Virtual Alumni Get Together with President

With the aim to keep the alumni connected with the university and update them on the current events at the university, the Department of Alumni Relations and Placement (DARP) organised the “Virtual Alumni Get Together with President” on 7 August 2021 via Zoom. The event was also supported by UTAR Alumni Association of Malaysia. Alumni from years back attended the virtual event to support and appreciate their alma mater.

Joining the celebration were UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, UTAR Alumni Association of Malaysia (UAAM) President Simon Chong Weng Yeap and UTAR alumni.

Prof Ewe advising alumni to keep a positive mindset to overcome challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic

Speaking at the virtual gathering, Prof Ewe said, “Having our alumni back to where they belong brings back a lot of memories. I think everyone remembers their first day in UTAR and all the memorable activities during the tertiary years. I understand that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all of us may face some challenges in our lives. However, we need to keep a positive mindset that we will overcome these challenges that are ahead of us. Resilience is the ability to endure and recover from adversity and a resilient person will face the challenges head-on and create solutions for a better world.”

He advised, “In order to stay relevant and competitive in the current world, we should practise the concept of lifelong learning. Whether pursuing personal interests and passions or chasing professional ambitions, lifelong learning can help us achieve personal fulfilment and satisfaction. While we’re busy learning a new skill or acquiring new knowledge, we’re also building other valuable skills that can help us in our personal and professional lives. Some of the skills include soft skills, especially interpersonal, public speaking and communication skills, problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills and much more.”

 

Simon Chong urging alumni to follow UTAR Alumni Association social media for more updates on alumni activities

Welcoming the alumni, Simon Chong said, “Today is a very important gathering, I am so delighted to see many familiar faces here. Today’s gathering provides an opportunity for everyone to meet each other after so many years. Alumni network is a physical embodiment and this allows us to foster cross generational ties and maintain meaningful relationship. It is for this reason that our Department of Alumni Relations and Placement, together with the UAAM, strive to keep our alumni network updated and strengthened through various activities and initiatives such as festive gatherings, career fair, workshops, overseas trips, outdoor events, local tours and more. Our relationship with UTAR should not be disconnected after graduating.”

He added, “By taking part in the Alumni Association, you will be able to cultivate your network. Being UTAR alumni gives you the opportunity to be exposed to wider business and professional networking with the alumni network and experts. Alumni Association hopes to build a community to help better utilise your skills; stay on top of the latest trend; keep a pulse on the job market; meet prospective mentors, partners and clients and gain excess to the necessary resources that will foster your career development.” He urged, “Do follow UTAR Alumni Association social media for more updates on future alumni activities.”

Many entertaining events were lined-up for the night, which included singing performance by UTAR alumni Angie Ng Min and Tay Jor Jun, sharing session by alumna Rasyidah Abu Johan and games. The highlight of the night was the sharing by Rasyidah, who became the first Malay news anchor in the country for RTM’s Mandarin news.

Angie Ng singing “那些花儿”

Tay singing “Moments”

A chit chat session with Angie Ng after her singing performance

Faculty of Science (FSc) alumna Angie Ng, who is also one of the performers for UTAR convocation, shared how she developed her interest for singing during her university life. She said, “I have been interested in singing since I was in my secondary school. It was interesting to deliver my messages and stories through my voice and I felt comfortable doing it. I started it by attending a singing competition and I slowly developed it when I was at the university. I started to make friends with people who had similar interest and that is how I expanded my community at the university. I also learnt about sound software and learnt to make use of it. Now, I have my own content channel where I share my voice and ideas.”

The gathering carried on with the presentation of UTAR Hospital video that featured its progress. Prof Ewe encouraged alumni to support and contribute to UTAR Hospital. He said, “UTAR Hospital inherits the same concept and spirit – by the people, for the people. This spirit will be used to operate UTAR Hospital which is a not-for-profit hospital. It is built with support and contribution from donors, the community and the general public. With such support received, the Hospital can move forward to achieve its aim to provide quality affordable medical and health services to serve the community.”

Prof Ewe enthused, “The hospital provides medical care and services in Western Medicine and Traditional and Complementary Medicine including Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine and Traditional Malay Medicine and also clinical training for UTAR medical and health sciences students. UTAR Hospital will also be a research centre. And, UTAR is going introduce renewable energy for the hospital’s electricity supply, while for UTAR Kampar Campus, we are going to implement solar panel project this year where we will install rooftop solar panels on rooftop of buildings to provide renewable energy for electricity supply.”

Rasyidah sharing her story using fluent mandarin

Rasyidah, a Public Relations alumna from UTAR, who is also the first Malay news anchor in the country for RTM’s Mandarin news, cheered everyone with her fluent mandarin during her sharing session.

Sharing her extraordinary journey, Rasyidah said, “It all started when I was five years old. My piano class had many Chinese kids and I wanted to play with them but we couldn’t talk to each other. Therefore, I decided to learn Mandarin and I insisted my parents to enroll me in a vernacular Chinese school.”

Rasyidah studied in a Chinese school throughout her primary and secondary school years, right up to Form Six. She said, “My two younger sisters also studied in a vernacular Chinese school.” “As I grew older, I realised the benefits of learning Mandarin, especially when you have a business. One can deal directly with suppliers and there are also more choices on the Chinese websites. And of course, it’s a value-added skill to one’s resume,” she added. Rasyidah also shared the challenges of her job during the pandemic.

The gathering was a great chance for the alumni to expand their networks of professional contacts, catch up with their university friends and enhance their connection with each other through the sharing of their experiences and knowledge.

The alumni also uses this platform to do recruitment by informing alumni of available vacancies. This is part of productive networking for alumni to help their peers and juniors.

The event adjourned with a group photography session and networking session.

 

Prof Ewe (top row, most left) and Prof Choong (fifth row, most left) with alumni