The MyConstitution Campaign lands at KDU UC!

The Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee (ConstiLC) recently made its way to KDU University College, Section 13 Campus, for the MyConstitution Campaign launch, and to conduct a workshop entitled “Reconstituting Earth v2.0” for students.

The Perlembagaanku / MyConstitution Campaign is an initiative by the members of the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee (ConstiLC) which was formed in the year 2009 and headed by Chairperson, Edmund Bon to educate the public at large about the Federal Constitution of Malaysia which is the highest law in Malaysia.

The event was graced by KDU UC Vice Chancellor Yang Berbahagia Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Khoo Kay Khim, KDU Law School Dean Ms. Quah Ean Lin as well as ConstiLC Chairperson Mr. Edmund Bon.

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Aaron Chelliah, a Year 2 student of the University of London LL.B International Programme, shares his experience at the event.

The MyConstitution or PerlembagaanKu team from the Malaysian Bar Council arrived in KDU University College (Section 13 Campus) on the morning of the 16th of November 2010 to prepare for the launch of the MyConstitution Campaign in KDU.

The campaign had already been a raging success in many other institutions of higher learning, as well as secondary schools, in serving to educate the rakyat about their constitutional rights. Now, thanks to the combined efforts of the KDU UC management, KDU UC School of Law and the Malaysian Bar Council, the campaign would kick-off in KDU and bring awareness to the students as regards the Malaysian Constitution

After a brief introduction by the Master of Ceremonies and a brief address by Mr. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, chair of the Bar Council Human Rights Committee, our Vice Chancellor Emeritus Professor Dr. Khoo Kay Kim was invited onstage to deliver his address and to officially launch the MyConstitution campaign in KDU. 

The Road Often Travelled for KDU's Math and Science Quiz

written by: Ann Teoh

KDU’s highly popular Math and Science Quiz was initiated by the Centre for Pre-University Studies. Many fifth formers have thronged the auditorium of KDU eager to challenge the Quiz and to lay claim to some of the scholarships which are offered for Pre-University and Diploma programmes. There has emerged a champion for 2010 from SMK Damansara Jaya, Marc Choong, who has been awarded a full scholarship plus the Champion's Trophy and the Challenge Trophy for his school. The year 2010 was an exciting year for many challengers, some of whom have won tuition fee waivers of 60% or 30% for the January 2011 and March/April 2011 intake. So far, this Quiz has been brought to the thresholds of many schools,including a school in the east coast, SMK Tengku Afzan (Kuantan, Pahang),and all the way to the south, SMK Dato 'Sri Amar Diraja, Muar, Johor.

Up close and personal with secondary school students

written by: Ann Teoh

Dr Nelson, "I've had some great time with
the students, sharing and learning."

Have you ever met Dr. Todd Nelson? Upper Six students of SMK Taman SEA had the opportunity to do so, recently. Dr. Nelson is an American who has been at the helm of an international organisation for expatriates in Malaysia. He then joined KDU as a Trainer at its Teaching and Learning Centre. Subsequently, he was appointed as Head of KDU’s School of Business. Eager to meet secondary school students, he joined Mr. Steven Tan, the Programme Counsellor, at a workshop on 29 October, 2010.

Dr Nelson motivating the students

Motivating and encouraging, he inspired the sixth formers to think of rewarding careers that they could aspire. Quizzing them about some professions and the requirements , he engaged them with sound advice on how to stay motivated and be successful. Working in small groups , the students had fun time trying to think out of the box. Mr Steven Tan (Programme Counsellor) wrapped up with a presentation about scholarships that are available to the students to pursue their dreams.

Career Day with YTL Hotels

With more than 20 hotels all over the world, YTL Hotels, under the YTL Group, have always prided themselves as being one of the best in the hospitality industry. It comes as no surprise as its philosophy of always being best in class, regardless of the category of operation, is core to all aspects of the company's activities, with both service and operational excellence being our key drivers.

