MR TEO SOO PIN KDU DEBATE CHALLENGE 2009

MR TEO SOO PIN KDU DEBATE CHALLENGE 2009
3rd & 4th April 2009

Our annual KDU Debate Challenge is just around the corner! We look forward to have all of you to come and support the event.

This debate is open to all KDU College students. If students are interested to debate and have not signed up, kindly do so TODAY at the Student Services Centre (PIC: Ms Hannah).

We hope you could bring along your friends to support and learn from this exciting and fun debate challenge!

Dato' C Q Teo - KDU Debate Challenge 2009

We will be having our “Dato’ CQ Teo KDU Debate Challenge 2009” on the 1st & 2nd April 2009! We believe it will be an exciting event as 24 teams from high schools around Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan will be participating in this event.

Come and join us in this debate challenge! Below are the details:

Dato' C Q Teo - KDU Debate Challenge 2009

Day 1, 1st April 09 (Wednesday)
8.30am Registration & Refreshments
9.00am Briefing for Judges & Participants
9.30am Motion Release : Round 1
10.00am Round 1 starts
11.30am Motion Release : Round 2
12.00pm Round 2 starts
1.00pm Lunch
2.00pm Motion Release : Round 3
2.30pm Round 3 starts
3.30pm The End


Day 2, 2nd April 09 (Thursday)
8.30am Registration
9.00am Motion Release : Round 4
9.30am Round 4 starts
11.00am Motion Release : Quarter Finals
11.30am Quarter Finals starts
12.30pm Lunch
1.15pm Announcement on Semi Finalist
1.30pm Motion Release : Semi Finals
2.00pm Semi Finals starts
3.30pm Tea Break
4.00pm Motions Release : Finals
4.30pm Grand Finals starts
5.45pm Prize Giving Ceremony

Any further enquiries, do come and see us at the One Stop Centre/Student Services Centre (PIC: Ms Hannah)

Online Treasure Hunt

Take part in this hunt and win an ELBA Microwave Oven worth RM890.

# CLUE 1 – click here and go to STAR EDUCATION FAIR 2009
Identify and name one of our KDU staff who appeared in any of the pictures taken?

# CLUE 2 – click here and go to TLC IN THE NEWS
What does TLC stand for?

# CLUE 3 – click here and go to TOP CHEF’S TOM COLLICHIO
What did Chef’s son eat before he started going to school?

# CLUE 4 – click here and go to RENDEZVOUS WITH CHEF KENNETH
Name one of the desserts Chef Kenneth prepared in his menu?

# CLUE 5 – click here and go to RENDEZVOUS WITH CHEF KENNETH
Where is FHA2010 going to be held?

# CLUE 6 – click here and go to WHAT AFTER SPM?
Name all the six members who spearheaded the WHAT AFTER SPM project?

# CLUE 7 – click here and go to KDU CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE WEEK
Which one of these classes was not offered by the event?

a) Information Technology
b) Engineering
c) Nursing
d) Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts
e) Mass Communication
f) Law
g) Business

# CLUE 8 – click here and go to KDU CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE WEEK
Name the TV station that did the coverage on this event

# CLUE 9 – click here and go to CAMPUSLIFE
Name one of the blogs we follow?

# CLUE 10 – click here and go to CAMPUSLIFE
Who are the columnists for Campuslife?

In less than 100 words, please tell us why KDU College is the best institution in Malaysia?

Winner with the best slogan will win an ELBA Microwave Oven worth RM890

Please send all your answers and the following details to kdublog@gmail.com

# Name:
# Email:
# Mobile Number:
# Department/School:
# Your blog address, if any:

Top Chef's Tom Colicchio

Q&A with Kate Pickert

Tom Colicchio is a highly successful New York-based chef and cookbook author, but to fans of Bravo's cooking reality show Top Chef, he's the head judge. His piercing blue eyes, bald head and bottom-line honesty have helped make the competition show, which airs it's fifth season's finale Feb. 24, a dream opportunity for aspiring top chefs across the country. Colicchio talked to TIME about the love affair between two contestants, fellow judge Toby Young and saving a life the night before Barack Obama's inauguration.

You've talked about how you get your teenage son to eat healthy food. What does he think about your on-air personality?
He does watch the show. But I'm Dad. My on-air personality is not very different than my normal personality.

