Orientation programme ensures new foundation students get a good start at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science

Miri – 15 September 2018 – Over 56 new students enrolled in the Foundation in Engineering and Foundation in Science courses at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) embarked on their university careers with the campus’ Faculty of Engineering and Science recently following their week-long Foundation Orientation Programme.

The Foundation Orientation Programme consisted of talks, games and other interactive activities facilitated by staff of the Faculty of Engineering and Science and University Life Department, and student orientation leaders from the Curtin Volunteers! (CV!), Curtin Malaysia’s student volunteer organisation.

Such programmes are conducted by the Faculty each semester as entering a university environment for the first time can be a huge culture shock for many students. They are designed to be as interactive and fun as possible to lessen the impact, as well as highly informative to help them integrate with ease. 

Following a welcoming speech by Dean of Faculty of Engineering and Science Ir. Professor Lau Hieng Ho, the students were briefed on the Department of Foundation in Engineering and Science by Head of Department Kamaroizan Mohamad and on laboratory safety by lab technical officer Siaw Teck Ung.

This was followed by a talk entitled ‘Transition from School to University’ by associate lecturer Natallee Faith Kwan highlighting both the enriching experiences and challenges the students are likely to encounter, and a briefing on learning aids, class timetables and academic rules and regulations by associate lecturer Jameson Malang.

According to Kwan and Jameson, the main aim of the programme was to introduce the new students to staff of the Faculty and provide them relevant information to help them adapt to their new environment, including information on health and safety issues, and rules and regulations relating to their studies and conduct.

Fellow lecturers Pang Po Ken, Hii Kiew Ling, and Nong Nurnie Binti Mohd Nistah also stressed on the importance of the programme for new students, saying it enables them to not only engage with their lecturers and Faculty administrative staff, but also their peers and orientation leaders.

In addition to briefings by the lecturers, representatives of academic clubs such as the IEEE Curtin Malaysia Miri Student Branch, SPE Curtin Malaysia Student Chapter and Curtin Malaysia IChemE Student Chapter gave a presentation to showcase their club activities. These clubs regularly conduct extra co-curricular academic and discipline-related activities for their members as an extension of their classroom learning and further enrich their student experience.

Other activities during the programme included a ‘FUN Session’ where the students worked in groups to complete tasks involving day-to-day student activities such as attending classes, borrowing books from the library and writing emails to their lecturers to familiarise them with some of the Faculty’s administrative processes and procedures.

Curtin Malaysia, the largest Australian international campus in the world located in Miri, as well as the largest international campus and global hub of Curtin University in Asia, offers quality degree courses in engineering and science, business and humanities identical to those at Curtin’s main campus in Perth at affordable Malaysian fees.

Its one-year Foundation programmes in Engineering, Science, Commerce and Arts (Media) feed directly into the degree programmes.

The Foundation Studies in Engineering and Foundation Studies in Science courses prepare students for undergraduate study in Curtin’s Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Technology programmes. They also qualify for enrolment in the Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts programmes.

School leavers with outstanding results in the SPM, STPM, O-Level, A-Level and UEC examinations are encouraged to take advantage of the Curtin Malaysia Foundation Scholarships and Curtin Malaysia Merit Scholarships.

The scholarships aim to reward academic excellence among students from all backgrounds where they will enjoy significant tuition fee waivers to pursue a quality Australian education with Curtin Malaysia. Full details can be obtained at scholarships.curtin.edu.my.

For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit its website (www.curtin.edu.my), its Facebook page (CurtinMalaysia), Twitter profile (curtinmalaysia), Google+ page (Curtin Malaysia), Instagram (curtinmalaysia) or YouTube channel (Curtin Malaysia).

New students and Faculty staff at the start of the Foundation Orientation Week.