Pangkor Laut Resort, YTL Hotels

As such, it was inevitable when they organized a Career Day at KDU, students thronged the auditorium to listen to talks given by personalities from YTL Hotels, inquire and learn more about the hotel industry, and also to attend the open interviews held by the various hotel under the group.

 

The day opened with Ms Kitty Lee, Head of School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts, welcoming YTL Hotels and the students, followed by a speech from Ms Nancy Yeoh, the HR & Learning Vice President of YTL Hotels. 

Mr. Justin Lee, JW Marriott Hotel Manager, spoke about the hospitality industry and what one must possess in order to be successful and driven in his or her career. 

"You must have passion for the business, for the industry. It's by loving the business that you enjoy your work and what you do. And if you enjoy your day at work, then it doesn't feel like work!" he explained. 

He also spoke about the opportunities he has had at YTL Hotels, as the organization gives him the room to grow through his various postings in hotels all over the world. 

The talks got the students all pumped up and when the open interview sessions were opened, they took the opportunity to sit for it and also to learn more about the industry. 

The Spa Village under YTL Hotels also gave out impromptu shoulder massages. We spied with our little eye and saw two of our management heads enjoying it!

It was a good learning day for the students. 

The School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts have always prided themselves with the industry connection and believes students gain invaluable experience from practical trainings or internships. 

Who are KDU's Technopreneurs 2010/2011?

Written by: Ann Teoh

Competition judges (l-r): Encik Hishamuddin Mohamed, Mr Brian Crowley,
Dr Tengku Naufal, Mr Gary Goh

A combination of innovative ideas with engineering and computing skills have shuttled creative students to the forefront of the MSC Malaysia-IHL Business Plan and Business Idea Competition for 2010/2011. This inaugural competition held at KDU University College, Damansara Jaya campus, was organised by Ms Law Foong Li, an IT lecturer.

She explained that in propelling Malaysia towards being a knowledge economy, MSC Malaysia with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) have worked together with institutions of higher learning to discover latent talents in the fields of ICT and business. Termed as “Technopreneurship”, the competition seeks to challenge students from cross-disciplines to work together, as in a real-life organisation.

KDU Holds The Math & Science Quiz in SMK Tengku Afzan, Kuantan

The KDU Marketing Team recently headed to the east coast to conduct the Math & Science Quiz at SMK Tengku Afzan, an all-girls school in Kuantan, Pahang.

KDU’s Math & Science Quiz was first conducted in the Damansara Jaya campus, last year, incorporating schools in the Klang Valley. With its popularity growing, the KDU team decided to also hold individual ones in various secondary schools.

The objective of this quiz was to complement the Ministry of Education’s emphasis on the use of English in the teaching of Math & Science. The quiz questions covered the SPM syllabus and provided a practice for the school students in preparation for the upcoming SPM examination. It also incorporated some general knowledge questions aimed at encouraging students to read extensively.

Winners of the Math & Science Quiz were awarded trophies and also KDU scholarships applicable for any Pre-University or Diploma programmes.

Congratulations to our SMK Tengku Afzan winners!

1^st place: Yeon Wei Ni

2^nd   place: Melissa Vincent

3^rd place: Kathrynn Tan Mei Quin

Congratulations, winners!

For more information on the workshops / events/ quizzes, or if you would like us to organize one for your school, kindly get in touch with:

Valerie Ooi - Marketing Executive

Tel:             03 - 7953 6617      

Email: svooi@kdu.edu.my

KDU Sports Carnival 2010

 Date: 20 November 2010 (Saturday)

Time: 8.00am - 1.00pm

Venue: MBPJ Stadium Petaling Jaya, Kelana Jaya

Itinerary:

Time                   Activities

8.30am              Arrival and registration

8.55am              Welcome by Emcee

9.00am              Contingents' parade march in

9.30am              Cheerleading

10.00am            Athletic – 100M (Male)

10.05am            Athletic – 100M (Female)