My son, before he went to school, he'd eat pretty much everything. Then as soon as he went to school, he got some peer pressure and other kids would say, 'Oh, you're gonna eat that. That's horrible. That's disgusting.'

What did your son eat before he started going to school?
Green vegetables. He has a problem with green things. I don't know why. If we have pizza and there's basil on it, he'll pick the basil out. But he likes peas for some reason.

Who have been the best characters in Top Chef's history?
First off, I need to say that we don't vote characters. All the personalities that come out in the reality part of the show — we're not privy to that. We had no idea Hosea and Leah were making out. We don't know, nor do we care.

But putting that aside — Stephen and his battle first season. He was a good cook, he had that tie on all the time, he was a real character. I think Hung had a big personality and I think he'll always been known for how fast he was in the kitchen, teetering on the edge of being dangerous. This season, obviously Fabio obviously is a big personality and a great guy. But I think also the villains stand out, like the Stefans and like the Tiffanis.

You said your on-air personality is not that different than your regular personality. Is [host] Padma [Lakshmi] different off the air?
No comment on that. (Laughs)

Is [Season 5 judge] Toby Young going to be back again?
I have no idea. A lot of people were like 'Oh, I can tell Tom hates Toby.' I actually got along with him really well. To get some fresh blood is nice. He's actually quite charming and funny and witty and I enjoyed having him around, so I don't know why people think that I hate him.

How often do you have big disagreements among the judges about who should win or lose the challenge?
From time to time, we'll have disagreements.

Who prevails?
If it's a tie, I do. We don't deliberate off camera at all. Often, when a guest judge is in, we have to tell them 'Keep your comments for the camera.' We don't want to have to recreate that conversation because we're not actors and it would sound sort of trite. I want to have a nice lively debate. What bugs me is if you get a judge on who thinks that their role is just to be witty and funny and clever and look at me. The show isn't about the judges. The show is about the contestants.

How much involvement do you have in what the challenges are?
The producers come up with the challenges.

Have there ever been challenges where you thought, 'This is so weird'?
I remember in the first season going 'This is retarded. I can't believe they're making chefs do this.' But then it actually does show off certain skills. And at the end of the day, this is entertainment and this stuff is very entertaining. Is a lot of it ridiculous? Of course it is. But that's what makes it interesting.

I heard you saved cookbook author Joan Nathan's life with the Heimlich maneuver at an inauguration party this year. Is that true?
It's true. It all happened so quickly. I was literally three feet from her. I was having a conversation with somebody else. She came in and I looked to my right and I saw her holding throat and two people next to her patting her back. And I walked over, put my arms around her and said, 'Can you talk?' She said 'No.' I hit her once. I asked her again. She said no. I did it again, chicken came out and that was it. It happened so fast.

Was the Heimlich maneuver part of your formal chef training?
I had some training — I was a lifeguard when I was 17 years old.

I know you can't divulge the winner, but can you tell us anything about what we'll see in the season finale?
People come up to me all the time and ask who won. It's like, if you watch the show, do you really want to know? I don't tell anybody. I think my wife may know. My son doesn't know. I love it when people say, 'You can tell me. I won't tell anybody.' Oh right, the contract that I signed that says I can go to jail for telling, you're excluded, right? No!

Read About Tom Colicchio Cooking a Meal for Under $10

Go,Going,Gone Green

Preserving and conserving the environment has been an on-going effort since the 1980’s.

Over the years, world leaders, celebrities and environment activists have done their bid to preserve Mother Nature by turning to organic food, endorsing and purchasing hybrid cars and using recyclable bags to do their shopping. On 5 March 2009, the students and staff at KDU College, Penang stepped up to do their bid.

The project aptly themed Green Environment Project is spearheaded by the Student Council at KDU College, Penang. This enthusiastic team of students planned out year-long activities in conjunction with their project to raise awareness, educate and to encourage the students and staff at KDU College, Penang to preserve and conserve Mother Nature for the future generation. Among the activities that are scheduled for the year is a Green t-shirt design competition, an environment talk, an environment video presentation, a recycling project, a Green fair and a visit to a recycling plant.

