage we passed,” said Ng. “It was definitely a rewarding experience for me, as it gave us a chance to network with top employers globally and learn more about the industry,” he added. Fellow TU SOCIT student Tan said the experience revealed an opportunity for the team to explore new skill sets. “It made me realise that we can do so much more and should not be limited to the courses we study,” said Tan. School Of Communication student, Chung said the team was lucky to have gained insights into the working environment of Unilever. “The workshops were very informative and opened my eyes to a whole new world to which the business industry operated in. “I’m very glad I got to learn about it through a fun and practical way,” said Chung, adding that she highly recommends students to join the competition because of the real- life experience it offers. “You understand the impact of your ideas in reality, and it is motivating when your pitched ideas are taken seriously,” she said. Unilever FLL was a competition by Unilever that brought together students from all universities in Malaysia to experience a global business case competition. Team Achieve from INTI International College Subang won first place as well as the opportunity to participate in the competition’s finals in London going against other international teams. There were four teams from TU that managed to advance into top 10 of the competition. They were Team Destiny, Team Divergent, Team Tribus, and Team Good, Bad and Ugly. By NATALIE CHAN XIN CI Team Juicify members showing off their trophy and medals from ERM Challenge accompanied by their advisor, Ms.Sharon Lee Pui Voon. | Photo credits: Eileen Tan Wan Chyn SUBANG JAYA | Team Juicify of Taylor’s University (TU) walked away as the first runner-up in the country playoffs and clinched the consolation prize at the Enterprise Resource Management Challenge (ERMC) grand finals at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) University.
The group comprised ve TU School Of Computing And IT (SOCIT) students; Lim Joei, 21, Tan Wilson, 21, Ng Limin, 21, Janice Chau Sian Lu, 21, and Eileen Tan Wan Chyn, 21. They were recommended by the main organiser of Monsoon Academy, Alex Ong, to participate in the ERMC Challenge. “We found out about the competition after trying it out for the first time as a game. “Joining ERMC was given thought after noticing that we had high potentials in each challenge given,” said Chau. It was a team initiative to participate in ERMC in SIM University after bagging the second prize in the country playoffs. Eileen said team Juicify also faced challenges such as lacking in business knowledge and a server to practise, resulting in team strategies learnt based on trial and error during practice sessions leading up to the semi- finals. “We weren’t as privileged as other teams from Indonesia or Thailand where their universities bought a server from them specifically to practise at their own convenience,” added Eileen. SOCIT senior lecturer and advisor for team Juicify, Sharon Lee Pui Voon, said they took part because they had shown their potential. “They are the top three teams in SOCIT who won the internal ERM challenge and most importantly, it is their interest to join the ERM Malaysia Challenge,” said Lee. ERMC was based on the Monsoon SIM Business Simulation Platform where teams consisting of five members compete in a virtual competitive business world to manage 12 simulated business modules. The School of Science and Technology (SST) of SIM University together with Monsoon Academy hosted the event, which was sponsored by Singapore Asia Pacific (SAP). By EDELYN CHOW WUI HENG The Hackers’ Union, lead by Lee Eu-Gene (most left), is a student run organisation comprising of students from colleges and universities from all over Malaysia. SUBANG JAYA | Malaysia’s largest intervarsity hackathon organised by a group of students called The Hacker’s Union will be held at Sunway University from 20 to 22 January next year.
The hackathon, titled Trailblaze Malaysia 2017, will include participating students from 15 colleges and universities across Malaysia such as Sunway University (Sun-U), Taylor’s University (TU) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Project Leader and Sun-U Banking and Finance student Lee Eu-Gene, 22, said they aim to dispel any preconceived public views on hackathons. “Most people when asked about what a hackathon is, will respond with ‘a group of hackers who is trying to penetrate a computer system’. “From that response, you’ll see that the general public are quite unaware of what programmers or people in the IT eld do,” he said. He said the hackathon also aims to encourage more women to participate in and engage with computer sciences. “I conducted a poll in my university and found that only 15% of computer programmers are females. “The industry would be so much more progressive and advanced if we have more female participation,” added Eu-Gene. Public Relations Manager and USM student Rebecca Lydia Vega said the hackathon is a nationwide competition with teams of three to four members competing to develop and build a working prototype of a proposed project. “It aims to inspire participants to explore programming and coding as well as create a network of IT savvy youths across Malaysia,” she added. Chapter Manager of YouthHack Malaysia and co-organiser of the event, Eshaan Menon said he hoped to see The Hacker’s Union and Youth Hack Malaysia bring real societal and industrial impact through this event. “This hackathon should be a landmark event and a highlight of the local tech community’s yearly calendar,” said Menon. He said he believed the hackathon will be a success for the future of Malaysia’s digital economy. Committee member of The Hackers’ Union and student from TU’s School Of Computing And Information Technology (SOCIT), Chum Jia Hui, 18, said there is a communication bridge being formed between universities. “I think this hackathon is the perfect avenue for budding entrepreneurs and developers to learn, gain experience. “They will also be able to meet new people, regardless of whether they are totally new (to hackathon) or if they have done this before,” said another SOCIT student Bryan Lee Kar Meng, 21. By THEODORA The annual study programme is part of Activity Week which opens to all students from different programmes within SABD. | Photo Credit: Mohd Adib b. Ramli SUBANG JAYA | Taylor’s University (TU) School Of Architecture, Building And Design (SABD) students visited the 15th International Architecture Exhibition titled ‘Reporting From The Front’ at the Giardini and Arsenale historical venues in Venice, Italy during Activity Week from 22 to 30 October.
