Blaze Magazine VOL 04 ISSUE 11

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The making of a prestigious university

Standing tall

A night with a Phantom dinner

Dine in

Making a difference

MAGAZINE / VOL 04 ISSUE 11 / 2009 / www.sunway.edu.myKKDN No. Permit: PP 14672/07/2010(025976)


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Cover Story4 The making o a

prestigious university14 Congratulations

Hallmarks8 Standing tall9 A tick or winning irst prize in a

logo competition10 Cream o the crop

Features6 Making a dierence

12 A challenging but worthwhileMBA journey

13 Discovering Melbourne and mysel16 A passage through India24 When AniManGaki conquers time

and space

Explanatory notes: was selected as its name signiies SunwayUniversity Colleges burst o achievements in recent years. SunwayUniversity College is a trailblazer in the area o excellence in education

pursued with a laming passion in the hearts o its sta and students.

Advisor :

Elizabeth Lee

Editorial Team :

Jerrine Koay (Editor)

Jacqueline Muriel Lim (Writer)Christina Edward (Photographer)

Publisher :

Sunway University College

Concept + Design :

Yoong & Ng Consulting

Should you have comments or wish to be on the mailing list, kindly contact:

The Public Relations Department

Sunway University College

No. 5, Jalan UniversitiBandar Sunway46150 Petaling Jaya

Selangor, MalaysiaTel: 603-74918622Fax: 603-56358633

Website: www.sunway.edu.myUnoicial blog : sun-u.blogspot.com

www.acebook.com/sunway.eduwww.twitter.com/SunwayUwww.plurk.com/SunwayU

Other educational institutions under the Sunway Group o Colleges:

Sunway College Johor Bahru

No. 3 Jalan Austin Heights Utama

Taman Mount AustinJohor Bahru 81100Malaysia

Tel: 607-3596880Email: [email protected]

Sunway College Ipoh

No. 1,3 & 5, Persiaran SCI 2/2

Sunway College IpohIpoh, PerakMalaysia

Tel: 605-5454398Email : [email protected]

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed or implied in Blaze are those o the

authors or contributors and do not necessarily relect those o SunwayUniversity College.

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Tel: (6082) 232780/236666Email: [email protected]

VOL04ISSUE11/2009

Contents


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Happenings11 Bridging the ICT gap18 Number crunching ever19 American Independence Day20 Saying we care with Futsal

21 Building resilience andentrepreneurship among youths

22 A night with a Phantom dinner27 Psychology academic colloquim

Alumni

23 First engineering PhDhas a connection with Sunway

International Student26 Madiha loves Penang

Recipe28 Dine in

From the Executive Directors Desk

Graduation is more than just wearing a mortar board and beingconerred the scroll.

It is the turning point in a students lie in act, it marks thebeginning o a challenging career ahead. Ater spending severalyears in college, the real test in lie has only just begun!

To stand out rom the rest, Sunway graduates will irst have tocompete with many others as they seek to climb the corporateladder.

To be a true Achiever, it takes more than technical knowledge;one has to have the right Aptitude or learning and the right

Attitudes in lie.

Firstly, talking about Aptitude or learning, I hope by now, ourgraduates would have realized that learning is indeed a lielongprocess. No one is too old to learn anything, and it is never tooyoung to start somewhere.

Being able to learn something new every day is being able tostay ahead o others. This is extremely important as technology

changes everyday and what may be relevant also becomesobsolete very ast.

Secondly, in order to climb the corporate ladder, our graduateshave to adopt good attitudes. The right attitude, and not talentsalone, is what propels a person towards greater achievementsin lie.

Attitudes will help one to adjust to the dierent situations atwork, and be willing to learn rom others who may be moreknowledgeable.

The young person with the right set o attitudes in lie will morelikely reach the height o his career than someone whom othersind hard to work with.

For our graduates, these are my little nuggets o wisdom. Onbehal o Sunway University College, I wish to congratulate allour recent graduates. Bravo and may God bless all your utureendeavours.

Elizabeth LeeExecutive Director

Frontcover: First Class (Hons) Business Management graduates

(let to right) Leong Wai Shan, Yeong Weng Kit, Goh Wee Hoy, Richard, Jason Yong and Aimi Syazana Binti Anwarul-Halim


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In the race to provide tertiaryeducation, institutions like SunwayUniversity College will have to standout rom the rest.

From an institution oering mainlytwinning degrees, it gradually movedinto 3+0 degree programmes.Since 2004, it coners its owndegree Programmes which go inthrough the validation process romits partner university, LancasterUniversity.

As its Foundation Chancellor, Tan SriDato Seri Dr. Jerey Cheah puts it,Sunway is dedicated to becominga world-class tertiary institutionwith superior tutorship and up-to-date acilities in a university campusenvironment.

This, he said, is complementedby our pioneering eorts omore than two decades ago thathave resulted in twinning degreeprogrammes with several eminentuniversities in the UK, USA and

Australia.

Positioned as a irst class privateuniversity college in Malaysia,Sunways reputation as a strongacademic institution is built on aclearly deined mission statement:

To provide quality education ochoice and valuable experienceor the all-round development ocompetent, creative, intellectuallycritical individuals, who willcontribute to local and globalneeds.

With 80% o the cohort receivingeither a irst class honours or ahigher second class degree duringthe recent graduation ceremony,it is an enviable achievement orany institution. This has particularlyimpressed Lancaster Universitys

Vice-Chancellor, Proessor PaulWellings who conerred theLancaster University scrolls ongraduates.

One o the First Class Honours

Business Management graduates,Jason Yong told that studyingat Sunway has been challengingand rewarding. Setting goals, beingsel-motivated and determinedhave helped me obtain a First Classdegree - and it really gives a realsense o achievement!

Right Formula

Despite being a commercial entity, the act remains that Sunway is unique in that it has been run by a trust und,ormerly known as Sunway Education Trust Fund, since 1997. Although the name has since changed to theJerey Cheah Foundation, the unding arrangement remains unchanged. Whereas most other private educationproviders have shareholders, Sunways proits are ploughed back into the development o the institution. This is

a legacy that its ounder hopes to leave behind or the younger generation.