The Principal of KDU College, Penang, Dr Chong Beng Keok officiated the Green Environment Project. In her opening speech, she mentioned how on our part we can help conserve the environment by using biodegradable products to reduce waste in landfills. She also said that the projects that were lined up throughout the year were in line with the efforts that were being carried out globally for the same cause. She encouraged everyone to do their bid for the environment because no effort is too small to make a difference.

The Student Council had some very creative activities lined up for the launch. They asked the Principal to officiate the event by watering a small potted plant with a recyclable drinking water bottle and later proceeded with a short sketch that centred on the importance of recycling. To ensure that everyone understood the importance of preserving the environment, they played a montage of clips from celebrities and environment activists about the deterioration of Mother Nature and why it should be everyone’s responsibility to preserve and conserve it.

The staff and students at KDU College, Penang are doing their bid for Mother Nature by going green. What about you?

Dynamic Duo Made KDU College Penang Proud

Passion. It means different things to different individuals. The passion for fashion takes fashionistas from New York to Paris. Passion for food takes food lovers from one continent to another. Passion to make good music has kept the music industry evolving. Now, this is a story about two college students, whose passion made them RM 10,000 richer.

Jerry Tan Hong Theam and Ellis Un Yang Horng are very passionate about their work. They pay attention to the tiniest detail and nothing skips their sight. Imperfection would mean compromising the quality of their work. So, when Jerry first saw an advertisement of a design competition, he knew what he had to do. He also knew there would be hard work and sleepless nights involved. But, he was determined to do it. He also knew he was working against the clock. He went looking for a partner, someone who could help him and someone who shares his passion for design. That someone was Ellis Un. They immediately got down to work and started discussing details like material, rendering, measurement and colour. They said that they maximised their drawing skills especially in 3D as they worked on the sculpture.

Jerry is a second year Interior Design student who wanted to take part in this competition to gauge his designing skills in a high-profile competition. Ellis, who is in her final year of the Diploma in Interior Design, reckoned that the competition would work in her favour and give her some experience and exposure before she graduates and ventures into the working world.

The theme of the competition was ‘Tomorrow’s Butterfly, Tomorrow’s Penang.’ Jerry’s mind was already busy churning ideas when he saw the theme of the competition. He shared his thoughts with his partner, Ellis and she thought that the idea was creative and original. She was all for it. Though they had the idea worked out in their minds, researching and sourcing for material was entirely a different ball game. After four months of research, the duo finally decided on the kind of material they wanted to use and how the sculpture was going to look like. It took them a week to put the sculpture together.

The finished sculpture had many meanings to it. Mainly, it represented unity among the three races in Penang; the Malays, Chinese and Indians. The base of the sculpture is a map of Penang Island that is segregated into five parts, symbolising the elements of fire, water, wood, gold and earth. Jerry and Ellis implied that the base was segregated to give Penang Island good ‘feng shui’ or good energy. The sculpture was made of three pieces of paper clay that were shaped to look like the map of the Penang Island. The three pieces were then arranged vertically in such a way where they were able to hold up a globe made of wires on the top, representing the world.

Jerry and Ellis wanted to convey an important message through their sculpture. They wish to highlight that Penang Island can be at par with other cities in the world if only all races put their differences aside and worked together. They believe that only through unity, can a nation be at peace and harmony. Jerry added that they managed to get the work done in one week because they worked as a team. They reaped the fruits of their labour when their design won the first prize at the competition. The dynamic duo also said that they learned a lot from this competition and managed to enhance their designing skills. They expressed their heartfelt gratitude to their lecturers and classmates for the support and help that they received when they were working on the project.

Open Day @ KDU College, Penang

The Open Day at KDU College, Penang on 14 and 15 March 2009 was rather unusual albeit a happening one. Traditionally, students who came to enquire about the academic programmes would meet our experienced counsellors and academic staff to chart their study routes. This time around, there was as array of activities that took place besides academic counselling.

KDU College, Penang invited both profit and non profit organisations to join the Open Day fun. Pleo from Pensonic, BP Healthcare Group, England Optical Group were present during the Open Day. Besides that, non-governmental organisations like the Persatuan Kebajikan HOPE worldwide and the Persatuan Pembangunan Wanita Melayu Pulau Pinang were also present to promote their cause.