“The exhibition exposed the students to real architecture and design projects done by professional architects and researchers from around the world,” said Programme Director for Bachelor Of Science in Architecture, Mohd Adib b. Ramli. Mohd Adib added that the trip aimed to promote experiential learning and Taylor’s Graduate Capabilities as part of teaching and learning for a few modules, namely Architecture Culture and History 1 as well as Architecture and History 2. “It’s a mind-blowing experience for me how each different talented architect tackles problems,ideas and methods in their presentation,” said SABD student, Chok Jia Jun, 20. “Students were expected to gain skills such as the ability to perceive, analyse and define the reality of a living architecture structure with historical and cultural significance,” he said. Chok said students greatly benefitted from the trip as it enabled them to explore buildings that they only get to see from textbooks and photos and experience the intangible and tangible aspects that each building, city and streets created. by PARK JUNG A Mindfulness Activity with Remington Cooney, Mindfulness Teacher & Life Skills Facilitator Taylor’s University. SUBANG JAYA | Youths between the ages of 16 and 24 are at high risk of suffering from mental disorders that may lead to suicide due to stress and the inability to cope with challenges, President of National Council of Befrienders Malaysia, S. Gangadara Vadivel said.
He added that many people were only trying to fulfill the expectations of others. “We need to look out for ourselves first, accepting your feelings and expressing yourself in any form is important as only then you will open the gates for more,” said Gangadara at the International Emotional Well-Being Summit (IEWBS) 2016 in Taylor’s University (TU) on 11 November. IEWBS aimed to highlight the importance of emotional well- being and to create a platform to share and learn from enriching experiences, research findings, and hands-on discovery. “We want to create awareness on the importance of emotional well-being among youths today by exposing the problem and the need for emotional resilience,” said Dean of Learning and Teaching, Integrate Teaching and Lifelong Learning Centre, Assoc Prof Dr Tang Siew Fun. Taylor’s Business School student, El-Umar Mukhtar, 23, who attended the event, said the summit provided individuals with better understanding on emotional well-being which was something that was not emphasised in today’s society. By CLARISSA LOI PUI LING The Alliance’s second inter-varsity event, ‘Talent Time Competition’, is completely run online, with submissions and votings done via its Facebook page. | Photo Credit: The Alliance’s Facebook Page. SUBANG JAYA | Students from Taylor’s, Monash and Sunway universities are lauding The Alliance’s second intervarsity event, ‘The Alliance Talent Time Competition’.
It gave participants from all three universities the opportunity to showcase their talents through an online platform. “All the contestants are great at their own talents, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with some of the student artists for future projects,” said competition winners, Monash University’s Heer Raj Prem Kumar, 20 and Asyraf Nair, 21. The duo earned the top prize with an original rap song, Tandas Busuk. Monash University’s Lakshmi Mohana Krishnan, 20, Taylor’s University’s Rayyan Muqthadi, 22 and Ili Ruzanna bt. Iqbal, 22 bagged the second and third place respectively. “The structure of the competition helps students who are terri ed of performing live by providing them more confidence to go out and show people what they can really do,” said Lakshimi. The Alliance committee said the contest provided a good avenue to network and to strengthen ties between the three competing universities. “The Alliance Talent Time competition represents a great opportunity to showcase talents from each university, as we have always wanted to improve the relationship between the three schools,” said President of Taylor’s University Student Council, Sarah Ngai Su Yin, 21. Ngai added that The Alliance initially had plans to proceed with an Amazing Race themed event. However, due to the different transitioning periods and tight schedules faced by the respective universities’ student councils, the idea was put on hold, she said. “Hence, the idea of The Alliance Talent Time Competition came up, whereby it would be a fully online-run competition,” added Ngai. The Alliance: Coalition of Voices is a massive initiative between the student councils of Taylor’s, Monash and Sunway universities that began in April this year as an effort to unify and strengthen the voices of the student bodies that they represent. By KHALDOON ALWAN Dr Thomas Hatch, Co-Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching and Associate Professor in Columbia University. | Photo Credit: Farhin Farnaz. SUBANG JAYA | The community should help students to learn from educational opportunities outside classrooms to achieve their full potentials, said National Centre for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching Co-Director, Dr Thomas Hatch.
He said part of the problem lies in society for believing that their only responsibility towards kids’ education is merely putting them in schools. “Part of the problem is that we think schooling is the solution to every problem. “We should continue to improve on schooling alongside transforming the general conception of education,” he said at a talk at Taylor’s University (TU) on 8 November. The session was organised by School Of Liberal Arts And Sciences (SLAS) and Malaysia’s American Embassy as part of SLAS’s Impact Series that dissects topics affecting TU staff and students. Dr Hatch, who is also an Associate Professor at Columbia University, said educational institutions should not just prepare students for colleges and careers but also instill a broader set of society values in students. Dr Hatch said one of the main challenges in higher education is that students need to pass academic tests in order to advance to higher levels of learning. “If you don’t have SATS or A-Levels, you won’t get anywhere,” he said, adding that these tests were made for ranking instead of achieving potentials. “We have to think of transforming the system so it prepares students for a better life,” said Dr Hatch. |
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