10.15am            Athletic – 4 x 200M (Male)

10.25am            Athletic – 4 x 200M (Female)

10.30am            Athletic – 200M (Male)

10.35am            Athletic – 200M (Female)

10.40am            Athletic – 4 x 100M (Staff)

10.50am            Athletic – 4 x 100M (Male)

11.00am            Athletic – 4 x 100M (Female)

11.10am            Telematches

12.30pm            Announcement of results & Prize Giving ceremony

1.00pm              Closing ceremony & speech

1.10pm               End

Bus Services on 20 Nov 2010 for staff and students

Bus	Routes	Pick Up Time	Waiting Station
1.	KDU DJ Campus -> Stadium PJ Stadium PJ -> KDU DJ Campus	8.00am 1.30pm	Bus stop near basement exit Parking Lot at the stadium
2.	KDU Teratai Hostel -> Stadium PJ   Stadium PJ -> KDU Teratai Hostel	8.00am 1.30pm	In front of Teratai hostel guard house Parking Lot at the stadium
3.	Pelangi Utama -> KDU DJ ->Sterling Condo -> Stadium PJ  Stadium PJ -> Sterling Condo -> KDU DJ -> Pelangi Utama	7.45am (Pelangi Utama) 8.00am (KDU DJ Campus) 8.20am (Sterling Condo) 1.30pm	In front of Pelangi Utama guard house Bus stop near basement exit In front of Sterling Condo guard house Parking Lot at the stadium

Note: Please note that all bus services are based on first come first serve basis, and kindly wait for the bus on the designated pick up time mentioned above.

Please click on this enlarge image

Mystical Night

My fellow colleagues,

On behalf of the Public Relations class, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those who supported us throughout the course of this CSR project. Thank you for purchasing the tickets, donating, promoting and most importantly, attending KDU Mystical Night!

Through your generous support, we were able to raise RM7,788.00 for the Handicapped & Disabled Children's Association of Klang, Selangor. The class is currently making arrangements to visit the home sometime this week – to spend time with the kids by throwing a small party and later to hand over our cheque. If you wish to join us, please be in-touch so we can inform you on the date and time of the visit.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall......

How do you prevent an egg from breaking when you drop it from the third floor of a building? 

'Impossible," I hear you say?

Early this month, our Marketing team together with Dr. Satesh, the dean of KDU's School of Engineering, paid a visit to SMK Damansara Utama to show the students that it was very much possible. 

A contest aptly named the 'Egg Drop Contest' was held for the Form 3 students, who had recently completed the PMR examination. The students were separated into groups of 5, and each were given one egg and a couple sheets of newspaper.

Time Management 101

How well do you manage your time? 

Be it as a student or as an adult, time management will be one of the most essential skills one must have, and it's not a hard one to put to practice, once you get the hang of it, as students of SMJK Sam Tet (Ipoh) learned. 

Our KDU Marketing Team, Valerie Tan, Valerie Ooi and Arthur Manfred, recently took a trip to Ipoh to conduct a workshop on Time Management for the Sam Tet students. 

KDU SPORTS CARNIVAL 2010

FUTSAL
Congratulations to GREEN HOUSE, Champion of the Futsal team!

Champion : GREEN
1ST Runner Up : YELLOW
2nd Runner Up : RED
The results of the Futsal match are as follows:-

FINAL - Green vs Yellow 4 : 3 (3 : 3)

3rd / 4th Placing - Red vs Blue 4 : 1

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Come and support your team for the Netball match today:

DATE : 15th November 2010, Monday
VENUE : Auditorium, KDU DJ Campus
TIME : 6:00 PM onwards

KDU Goes to SMK Taman SEA!

Always fancied making fancy garnishes by carving fruits and vegetables? Or wondered what green practices are best for a sustainable environment?

Students from SMK Taman SEA had the chance to learn just that. The KDU team recently organized two workshops for the students, with the help of lecturers from the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts. 