For this reason, the acilities are constantly being upgraded. Currently it has one o the best libraries in theregion. This act is acknowledged by one o its First Class Honours B.Sc Business Management graduates, AimiSyazana who said, when she quit another college in her Second Year to join Sunways First Year, she was irstamazed by the acilities oered in Sunway, especially the Tun Hussein Onn Library.I have never regretted joining Sunway, she asserted, when interviewed during her graduation recently.

With such acilities, Sunway is able to attract not only the best students, but also prestigious partner universitieslike Lancaster University, which is ranked in the top 200 universities worldwide by the Times Higher Education.

The making o a prestigious university


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 5

Importantly, Sunways degrees are not only validated byLancaster University, but the jointly developed Honoursdegrees in Business, Computer Technology, Hospitalityand Psychology also provide students with two scrolls, onerom Sunway and the other rom Lancaster University.

As Vice-Chancellor o Lancaster University, Proessor PaulWellings, said in an interview, both institutions are chartingtheir uture together.

Sunway can always draw on Lancasters teaching andacademic strengths. According to Proessor Wellings, 92%o Lancasters research is recognised as world leading orinternationally signiicant and some key areas o researchare ranked top in the UK.

Thereore, the ormal signing o the agreement onSeptember 18, 2006 not only made Sunway UniversityCollege an ailiated institution o Lancaster University,

but also supported greater collaboration between the twoinstitutions with several postgraduate programmes jointlydeveloped by the two institutions and launched recently.

Scholarships

The proits rom the institution are also being channelledinto numerous orms o scholarships, including one that ishighly commendable, namely the Tun Omar Ong Yoke LinCommunity Scholarship, a scholarship programme or theinancially disadvantaged. The recent graduation ceremonyproved that, given the opportunity, some o the scholarshipholders became high achievers too. Jagadesan s/o ChandraMohan, 22, bereaved o his ather at the age o eleven, andwhose mother is a cancer patient, graduated with a First

Class B.Sc (Hons) Inormation Technology. He is the irstin his amily to graduate with a degree. There were iveother community scholars who graduated. Amongst themis Azerena Nediba d/o Zainal Abidin, who hails rom theOrang Asli community and graduated with a diploma inHospitality and Tourism Management as did Renuka d/o

Appalanaidu and Khalid bin Zainal.

Read the Centrespread story about Sunways GraduationCeremony 2009 >>

Vice-Chancellors spoke to about thepartnership between Sunway and Lancaster

Proessor Paul Wellings, in his capacity as Vice-

Chancellor o Lancaster University, was particularlyimpressed with the achievement o Sunway:

I am particularly pleased that 80% o the cohorthave received a higher second or irst class degree.

These results are a real tribute to the quality o thestudents and the hard work that they have put inand give the students a real advantage in realizingtheir uture ambitions, he said.

Lancaster, he added, believes in transnationaleducation. The University views Malaysia as ahub or the region, linking to Indonesia, Singaporeand Thailand.

Under this partnership agreement signed threeyears ago, Sunway can beneit rom Lancastersvast teaching and research inrastructure. 92%o Lancasters research is recognised as worldleading or internationally signiicant and some keyareas o research are ranked top in the UK, hereiterated.

Vice-Chancellor o Sunway University College,Proessor Robert Bignall said that there arecontinuous eorts to develop more joint-degreeprogrammes, including a number o jointlydelivered postgraduate degrees at the beginningo this year.

There are currently approximately over 1000students enrolled in degree programmesin Accounting and Finance, Business andManagement, IT, Psychology, HospitalityManagement and Tourism. Students study atSunway, but are awarded scrolls rom bothinstitutions respectively, making it a very attractiveoption or them.

Cover Story

Proessor Paul Wellings (let) and Proessor Robert BignallCommunity scholar, Theresa Jerome (3rd romlet) with her ather, Bernard Jerome (next to her),who works at Sunway University College and therest o her amily

Community Scholars who graduated(Let to Right), Jagadesan, Azerene, Reenuka

Theresa and Khalid. Absent: Emmanuel Yong.


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Making a dierenceStronger research culture and stringent quality control are two keys to achieve academic

excellence in a tertiary education institution like Sunway University College. Its Vice-

Chancellor, Professor Robert Bignall talks about the right steps already being put in place to

transform Sunway into the Harvard of the East

Vice-Chancellor, you are known for advocating research at the university level. Are there plans to promote

a stronger research culture at Sunway? Do you believe that research is important in the context of a

University-learning environment?

Sunway now develops and oers its own degrees, so it is important that our academic sta are up to datein their chosen discipline areas and are amiliar with new trends and developments. To contribute to thecurriculum eectively, an academic needs to be actively involved in the ongoing development o their disciplineor proession.

O course, all true universities are engaged not just in the transmission o existing knowledge, but in advancingand applying knowledge. They help us to improve our understanding o what we know and they contribute to

the discovery and development o new knowledge, new ideas and new applications.

The stated mission o Sunway University College includes a devotion to the advancement, transmission andapplication o knowledge. It is clear that successul economies in the twenty irst century will be heavily relianton knowledge and innovation.

We must also recognise that the world today aces many problems that need to be addressed and solved inan intelligent, inormed and logical way. These problems include economic challenges, poverty, overpopulation,environmental degradation, the risk o dangerous climate change, amine, war and so on. Young people are veryaware this o and care about improving their world. It is in all o our interests that we strive to better understandourselves and gain practical insights into how we can improve our own lives and those o others. The problemsare very complex and a sound education plus careul and rational inquiry is needed to properly understand andaddress them.

At Sunway, many academic sta are already involved in research and it is certain that this is becoming anincreasingly important part o what we do. Our research programmes will directly benei t our teaching programmesand enhance the reputation and standing o the degrees that we oer.

When I was in charge o Monash University Malaysia, I placed considerable emphasis on building up its researchcapabilities. The beneits o that are now very clear. I am conident that Sunway will enjoy a similar enhancementto its reputation and prestige over the coming years.

While we are on the topic of research, Sunway is known to be conservative in offering professorships

and associate professorships to its staff, where assessment of qualified staff for such promotion within

a university includes looking at the number of research papers that the individual has published. Do

you think this helps to safeguard quality of the teaching staff? Will such a policy continue under your

leadership?

