19 December 2010

On Sunday, 19th December 2010, a group of UTHM students fly to South Korea on a mission to conduct research on Korea culture, history, current issues on city development and sustainability. Twenty undergraduate students from 4 faculties, namely Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering and Faculty of Technology Management, Business and Enterpreneurship were chosen to participate in an international student mobility program to Korea (UTHM Korea ISEP 2010). Two UTHM officers, Associate Professor Dr Hj Mohd Idrus Hj Mohd Masirin and Mr Haris bin Mohd Noor, a Senior Lecturer, will be guiding the students through-out the program in Korea.

According to its head of delegation, Associate Professor Dr Hj Mohd Idrus Hj Mohd Masirin, these 20 students were selected from an interview process conducted in collaboration with the faculties involved. The budget for the program was obtained from the Students & Alumni Affairs Office which deals with student development programs under Dr Asri bin Selamat. Despite the allocated budget, the participants were also able to obtain some sponsorship from corporate figures to host a UTHM Malaysian Cultural Night in Seoul scheduled on the 30th December 2010.

The UTHM Korea ISEP 2010 which is also known by the participants as Winter Sonata Student Mobility Program 2010 is aimed to give the participants some exposure on Korean cultures and ethics, way of life as a foreign student in Korea and learning the fast & rapid development that happened in Korea in the last 20 years. Collaborations and support were also obtained from Pukyong National University (PKNU) in Busan, Persatuan Pelajar Malaysia Korea (PPMK) in Seoul, Kelab UMNO Korea and Malaysian Embassy in Korea, to make this program a success.

As the officer in-charge of student affairs and alumni, Prof. Ir Dr Amir Hashim Mohd Kassim was also met by representatives of the delegation. In the meeting, Prof Amir Hashim said that students must make full use of the opportunity when abroad to mingle with the international community and understand the difference between Malaysia and Korea, especially the youth mindset. He believes all participants will be able to achieve the objectives set by the program.

During an interview with the Program Director, Mr Utaya Kumar, he hope that through this program, participants will be able to gain experience and gather enough information to be shared with friends in UTHM and the community at large. He also said that prior to departure, the participants were given the honour to meet UTHM Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dato' Dr Mohd Noh Dalimin. The Vice Chancellor has reminded the participants to make the university proud by performing the tasks given with passion and purpose. According to him, students, when they went abroad are ambassadors to the university and the country. Thus, it is their duty to promote the university and the country to their best ability.

In an interview, Associate Prof. Dr. Hj Mohd Idrus also mentioned that all participants were given different tasks while they are in Korea. They are expected to complete the tasks on the stipulated time frame and upon returning to Malaysia on the 31st of December 2010, they will be compiling the information into books of different scopes and titles. According to Dr Mohd Idrus, this initiative is a collective effort between all members of the delegation. He hoped that everything will go smoothly as planned and students are healthy while participating in the program, especially with the current temperature between -2°C to -5°C in Korea. For interested parties who would like to know more about the delegation latest progress, experiences and information, please view the following face book group: UTHM Mobility Program.