Award-winning chef lecturer, Hamirudin Nazir, took helm of the Fruit & Vegetable Carving workshop, demonstrated to the students and teachers on the ways to make the carvings, and impressed them with his art skills. Although Chef Hamir has cautioned that it will be dangerous for students to do the hands-on, he managed to hand-pick students and taught them how to carve flowers out of oranges successfully!

As SMK Taman SEA is now embarking on a 'Go Green' campaign, the teacher counselor have requested for a talk based on that, as she wanted to create that spirit and inculcate the habit in her students. Mr. Gorge Thamas took charge of this workshop and got the students to brainstorm some solutions on how to 'Save Our Family', 'Save Our Planet' and 'Save Some Money'. 

For more information on the workshops, or if you would like us to organize a workshop for your school, kindly get in touch with:

Valerie Ooi - Marketing Executive

Tel: 03 - 7953 6617

Email: svooi@kdu.edu.my

Guess Who? Contest

KDU SPORTS CARNIVAL 2010

Congratulations to Red House, Champion for Volleyball and Dodgeball

VOLLEYBALL

Champion : RED

1ST Runner Up: BLUE

2nd Runner Up: GREEN

Results of the Volleyball match:-

FINAL - Red vs Blue 2 : 0 (25 – 15, 25 – 16)

3rd / 4th Placing - Green vs Yellow 2 : 0 (25 – 12, 25 – 23)

Champion - RED!

DODGEBALL

Champion : RED

1ST Runner Up : GREEN

2nd Runner Up : BLUE

 Results of the Dodgeball match:-

Champion - RED!

 

FINAL - Red vs Green 3 : 2

3rd / 4th Placing - Blue vs Yellow 5 : 1

FUTSAL - Give your support tomorrow!

DATE : 13th November 2010, Saturday

VENUE : Footy Futsal, Taman Megah, PJ

Scary Night - Halloween @ KDU

If The Haunted is spine-chilling, then you would have scooted if you had encountered blood-sucking vampires, demons and werewolves at the hallways of Section 13 campus.

Literally letting their hair down, the students had decorated their horror house for Halloween complete with offers of black spider eggs for a meal. Vampires, failing to find the "real thing" scooped onto Mr Raj's car, and had it mummified with supposedly animal entrails! If you were waiting for this angel to come forth to his rescue, it certainly didn't happen. She said she was away on holiday, visiting Count Dracula.


If you want any recipes for the grotesque olive spider eggs, just get in touch with rajasingam@kdu.edu.my. But your price must be right - be ready to supply heaploads of frog legs, eerie eyeballs, brittle bones, dried scabs, decayed tooth and more......

Freshies visited Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur

Freshies from the School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts

About 100 new chef students from the recent 2010 intake, together with their lecturers,Mr Hor Kok Teng, Mr Foo Cheok Hwa and Mr Paul Lionel, had the privilege of meeting two distinguished people from the prestigious Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur. This visit to the hotel was part of their week-long orientation programme. It was really up close and personal with the energetic and friendly Ms Shirley Hoo, the Director of Marketing Communications and Mr Tim Quam, the General Manager.

KDU's CIDTT Students landing on Planet Finale

A special note to CIDTT students who are completing their last session this Saturday.

Dear fellow travelers,

We’ll be landing on Planet Finale this Saturday (9am). It’s been a thrilling rocket-ride at near-zero gravity levels and we hope you’ve profited from the in-flight discussions, the class-space activities and the organic nourishment.

This time your pilot will be Dr. Tan with co-pilot Dr. Nelson. They’ll be briefing and working you through the motions and intrigues of Action Research, Evaluation, Ethics, Lifelong Learning and other exciting inter-galactic notions.

As we make our final descent to the space-station, you are kindly requested to be attired in suitable landing gear: Smart Casual.

Thank you for choosing KDU University College Air(Space)-Lines. We hope you’ve had a pleasant flight and we look forward to seeing you again in the near future.