It is important or a university to look orward and think about what it is going to be like in the uture. We intendto become Malaysias leading private university. To do that we need to benchmark ourselves against reputableinternational universities such as Lancaster and Monash. Our standards need to be as high as theirs.

We want to appoint more ull proessors and associate proessors. However, we will continue to take great carewhen making such appointments, because we want to ensure that a proessor at Sunway is someone who ison an equal ooting academically with a proessor at a university like Lancaster or Monash. So, like them, wemust maintain quite strict criteria or appointments to these key academic leadership roles. In the long term,appointing the best possible people to such positions beneits everyone, sta and students alike.

Features


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 7

While you talk about the importance of benchmarking, sadly, parents are beginning to feel that some

local private institutions of higher learning are not up to the mark when it comes to providing quality

education. How would you, in your capacity as Vice-Chancellor, help raise public confidence in our

private education system?

Malaysia has a vibrant and very competitive private higher education sector.

There are a lot o dierent institutions - in act probably too many, because it is clear that some o them arestruggling academically and in some cases inancially. Perhaps because o this there is an unortunate tendencyor some operators to promise more than they can deliver. That relects badly on the sector as a whole. Perhapsthe private higher education sector needs a stronger code o practice in the area o advertising and promotion.

Choosing a university and a course o study is a very important lie decision and prospective students need toreceive sound and honest advice and inormation. I would urge parents and students to research their choicevery careully. Speak to current students and graduates and get them to share their views and experiences. Mostimportantly, the choice that is made should be based on value and not on price.Sunway is recognised as one o the leaders in the private higher education sector. That did not happen byaccident. We achieved this by ocussing on what is best or our students and by striving to maintain high

standards o service and academic integrity. We take a long term view. We are here to stay and are committedto maintaining our reputation and our strong brand.

O course, we also stand ully behind the Malaysian Qualiications Agency and the Ministry o Higher Education intheir eorts to ensure that all approved private institutions o higher learning adhere to the required standards.

Parents also complain that a number of institutions of higher learning

are more profit-oriented. How is Sunway as an institution of higher

learning different from these private education providers?

We are able to oer distinctive courses such as PerormingArts, which are not in themselves proitable, but which adddiversity and choice and enrich campus lie. Most privateuniversity colleges can not aord to do this. I a course isnot going to be proitable in its own right, then they wontoer it.Many o the best universities in the world are non-proit privateuniversities that are supported by Foundations or Trusts. Harvard andStanord in the US are two examples. There is no reason why Malaysiacan not have its own outstanding private university. It is the vision o ourFounder, Tan Sri Jerey Cheah that Sunway will one day become theHarvard o the East. Thus, Sunway is driven by a bold vision o its utureand not by pressing immediate commercial concerns.

This concludes a two-part series o interview articleswith Proessor Robert J. Bignall, Vice-Chancellor oSunway University College.

Features


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Hallmarks

Standing tallMonash University Foundation Year (MUFY) top scorer, Chew Weng Chuenachieved the highest overall score among all the MUFY providers worldwidein the June 2009 exams.

For his outstandingperormance, Chew

became the ninth winnerrom Sunway UniversityCollege to receive theMonash Excellence

Award, a ull scholarshipto read engineeringat Monash University,Sunway campus.

Another nine studentsqualied or Monash

University entrancescholarships to pursue

undergraduate studies atthe Australian universi ty.

This year, MUFYstudents at Sunway alsoclinched twenty MonashSubject Awards. TheMonash Subject Awardsare presented to thestudents who score thehighest mark among all

the providers o MUFYin each o the subjects

oered.

Recently, the Chancelloro Monash University,

Australia, Dr Alan Finkelpaid a visit to Sunwaywhere he spoke to apacked auditorium oMUFY students, on howthe University plans tomove orward.

Providers o MUFY worldwide:

TaylorsCollegeMelbourne

(Australia)

JakartaInternational

College (Indonesia)

VientianeCollege(Laos)

ANC(SriLanka)

SunwayUniversityCollege

(Malaysia)

SunwayCollege

Johor Baru (Malaysia)

Chew Weng Chuen (right) receiving the MonashExcellence Award rom Lee Weng Keng, ChieExecutive Oicer o the Education and HealthcareDivision o the Sunway Group

Subject award recipients: (From let) Sarah Chong Yin Ching,Grace Sim Qiuhong, Botsalo Lardgence Morotsi, PhilemonLim Sung Ern, May Khet Pan, Pn. Adawiah Norli, EsmondeLim Wei Chen

Dr. Alan Finkel addressing the students


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 9

Hallmarks

A tick or winning irst prize in alogo design competition

When the announcement was made, Joanne OoiYuen Kei was overwhelmed with emotion. The Sunway student, whose logo design incorporateda tick mark, had won the rst prize in the Malaysia

TrustMark Logo Competition 2009, a logo designcompetition organised by the Ministry o International

Trade and Industry, Malaysia (MITI).

The prize came with a cash award o RM5,000, whichOoi plans to nance part o the cost o her degree studiesin the near uture.

The 19-year-old Graphic and Multimedia Design diplomastudent said she never expected to win. I was very

surprised but grateul or my win, she said. I wouldlike to thank my lecturers or their guidance and helpthroughout my course. Without them I would not havebeen able to win this prize.

Her classmate, Kenry Tang Tze Lye clinched the thirdprize in the same competition.

Joanne(left)re

ceivinghermoc

kchequefromT

anSriAbdulRa

hmanMamat,S

ecretaryGenera

lofMITI.


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Cream o the Crop

For the next three years, parents o 14 Sunways American Degree Transer Program (ADTP) students neednot worry about their childrens education expenses overseas. These were the cream o the crop. Twelve o themwere recently awarded Presidential Scholarships worthUSD8,000 per annum each, rom Western MichiganUniversity (WMU), a twinning partner o the Sunway

ADTP since 1987.

Another two received scholarships. Anjul i Rabrindanathis pursuing chemical engineering on a scholarship romIllinois Institute o Technology valued at US$12,000per annum and Alvin Tan is a Community CollegeLeadership Award recipient earning scholarship valuedat US$10,000 to study business at the University oMissouri, Kansas City.

