Celebrating the French language, culture and technology

Front row, from left: Haripriyan, Lim Shi Jun, Husson, Barret and Dr Chang

C’est la fête de la langue française!

It was a celebration of the French language, culture and technology at Sungai Long Campus on 26 October 2018.Organised by the Division of Community and International Networking, “French Day” was held to provide exposure on the language, culture and industry of the European country.

Present at the event were Representative of the Embassy of France in Malaysia and Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Roland Husson, UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abdul Rahman, Assistant Director of the Malaysia-France University Centre (MFUC) Hélène Barret, Performance Analytics Engineer Haripriyan Jaganathan from AirLiquide, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science Head of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department Ir Dr Chang Yoong Choon, staff and students. 

Prof Faidz urging UTARians to seize the opportunity to learn more about France and its language

“As we celebrate this French day, let us hear the language from the French themselves who will share with us their personal experience and details about the country and its people. It will be a meaningful sharing session later on as we learn more about France’s education system, a country that is more than 10,000 km away from here,” said Prof Faidz in his welcome speech. 

Husson recommended young people to learn French as it will become their asset in the future

“France does not have a long history with Malaysia, however, our economic relationship is growing very fast. France’s investment in Malaysia has increased 200% from the year 2010 to 2017. Also, more than 280 French companies are registered in Malaysia, which goes to say plenty of job opportunities are made available for Malaysians. France is a romantic country, but it is also a country of science,” said Husson, adding that France is the fifth top country in the world with a strong economy and technology background.

The event saw interesting talks by speakers from France and Malaysia as well as workshops and film screening.

Barrett promoted France as a great tertiary study destination because the study cost is relatively low and international students are treated equally as the locals

Dr Chang stressing on the demand for complex problem-solving skill compared to other skills in the industries

According to Lim Shi Jun, who studied in France, people in France work for shorter hours but they are very efficient

Haripriyan sharing about the amazing technology utilised by the French company, AirLiquide

UTAR students and staff participating in French Language, Education and Cultural Workshop

Screening of Le Fabuleux Destin Amelie Poulain film and sharing session