Sincerely,

Alwyn
First Mate Steward

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The Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers (CIDTT) is a practice-based qualification for continuing professional development, relevant to all teaching and learning contexts. Widely accepted throughout Asia-Pacific as a certification for teaching in private colleges, the Diploma is suitable for all teachers and trainers seeking to enhance and certify their teaching or training skills. This international diploma is awarded by the University of Cambridge International Examinations and will help you to:

• improve the quality and outcomes of teaching and learning
• enhance and update professional skills and understanding
• introduce curriculum developments successfully
• achieve an international benchmark of excellence

KDU'S DISTINCTION

• All Cambridge-certified trainers
• Small facilitator/participant ratio (no more than 12 per cohort)
• 21st-century learning and innovative pedagogy
• Online follow-up conversations and discussions
• Techniques on teaching with technology
• Video-recording of individual participants during teaching practice
• Assistance in pre-reading assignments prior to submission.

Our approach will encourage maximal participation and focus and also provide a critical e-component to our participants’ experiential learning.

For more information, contact:

Ms Tee An Gel (e-mail: agtee@kdu.edu.my, Tel: 7953 6834) or
Alwyn Lau (e-mail: wwlau@kdu.edu.my, Tel: 7953 6833)

IS PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION NECESSARY FOR ENGINEERS?

Written by: Ann Teoh

Associate Professor Dr. R. Vigna Kumaran

The head of KDU’s School of Engineering, Dr. Satesh Namasivayam, had invited a young, experienced engineer, who is also the Deputy Dean of Graduate Studies at Universiti Tenaga Nasional, to enlighten engineering lecturers about professional registration as Chartered Engineers. This engineer is none other than Associate Professor Dr. R. Vigna Kumaran, who is also the Chairman of the Institution of Engineering and Technology – Malaysia Network.

Why be a Chartered Engineer?

“The benefits are not only numerous, but self-satisfying when you have attained this internationally-recognised professional qualification. It proves your competency and experience as a qualified engineer, you have the opportunity to network with other professional engineers and share/exchange information, increase your sphere of influence both at work and in the industry, it may leap-frog your career prospects and inevitably, better income potential as well as enjoy a career of life-long learning and personal development,” Dr. Vigna shared.

He also added that the faculty of a university college would require at least three members of its staff to be registered Chartered Engineers (CEng) or Professional Engineers (PEng).

It's a planned journey

As an engineer has to be in touch with technology, the latest discovery in engineering science, to develop, create and innovate designs or systems constantly, manage resources, exercise professional judgement and solve problems, the status of being a Chartered Engineer is a journey that has to be achieved, with proven competencies in professional practice, training and education. "It's not an arduous journey; it just needs some planning, focus on the goals, and work towards them," Dr Vigna advised.

How can the status of Chartered Engineer be achieved?

It is no mean feat, but it is not impossible to achieve the credentials of CEng after your name. The criterias are based on your academic qualifications, professional development, experience and competencies, as well as to present yourself at an interview or professional review , which will be conducted by Chartered engineers. This exercise is carried out to assess the candidate’s competence as an engineer.

Academic Qualifications

You will need to find out if your engineering degree is accredited by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM)/Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), or by the Engineering Council, U.K. (www.engineering-council.org.uk), or by the local government, for example, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.

Professional Development

• The estimated duration of recognised professional development required is 4 - 6 years for Chartered Engineer

• Be committed to continuous learning and improvement

Competency Level

You are required to keep evidence or proof of your work (when you atttend an interview). This can be in the form of your portfolio, business projects/plans, proposals, reviews and others.

Dr. Vigna also furnished some information about the various institutions where an engineer can register for membership with the IET.

Registration with Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET)

What is IET?

IET was first established in London, U.K. Its former name was IEE. In 2006, there was a merger and with it, a new name was given: Institute of Engineering & Technology or IET.