Past President o the ADTP student committee, FooKok Seong has chosen to study engineering at WMU.

Foo played an important role in organising the ADTP Twilight Carnival 2009 which raised unds or theVivekananda Home in Rembau.His Vice-President, Lau Jann-Lim picked New YorkUniversity, where he is majoring in Finance. Lau is

thrilled that New York University is only ive minutesaway rom Wall Street.

Other students who will be transerring to goodUS universities include Ahmad Saianu Saleh romNigeria who is pursuing aviation at the Embly Riddle

Aeronautical University, Florida and Sean Shao ChiYap. Sean, who had deerred his studies rom an earlierintake, is now pursuing ilm production at ChapmanUniversity in Orange County, Caliornia.

The twelve Presidential Scholars (except the student, third rom let ront row) with WMU sta, Cathleen Fuller (sixth rom right), Dr Craig Kaml

(5th rom right) and Kirk Sundling (2nd rom let)

Lau Jann-Lim Alvin TanAhmad Saianu Saleh

Hallmarks


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 11

Bridging the ICT gap

Universities these days do not operate as an isolated entity. Sunway University Colleges School o ComputerTechnology knows this too well. The School recently organised a series o Inormation and Communication Technologies (ICT) Skill Transer

Workshops or SMEs, which were aimed at closing the gap between the Schools curriculum and the marketneeds.

Its head, Associate Proessor Dr. Lim Tong Ming said that the workshops serve to enhance product andknowledge dissemination or students, and help companies have access to a pool o student interns. In turn,the school can also ine tune the practical skil ls o its students to match the requirements o the industry. Dr. Limadded that newly developed technologies and products will also be introduced to the participating companies,whom he promised, will have the irst opportunity to urther develop them.

Key people rom the industry were also invited to speak at the workshops. Chie Operating Oicer o the EnglandOptical Group Sdn Bhd, Loke Sim Fatt spoke about Beneits o Interns to SME and IT Collaboration withUniversities while Lee Yin Jye o Solution Architect, SAP Malaysia spoke o, Emerging Technologies & Solutionsor SME rom SAP.

Dr. Lim also took the opportunity to unveil Sunways latest Consulting, Collaboration and Commercialisation(CCC) Lab as well as its SCTNET portal.

The laboratory supports the strong research ocus on the areas o Network and Ubiquitous Computing, Multimediaand Inormation Systems, Intelligent System and Robotics Engineering as well as Database Technologies andSotware Engineering. The School oers the Master o Science in Computer Science (by research) and theMaster o Science in Mobile Systems.

Happenings

The Consulting, Collaboration and Commercialisation (CCC)Laboratory

The participants, students and participating company sta at the ICTSkills Transer workshop


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Sunny Khoo Choo HockClient Servicing ManagerSingle

Kian YapNuclear ChemistMarried, with two teenagers

Ooi Phaik LoonAccount Executive

Single

Karen Tan Sheau YannBusiness Partner

Married, with no children

Joie WongSenior Medical

Sales ExecutiveMarried, with no children

Benefits

Account executive, Ooi Phaik Loon

says the MBA helps him with hiscareer advancement. I also learntto do research more eectively, hesurmises. I eel that I am able tothink critically and holistically, andthe VU MBA programme makes memore conident than ever. It alsoserves as a bargaining chip or mywork appraisal which aects payraise and promotion.

Senior Medical Sales Executive,Joie Wong eels that by pursuingher MBA, she is able to add anothereather to her cap. The knowledge

I gain rom this MBA programmecomplements my Bachelors degreein Microbiology, she elaborates.In the process, I learn and networkwith other people who are romother industries. It has also helpedto improve my ability to thinkanalytically besides enhancing myunderstanding o my companysbusiness operations.

Time invested

On average these students spend

at least 20 hours o studies in aweek. This works out to be aboutthree hours a day in meeting orgroup discussions and doingassignments, says Khoo. Closerto the deadline or submission omy assignment, I have to burn themidnight oil.

For Yap, a nuclear chemist andather o two teenagers, it is anaverage o one or two hours a day,while Tan says it is at least 14 hoursa week.

To make sure that she keeps trackon her progress, Wong keeps atimetable. O course, sel-disciplineis very important to make sure thatI am always in touch with amilymembers and with my colleaguesat work, she says.

Ooi says or him, it is a minimumo our hours a week to read, dohis research and writing but it couldeasily reach 20 hours when anexamination is around the corner.

Its the tough that get going

For all o them, it hasnt been easy.

Yap admits that, with two teenagers,ages 12 and 16, keeping thebalance naturally depends on theindividual. I believe priority shouldalways be given to amily, he says.Fortunately, they are at the stagewhere they are more independento me.

Wong concurs: Its a lot o hardwork that will eventually get ourMBA students right to the top othe corporate ladder whats morewith a postgraduate degree that iswell-recognised worldwide!

The advice Tan would like to sharewith others thinking o pursuingtheir MBA: Despite the many hoursspent at work and on study, I alwaysensure that I have time or myamily and riends. They deinitelykeep me motivated with their loveand care. Thereore, prioritising andtime management is the essence tokeep the balance.

They say the way to the top is never easy. interviewed five part-time students, enrolled in the

Victoria University MBA programme at Sunway to find out what motivates them and how they manage

all their commitments.

A challenging but worthwhile MBA journeyFeatures

The only thing that keeps Sunny Khoo Choo Hock going is his realizat ion that we are now living in an inormation agewhere knowledge is king. Without a proper education, he admits, it is very dicult to compete, especially whenMalaysia is moving towards becoming a ully-developed nation.

Khoo opines that a basic degree is the minimum to kick start ones career and a higher level o education becomesvery important when we rise up the ranks in the corporate world. As a manager with an MBA qualication, I candenitely plan better strategies or my clients, he explains. It prepares me to manage my career rom the macropoint o view.

Fellow student, Karen Tan Sheau Yann has a more practical reason to pursue her dream when signing up or theMBA. Refecting on her decision, she explains: My recent move rom the corporate world to join my spouse in hisbusiness expansion has accelerated the need to pursue my MBA.