KDU College, Penang’s two-day Open Day was flooded with SPM and STPM leavers, numbered more than 500 walk-ins. All the lecturers and education counsellors were kept busy counselling back to back. Though it was a weekend, the college came alive thanks to the scores of students and parents. Some even stopped to take their blood pressure at a booth manned by nursing students from the School of Nursing and Allied Health at KDU College, Penang.

Educating for Character Conference

The Educating for Character Conference in Singapore yielded many worthwhile reminders on the need to have that one simple thing professionals keep forgetting: Have good manners.

Hal Urban's teachings mirror Stephen Covey's (the creator of the 7 Habits) in that he urges us to return to the hard journey of character ethics i.e. success is a function of deep change from the inside-out, not superficial performances (what Covey called 'personality ethics').

Teachers with character will, among other things:

• start teaching at the classroom door (i.e. they won't wait until they're inside the class to being imparting good character lessons to their students)


• teach manners, especially the Golden Rule


• ensure that the atmosphere is rid of "toxic elements" (such as complaining, gossiping, back-stabbing, etc.)


• help students to own and honor the rules


• laugh with their students


• help students set lifetime goals


• find something to celebrate every day


• encourage students to write mission-statements


• improve their teaching (and their role as teachers) every year

Urban reminded his listeners about the important difference between being STRICT and being MEAN.

He also shared some NLP-related techniques in addressing student boredom and dislike for homework and hand-outs. He encourage students, each time they were about to get a hand-out, to exclaim excitedly, "OH, BOY! ANOTHER FANTASTIC HAND-OUT!!". Also, instead of asking, "Do we HAVE to do homework today?", students should say, "Do we GET to do homework today?!"

Delightful quotes from the conference include:

• "Goals are dreams with deadlines"
  
• "The Golden Rule rules"


• "No discounts - everyone counts"


• "No one ever went wrong by being polite"


• "Comfort Zone - NO PARKING"

TLC is glad to champion the cause of character education at KDU, to promote good manners, a healthy social environment (with less complaining!) for an even better and more fulfilling educational milieu in the college.

KDU Classroom Experience Week

The recent concluded KDU Classroom Experience Week at our PJ Campus drew a crowd of 220 SPM school leavers. The event took place from 16-20 March 2009. Students had the opportunity to register for actual classes and experience the life as a KDU student for one week. Classes available for this event included Pre-University, Business, Engineering, Mass Communication, Law, Information Technology, and Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts.

Students were also given the opportunity to take part in a Blog N Win contest in conjunction with this event. Students were required to post their experience on their respective blogs. The best three blog entries would be given a prize each.

The event was also covered by our national TV station, RTM and will be showcased on TV1 on 30 March. Below are some of the pictures taken during the event.

What After SPM?

Click picture to visit blog

A plug for what I think is a really really great project spearheaded by a few young Malaysians - Chong Yong Wei Gabrielle, Goh Jing Pei, Kimberley Mei Kay, Tara Thean, Charis Loke - and project advisor Chen Chow (sorry Chen Chow, can't really call you young anymore). The aim of this project is to collect stories of 'young Malaysians who have pursued different pathways after SPM'. You can find out more details about the project here. I especially like this paragraph from the link above:

It does not matter whether you are a scholar with stellar results and a 3-inch thick resume, a typical student who went to a local university after finishing Form 6, or a youth who has to work in the pasar malam at night to foot your technical college fees in the day. It does not matter whether you have chosen the oft-beaten path or the road less travelled. We believe that there every education background offers its own boons and banes. And we believe that there are merits in telling any story.

Rendezvous with Chef Kenneth

Chef Kenneth and his team recently organized a dinner at Cafe87 for 3 nights only. The dinner was a practice for competition bound KDU College's culinary students. I was there for 3 consecutive nights to try out all the dishes. Below are the menu and pictures taken...

From Rendezvous with Kenneth

Teambuilding and Workshop

KDU College recently organized a series of teambuilding workshops for high schools around the Klang Valley area. The pictures above were taken at SMK Taman Bukit Maluri.

Kindly contact Ms. Daisy Ong at 03-7728 8123 or email: best@kdu.edu.my if your school requires such service from us.