Hari Anugerah Bestari 2009

UCSI University organised its annual Hari Anugerah Bestari 2009 or Annual Awards Day in recognition of the achievements made by its students in various fields of study and extracurricular activities.

This year’s Awards Day was officiated by Y.B. Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, the Minister of Higher Education, and was graced by the Chancellor of UCSI University, Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Abdul Rahman Arshad, the University Chairman, Dato’ Hj. Mohd Karim bin Hj. Abdullah Omar, President Peter T.S Ng, Vice Presidents, members of the Diplomatic Missions, students, parents and members of the press.

The event started in earnest with an opening prayer and was followed by the Chancellor’s Welcome Speech. In his speech, he acknowledged the effort and hard work made by the recipients which earned them the recognition by the University.

“Today is a special day, a day of joy and happiness. This day is meant to honour and recognise excellence and the hard work of students who have thrived to achieve merit in their chosen fields of studies,” he said. “The ones that will be featured this morning have done exceedingly well as the University has laid solid grounds for students to succeed in the future.”

This year’s event which is the fourth of its kind, had over 700 award recipients (two of which were our own Frontier team members!) who received various awards in a variety of fields in recognition of their hard work and discipline.

The various award categories that were presented included: the Academic Awards which consisted of the President’s Award, Overall Achievement Award, Tan Sri Ahmad Razali Scholarship, Dr. Rosli Mailam Award, Dean’s List and A-Levels Top Achievers and International Awards amongst others. Another category was the Extracurricular Awards (ECA) which consisted of the Student Council Award, Extracurricular Award, Inspirational Achievement Award and Student Academic Leadership Award.

For most recipients the awards meant a lot to them and served as motivation for them to work harder and accomplish even better results or performance in the future. While most of them were happy at being awarded, they were also grateful to the University for recognising their efforts and hard work. Some of them who spoke to Frontiers had this to say:

“It is always nice to be recognized for good work, especially when months of hard work have been put in to garner the desired results. Awards Day is one such recognition for us, and it definitely is a driving factor, something like a catalyst that pushes us to work harder and maintain the good rapport and standards we have built for ourselves,” said Yogeetha Jeevan, a recipient of the Dean’s List and Student Leadership Award for PASS.

“This award is a payoff for my uphill struggles and sleepless nights working on my assignments. It is definitely a great source of pride, confidence, and determination. I have always looked up to award winners and wished to be one of them: to go on stage with friends and parents cheering for me. Now that I am one of the winners, the feeling is overwhelming,” said Cherry Lui, a recipient of the Dean’s List and Extracurricular Award for UNIFEST.

“It is a gesture of appreciation for students who have worked really hard throughout the course of their studies. This recognition by the University will motivate us to do better in the future,” said Angela Alfred Perera, a recipient of the Dean’s List Award.

“Success needs to be rewarded, to acknowledge that effort, skills and brains are appreciated, and to keep undergraduate students motivated and passionate about their academic and extracurricular activities. I think students who have performed well in their Co-Op should also be rewarded for their hard work.” Rachael Perry, a recipient of the Dean’s List Award

“Never thought that I would receive any awards during my time at UCSI University. So, this award means a lot to me. I was accompanied by my beloved mother and together we witnessed this proud moment. A million thanks to UCSI University and everyone involved in this special day.” Beverly Chee, a recipient of the Dean’s List Award.

“This award means a lot to me as I feel that my work is recognized. It is indeed a good way to motivate me as well as my team members to work harder and to contribute more to the University. Thank you very much UCSI University for such a wonderful experience.” Nick Lim Kah Ken, a recipient of the Extracurricular Award for UCSI’s Got Talent committee.

“I am ecstatic at how much I have accomplished in the three years that I have been here in Malaysia. I feel so much joy that all my efforts have been repaid.” Anka Judith Gesare, an Overall Achievement Awardee

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Minister of Higher Education, Y.B. Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, stated at the press conference held UCSI University, the government’s commitment to provide and make quality education accessible to all Malaysians. He also said that the private sector should complement the government’s efforts in providing education to its citizens.

“As you are all aware, our aim is to provide quality education to our people. The major problem is finance. However, we aim to make education accessible to all Malaysians. Opportunities to higher education is not just to fulfil our objective of providing access and awards or to reward excellence. The government alone cannot sponsor education. So, there must also be partnership from the private sector.”

He commended the internship programme at UCSI University which is practiced in collaboration with various employment providers. The internship programme has over 700 employers and partners. He said “we will encourage such innovative efforts in other universities so as to be able to produce quality and ready graduates.” He went on further by saying “the role of the university is to ensure graduate employability and as such, the process of learning is vital.”

He linked graduate employment to the economy stating that graduates must possess entrepreneurship skills as well as soft skills such as communication skills, the ability to think critically and solve problems, to display leadership abilities, and practice team spirit. His Ministry’s aim is to see that 75% of all graduates are employed within six months of graduation.

That would indeed be an imperative move for the education industry whether public or private.