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 13

Discovering Melbourne and myselby Kesego Elizabeth Poomore

K

esego Elizabeth Poomore o Botswana was the Grand Prize winner in Celebrate VU lucky draw competition.The Victoria University (VU) Bachelor o Business twinning programme student at Sunway writes about her

trip to Melbourne.

Day One

Ater all the excitement, the day inally arrived.On arrival at the Tullamarine Airport, Ms DianaHeatherich and Ms Carol Verga gave me avery warm welcome. Jet-lagged, I rested atMs Heatherichs house beore checking intoCitigate Hotel at 2 pm.

Day Two

Ater breakast, where I had the best bagelsin town, Ms Helen Nuttall took me to the zoo.

This, being my irst time going on a tram, I was

excited! The zoo was beautiu l. It brought backthe nostalgia o Arica. Because Ms Nuttalland I shared a lot, I eel I learnt so much in

just those ew hours with her.

In between, I went sightseeing on my ownto check out Monash Medical School. Inthe evening, we had un going bowling withMs Nuttall, Ms Carol Verga and Mr. KennyChong, ollowed by a dinner at the Blue Trainrestaurant.

Day Three

This was the best day o my lie. Ms Heatherich

took me to the Footscray Park campus whereI met the Vice-Chancellor, Proessor ElizabethHarman just as she was having a 15-minutebreak. I had coee with her. Later, I hadlunch and sightseeing with Ms Ann Marie

Angebrandt.

Our next destination was the Eureka Tower, thetallest building in Melbourne, with 88 loors.We could see the whole o Melbourne romabove. Next, it was Shrine o Remembrance.

In the evening I was invited to watch theFootball Match between Western Bulldogsand Collingwood at Etihad Stadium, with the

Vice-Chancellor and Senior sta memberso the university council. Western Bulldogsand VU have a partnership which brings thewestern region ootball club and the universitytogether.

The ollowing day was time to say, Goodbye.I was overwhelmed because, within a ewdays, I have seen and learned so much about

Victoria University and about Melbourne, itspeople and the culture.

Features

Kesego with Professor Elizabeth Harman

Kesego in front of the Yarra River in Melbourne City


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Cover story

Cong This years Gheld at Sunwa9, saw a totaltheir degreesSunway UniveDato Seri Dr J

O this, 86 Psychology gdegree progrUniversity CoUniversity sinc

They receivedJerey CheahPaul WellingsUniversity.

The event waColleges Vic

Academic Bo

who certiied to be admitted

14 // MAGAZINE


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Cover story

ations!emony, which wasand Spa on Octobernts being conerredtheir diplomas byChancellor, Tan SriAO.

s, Computing andthe joint honoursoped by Sunwayated by Lancaster

ch rom Tan Sri Dr.croll rom Proessorellor o Lancaster

Sunway Universityand Chair o the

Robert J. Bignall,

dates were entitleds.

ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 15


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In his quest to promote a better understanding about the Indian culture, a ormer multimedialecturer and principal advisor o Sunways Indian Cultural Society went beyond speakingabout the Indian Cultural Night: Beats o Peace 2009. He took to dierent parts o

India

India may appear to be one big country, but there is a very diverse culture in the subcontinent, with a

population o over one billion. The Malaysian Indian culture is quite dierent rom India, says Rajesh Kumar

Sarra, who irst came to Malaysia in 1999 to work as a Multimedia Consultant beore joining Sunway in2000. It has evolved over the years, and is inluenced mainly by Western as well as the local Malay culture.

I you are a Malaysian Indian visiting India today, the way you speak would immediately give you away as

a oreigner in India.

Although there are over 200 languages in India, Hindi is the oicial language o the republic, and it is spoken

mainly in Northern and Western India. The local Tamil community in Malaysia mainly comes rom South

India.

Staple food

Punjab is a province which is well-known or its paddy and wheat ields. Most o the ood is wheat or rice-based, such as cappati, naan, tandoori, prata and lassi.

Chappati is the staple ood, along with naan, tandoori, lassi and sweets such as Laddu, Gulab Jamun andJelebi.

Occasionally, the Punjabis would paint themselves with Mehendi, which is a orm o henna painting. Unlikehere in Malaysia, in Northern India, henna painting is not a ashion statement, explains Rajesh. Henna lea,when ground, has a special property that helps to remove extra body heat.

The Malaysian Gujarati community are amous chettiars and traders o mainly textile products. In Malaysia,you can ind them mainly in places like Jalan Masjid India says Rajesh.

A passage through India

Features

16 // MAGAZINE

Beats o Peace perormances by students


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Bollywood

Mumbai, the nancial hub oIndia is located in the province oMaharashtra. Over here, the Marathiis worn with the saree fap tied to theright shoulder.

Most Malaysians know that Mumbaiis amous or its Bollywood movies,

says Rajesh. But interestingly, onlyvery ew realise that most o theBollywood style o clothing is theLehanga, worn by the Punjabis.

On the west coast o South India, theMalayalees live in the hilly provinceo Kerala, which is amous or itscoconut plantations. This explainswhy their ood is more coconut-based. In act, most o the herbs inIndia originate rom Kerala.

The literacy rate in Kerala is 100%.

This is probably the outcome o yearso tireless eorts by missionarieswho set up schools in Kerala.

The Malayalees are proud o theirheritage. They have a certain way owearing the saree fap either to thelet or right shoulder depending onthe occasion.

Our link with India

The majority o Malaysian Indianscame rom Tamil Nadu. This iswhy the roti canai that you have inMalaysia is similar to the parathaconsumed by the Tamils in SouthIndia. It is very dierent rom theparatha that is consumed in NorthernIndia, where they have two cappatis

and some ingredients sandwiched inbetween, explains Rajesh. In act,the word `canai may have originatedrom either the word Chennai (thenew name or Madras), or the Channadhall, a type o dhal lentil.

Chennai is also where Idli (steamedrice), tosai or paratha is consumedor breakast. It is interesting thatMalaysian Tamils still take this everymorning, Rajesh enthuses.

The majority o the people o

Hyderabad are Muslims and theybecame known as Indian Muslims.The name, Hyderabad comes romtwo words Hydra, the name o oneo the Muslim rulers, and `Abad,which means City. Its twin city in

Andra Pradesh is Secunderabad,which is named ater another Muslimruler, namely Secunder.

The Indian Muslim community

In Hyderabad, people consume morerice, vegetables, chicken and meat.

Adds Rajesh: During the Ramadhanmonth, they make haleem, which ismutton cooked in a soup and is a verydelicious delicacy that people wouldqueue or. I havent ound anythingclose to haleem here in Malaysia.

Going urther north in the Provinceo West Bengal is the city o Kolkota(ormerly known as Calcutta), wherethe people speak Bengali. Bengalisweets are very amous, Rajeshadds. They are also very good inpreparing sh dishes.

A cook himsel, Rajesh considershimsel an ambassador o the cultureand cuisine on India. Having livedin Malaysia or the past 10 years

and hoping to obtain his permanentresidence soon Rajesh lovesMalaysia.

Malaysia is my second home, hesmiles.

( wishes Rajesh all the very best in his future undertakings. We hope that he will continue to keep in

touch with Sunway.)

Features

ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 17

Rajesh Kumar Sarra


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18 // MAGAZINE

Happenings

Number crunching everQuiet, be still! The hall was silent, except or the whirring andclicking o students brains, as they worked hard through theircalculations.

When the results were inally announced, an exhilarated Form3 student, Tham Ying Hong, 15, emerged as champion o theSunways A-Level Math & Logic Challenge, which attracted 342Mathematics bus rom 88 secondary schools all over PeninsularMalaysia.

Tham, the youngest participant in the competition, partneredFiona Tay Ting Nuan. Both are rom Katholik Secondary NationalSchool, Petaling Jaya. They were coached by their teacher, MrsS. Jeyacowri.

The competition was great as it has taught us about the importanceo teamwork and it was a good exposure or us, enthused Tham.

Meanwhile, Tan Yong Chin o Sam Tet Secondary School, whowon the First Runner-Up, said the competition oered him a wholenew experience about the learning o Mathematics. It was bothchallenging and exciting, he said.

Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur won theSecond Runner-Up in this years competition, which has beenpopularized since 2006.

The top ive teams in the competition won trophies, certiicates,cash prizes and bursaries (ranging rom 20% to 100% waiver) in the

A-Level programme, all sponsored by Sunway University College,as well as book prizes sponsored by the Cambridge InternationalExaminations (CIE).

The competition was pioneered and developed by experiencedMathematics lecturers in Sunways A-Level programme.

According to Dr Wong Yoke Chen, Director o the A-Levelprogramme at Sunway and Chairperson o the organisingcommittee, the competition was aimed at raising the standardo Mathematics among secondary school students and to instillthe elements o un and creative thinking into the learning o thesubject.

Our team o lecturers took great eorts to ensure the questionswere resh and suitable or the level o Mathematics competencyin the students, so that their experience in the competition was

enlightening, enriching and enjoyable, she said.

Students participating in the competition were rom mainly romForm 4 and Form 5, who were reading two Mathematics subjects,

Additional Mathematics and Modern Mathematics. Minimum entryinto the competition is Form 3.

Tham Ying Hong (let) and Fiona Tay Ting Nuan

Deep concentration

Students rom dierent schools were intensely participatingin Sunways A-Level Math & Logic Challenge


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 19

American Independence DayTwilight Carnival

Happenings

The highlight was a moonlight cinema with a ree screening

o the movie Transormers (the rst sequel). There werealso infatable activities such as Rocky Mountain, NoWay Out and Army Eliminator and mechanical bullrides reminiscent o the rodeo in the U.S.

Students organised the activities with guidance rom theirlecturers. Some students o the Ravelution Perormanceand Dance Club perormed moves such as the Latin,pop and hip-hop. Students manned ood stalls andgames stalls. Proceeds rom this event were donatedto the Vivekananda Home in Negeri Sembilan. Theguest o honour was Datuk Dr Rajmah Hussain,Former Ambassador o Malaysia to the UnitedStates.

The carnival organised by the American Degree Transer Program (ADTP) in conjunction withAmerican Independence Day acquaints studentswith American culture so that they will be betteradjusted to student lie there ater they transer.

Sumitha Ganesharatnam, Head o the ADTPsaid American Independence Day is celebratedevery year by our students and their involvementis a real world learning experience or them. Butthis is the rst time that it is celebrated on a bigscale and I am very proud o their planning andeorts this year.

ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 19


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Happenings

Saying we carewith Futsal

It was indeed a caring way to demonstrate

that they really cared or the poor and theunderprivileged community.

When these Moral Studies students romMonash University Foundation Year (MUFY)organised the charity utsal tournament recently,they were hoping to raise RM5,000 to providebetter acilities at a non-proit education centreor students in need.

The tournament, which was held at theU-One utsal centre in USJ 1, Subang Jaya,was a success although the students did notquite reach their target. 12 utsal teams wererecruited, each paying RM100.

In the words o 19-year-old Christopher Anand,one o the organisers, they succeeded in raisingawareness about the Harvest Tuition Centre, anon-proit education centre which helps pooramilies. We hope other college students willalso do their part or the tuition centre, he told

.

Fellow Moral Studies classmate, Jon Silendrasaid the event was all about learning how wecan each make a dierence in the lives o theunderprivileged children. It was ater all theteams irst time organising such a projectso there was much cooperative learning andbuilding understanding o others, a themecentral to Moral Studies in Sunway.

The children rom Harvest Centre also provedthat they were no easy pushovers by clinchingthird place.

Harvest Centre Bhd, which operates the tuitioncentre, was ounded in 1998. It provides medicaland health care, help with home improvementand ood to poor amilies, especially those inSentul, Jalan Ipoh, Selayang, Serdang andPuchong, regardless o race or creed.

According to a ull-time teacher at the centre,Norman Ng, the centre currently has about

350 students between the ages o two and 17.There are also children whose parents are romMyanmar and Sri Lanka.

More inormation on the centre can be obtainedrom www.harvestcentre.org or rom its centrein Sentul (tel: 03-4044 1397).


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 21

Building resilience andentrepreneurship among youths

Sunway University College has produced a number o successulentrepreneurs over the years. Among the notable ones are George Ang, Group Managing Directorand Co-Founder o Revenue Valley Sdn Bhd (it owns ManhattanFISH MARKET, Tony Romas and TOKYO-g) and Kid Chan, CelebrityPhotographer.

Together with others like Ng KhaiLee, co-ounder o YouthAsia, and Xandria Ooi, a Sunway alumna, TV host, journalist and emcee, theygave a series o inspiring talks to students in the weeks leading up toMerdeka during the 1Malaysia Entrepreneurship Month.

Ooi, who also launched her new book, entitled Love, Work andEverything in between, shared her early years o experiences when sherst entered the entertainment industry.

Executive Director o Sunway University College, Elizabeth Lee saidthat the key to sustainable growth in Malaysia is to develop the spirito entrepreneurship amongst our youth who will become tomorrowsleaders.

In todays uncertain economic situation, she said, it is even more vitalthat we imbue in our students, a more resilient and adaptable mindsetso they may rise to the challenges o our times.

Yahurin Mohd Yassin, Senior Assistant Director o Development &Student Aairs Division, Ministry o Higher Education was the guest-o-honour at the 1Malaysia Entrepreneurship month launching ceremony.

During the Entrepreneur Exchange Night, ounder o MindValley, VishenLakhiani shared his entrepreneurship tips with the students.

Happenings

Ng Khailee, co-ounder o YouthAsia Kid Chan speaking to students


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22 // MAGAZINE

Happenings

A night with a Phantom dinnerThe hospitality students and lecturers o the Sunway School o Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Managementpresented an edgy ine-dining event eaturing molecular gastronomy.

AnishaandtheteamofChefsandF&BCoordinators

Itwasafamilyaffairforthisstudent

Atyourservice!

Gettingthemain

courseright

ElizabethLee,ExecutiveDirector,SunwayUniversityCollege(2ndfrom

right)andAnishaChaiwiththephantomstudents

The spectacular six-course dinner began with a brioche

ollowed by an appetizer that eatured lowers and adeconstructed French onion soup. The main courseswere braised wagyu bee with oie gras and slow-cooked salmon on a bed o pureed edamame.

A mangosteen sorbet, a passionruit mousse with amacaroon and Valrhona chocolate, which came inive textures with rhubarb were the amazing desserts.

There was a choice o a shaken spicy mango cocktailor green tea and lime mocktail.

Anisha Chai, Head o the School o Hospital ity, Tourismand Leisure Management said she was very proud that

her students and lecturers were able to work together

in an event that highlighted an unconventional cuisineseldom encountered by hotel management students. Itis eye opening and will add to their learning experienceshe enthused.

Students prepared the dishes and were involved inthe dining room service under the watchul eyes oHead Che, Patrick Siau and F & B Coordinator, DanielChong.

The degree students contributed to the planning andorganisation o the event, while the diploma studentswere involved in the production aspects.


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Alumni

What is your favourite movie?

Can I have 2 avourite movies? The Matrix andForrest Gump.

Who is your favourite singer?

Jacky Cheung.

Do you play any musical instrument?

Unortunately, no ....... But I would like to be able toplay the piano someday ........

Which is the latest book that you have read?

What is the book about?

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Totallyorgotten how many times Ive read this book. It

talks about the general lessons about lie, i.e. love,happiness etc., which is very thought provoking andyou just learn to appreciate lie even more.

Which NGO do you support? Why?

BeFrienders! I think that they are simply a great groupo kind people with the heart to help those in needout there, especially now that that a lot o people aresuering rom depression and are in desperate needo an ear to listen to their problems.

In 2001, Mark Ng Kok Yew was a Monash University

Foundation Year (MUFY) student at the then SunwayCollege.

Eight years later, he made news, when he became theirst graduate rom Monash University, Sunway Campus,Malaysia to be conerred a PhD in Engineering and theirst PhD graduate who completed ull tertiary studies atthe Sunway Campus.

The 26-year-old, now an Engineering lecturer at hisalma mater is also part o the Robotics, Automation andManuacturing (RAM) Research Group. He is activelyconducting his research in the area o Fault Detection andIsolation (FDI) and has recently presented his research

indings at international conerences, such as the 2007International Conerence on Control Applications (IEEE)in Singapore and the 2008 International Federation o

Automatic Control (IFAC) in Seoul, Korea.

I would very much like to see my theoretical work evolveand be implemented onto practical applications, with thehope that it could improve the stability, saety and also thereliability o the systems, he explained.

A MUFY lecturer, Helen James, who taught him English,had this to say about Dr. Ng:Mark was a pleasure to teach. He was a teachers dreamstudent someone with an inquiring mind, hard-working

and very respectul. With such an attitude towards hisstudies and people in general, it really is no surprise thathe has reached such heights.

Advising younger people, Dr. Ng said: Its not easy to makea choice sometimes, but I guess I made a right decisionwhen I chose the MUFY programme because it providedme with the oundation that I needed or my undergraduatedegree at Monash University. The curriculum was very wellorganised and I did not ace any major diiculties in mystudies, transiting rom my oundation year at Sunway toMonash.

First engineering PhD has a connectionwith Sunway

ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 23


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Features

24 // MAGAZINE


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SunwayUniversityColle

gesJacquelineMurielLimbringsusthefreshreportfromt

hebattlefield

Features

ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 25

When AniManGakiconquers time and

space

About 600 students who are sel-proessing Anime and Mangaans rom all over Malaysia converged at Sunway UniversityCollege recently to celebrate all things Anime in an Anime event,

AniManGaki 09, organised by its Anime Club (SUAC) recently.

Students and guests were dressed to the hilt in their costumesdepicting characters such as Naruto, Bleach and Final Fantasywith clothes purchased rom Japan or tailor-made.

But, rumours are rie that they could be up to something that couldmean disaster to the human race. The 50 strong AniManGakicrew had been planning the event or six months. Could they betrying to conquer the world?

The estive atmosphere, resembling the Harajuku in Japan, alsohad a mini Omatsuri (traditional Japanese estival), eaturinggoldish scooping and Japanese yoyo water balloons. Therewere also Doujin booths the place where amateur artists soldtheir anarts.

The air was electric as cosplayers posed and mingled intheir eye-catching costumes. There were also live bandperormances, movie screenings and a karaoke competition.

On our urther investigation, there is nothing to worry. President oSUAC (2008-2009), Yvonne Sing, an American Degree TranserProgram student at Sunway, who is also a Doujin artist o twoyears, said, We learnt a lot during the planning o the event suchas teamwork and communication skills and we enjoyed it. I amglad that it turned out to be really awesome with an attendancethat was greater than expected.

It was ater all a students event. Stay tuned to the news updateon prime time. Meanwhile, I am Jacqueline Muriel Lim romSunway University Colleges public relations department.


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International Student

Madiha loves Penang

Psychology student, Madiha Mushtaque Rashid is a water sports enthusiast, and since visit ing Batu Ferringhi,has allen in love with the magical island o Penang.Ater spending a short stint on the Pearl o the Orient, the 20-year-old, hailing rom Pakistan, says she enjoyed

every moment o her holiday there, especially when she had the opportunity to savour Penang ood.

Her two avourite Penang cuisines are none other than the Penang Char Kway Teow and the variety o oodserved Penang-style in Mamak stalls. I have also started to like Iranian cuisine and Japanese sushi, sheadds.

In Penang, she also ound the Butterly Farm ascinating. Never in my lie have I seen so many butterlies, andthey are all so colourul as well!

Ater completing her Bachelor o Science (Hons) Psychology at Sunway University College, Madiha says shehopes to pursue her Master in Clinical or Organizational Psychology, which will pave the way or her to pursueher PhD.

Since arriving in Sunway in August 2008, Madiha admits it wasnt very diicult adapting to the learning environment.

In act, I love spending hours researching a certain topic and doing the assignments, she enthuses. However,it took some time to learn how to write in American Psychological Association (APA) ormat but my lecturers andriends have been particularly helpul.

The other thing that helps her to eel at home in Malaysia is the atmosphere at Masjid Jamek in Jalan MasjidIndia with its Indian ood. This is something I can relate to, she laughs.

Most importantly, it is her close riends who have helped her out. They are mostly international students romPakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. I have also built good riendshipswith local Chinese and Malays.

Her avourite lecturer is Associate Proessor Teoh Hsien-Jin,Head o the School o Health and Natural Sciences, whomshe believes is very knowledgeable. Personally, I ind his

lectures very interesting. Not to orget, I am ascinated by hislove or animals, especially his pet erret, she observes.

She has never regretted joining Sunway, ater checkingout its website. I chose Sunway because o itsrecognized degree in Psychology. Sunway has some othe most highly-qualiied lecturers. Besides, I will alsobe obtaining two certiicates, one rom Sunway andanother rom Lancaster University. I have thebest o both worlds here!

26 // MAGAZINE


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ISSUE 11 Vol 04 / 2009 // 27

Happenings

Themed, Neurological Processes, thestudent speakers at First Sunway AcademicColloquium on Psychological research heldrecently ocused on inormation and researchon decision-making, memory, mental rotationand hormonal change eects.

A total o nine psychology student researchindings were presented, along with ivestudent research poster presentations.

Topics included the concept o switchingattention by Tay Ee Lin. People generally donot switch their attention ocus between thedierent ears. However, given the suggestionto look or meaningul inormation, they aremore capable o switching attention betweenears, she said.

Meanwhile, Maziar Daghighi Masoulehspoke on how inormation presented canaect ones decisions. When both logicaland illogical inormation are presented at thesame time, people may be more likely to pickillogical inormation, he explained.

His colleague, Jocelyn Kungs researchocused on audio-visual inormation. Shetold the audience that such inormation isbest remembered despite having distractionsaround. Females seem to remember more

than males, she concluded.

There were two presentations on visualprocesses. Nur Diyanah Sulaiman suggestedthat, contrary to suggestions that womenhave poorer ability to ind their way aroundusing maps, there was no eect o hormonallevel on these abilities. Kok Kwee Tzeurther explained that it takes more time orpeople to see the dierences in two andthree dimensional objects, as the angle orotation increases. She also suggested thata persons mind may try to use the least timeconsuming method to recognise objects.

There were also other interesting topics byLee Ai Suan, Shoma Nair, Cassandra Pillay,Cheng Hui Wen, Ling Si Ying, Tan Wan

Ting, Chang Mei Yan, Foo Minyi and Wo SuWoan.

Psychology academic colloquium

Some students who helped prepare or the colloquium

Shoma Nair

Maziar Daghighi Masouleh

Nur Diyanah Sulaiman

Jocelyn Kung Shu-Yi


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Recipe

Ater a major renovation, the DiningRoom@Sunway now oers ClassicalFrench Cuisine and International Cuisineas part o the newly introduced lunch

menu; while the Deli oers quick bites osandwiches, pastries and local cuisine. Hereis a recipe rom the Dining Room@Sunway.

Penne pasta withseabass(serves 8)

Ingredients

400 gm Penne pasta20 ml Olive oil300 ml Cherry tomato, cut into halves

Pesto50 gms Basil10 gms Garlic20 gms Pine nuts10 gms Parmesan cheese30 ml Olive oilSaltCrushed black pepper

8 pieces o seabass (100 gms per piece)5 gm SageSaltCrushed black pepper

Pesto preparation: Combine all theingredients in a ood processor and blendto a paste

Penne pasta:

Set the water to boil with salt and oil andwhen the water is boiled, add in the pasta,stir to prevent sticking. Drain o the pastawhen it becomes sot and springy (al dente).Heat a pan with olive oil, put in the pastaollowed with the pesto, toss. Add in thecherry tomato. Check seasoning.

Pan-fried fish:

Season the ish with sage, salt and pepper.Pan-ry the ish on a skillet until cooked.

Assembly:

Place the pasta tossed with pesto on a plateand top with the pan-ried ish.

The Dining Room@Sunway

Level 5, North Building, Sunway University CollegeFor reservations, call 03-74918622 Extn: 8510

The restaurant is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays or lunch onlyduring the semesters. For the Deli Caf, operational days arenot ixed. Please call to enquire.

Dine in

Documents

Blaze Magazine VOL 04 ISSUE 11