IET is a 21st century institution serving a global community engaged in engineering and technology. It has a network of 90 local groups. As a member, this means there is a ready network where you can be part of a global engineering and technology community.

Its associate members span from the communities of Physicists, Biologists, IT professionals, Mechanical as well as Electronics and Electrical engineers. It has the licence to register and validate the Chartered Engineer status, via the Engineering Council, U.K. The pre-condition to be a Chartered Engineer, is of course, to be a member of IET before your application can be accepted.

The Role IET Plays

• IET is a qualifying body. It has the authority to accredit programmes in a university.

• It is also the voice of the professional engineers.

• If you’re seeking knowledge to update yourself on the latest technological research, designs and innovation, you can source for this information from IET’s publications and the courses that are being provided.

• IET also organises high quality events for members to learn, socialise and to exchange information in informal settings. As members also participate in voluntary and charity events, they have opportunities to collaborate with other volunteer groups and do their part for the community.

IET Membership Categories

You can register as a member with IET under various categories, such as:

• Student Chapters
As a member, a student can have the opportunity for interaction, and to be involved in organising events. The students have been empowered to manage the Transmitter Hunt, and the Inter-Varsity Paintball competition to be held in March 2011.
• Associate
• Member (MIET or TMIET)
• Fellow (FIET)

For more information, you can log on to: www.theiet.org

Some information about other professional engineering institutions

• The Board of Engineers, Malaysia (BEM)
The BEM holds a tight reign on its regulations. As is stated by its mission, “To regulate engineering profession so as to ensure that professional engineering services provided in the country are in compliance with appropriate legislation and policies.”

• The Institute of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM)

The IEM conducts a lot of activities, talks, forums, as well as conducts interviews on behalf of BEM.

Being a Member

If you wish to register as a professional engineer, you will need to present yourself at a professional review interview. This, as Dr. Vigna said, is the best route. He encouraged every engineer to be a member of BEM. He stressed that a practising engineering and an academician has to be a member.

The Application Process

The application process is simple. Just apply as a graduate engineer. Within a month, you will be notified. Upon acceptance, you will go to IEM and apply as a graduate member. The same procedure applies for corporate membership. However, you will need to have about 4-5 years of working experience as an engineer. Professional Engineer status or IR, is only recognised in Malaysia.

As there was so much to share about the process of registration, the benefits of being a member, networking and mentoring, Dr. Vigna recommended that they could always contact him for a chat or advice.

The future mentors

Dr. Satesh, in closing, thanked Dr. Vigna for his openness, helpfulness and encouraged the engineering lecturers to make plans for their professional registration as engineers with IET. For academicians who have 5-6 years of experience, he encouraged them to target their career plan to be a Chartered Engineer. Several members of his staff have already started this journey, some of whom are Mr. Reynato Gamboa, Mr Sivajothi and Mr Douglas Tong. He wished them well, as they will one day, play the role of mentors to new staff who will join the School of Engineering.

Dr Satesh Namasivayam
Head, School of Engineering

Helping hands in flood-swamped Perlis

written by: Ann Teoh

Hi everyone:

A KDU Pre-University student, Sasha Yeoh Ee Ping, is responding to the flood situation in north Malaysia. She is giving a big helping hand in Perlis, together with her brother. So will the Hitz.fm morning crew members, JJ and Ean.

They are doing a whole show on the flood relief tomorrow (12 November, 2010) and they are also initiating a collection of supplies for those inundated by the flood. The Hitz.fm crew will be interviewing Sasha on the same day, so listen out between 6am to 10am and find out what Sasha is doing for the people there. As a prelude, this is what she said, "I'm so thankful that the flood relief effort is taking a sporadic spread."

Here's a link to an article written by Dato' Marina Mahathir in Musings, entitled "Are we disaster’d out?" (thestar.com.my, dated 10 November, 2010) about Sasha Yeoh Ee Ping's quick response to this situation.

Would you respond positively too when you listen to her tomorrow? Will you say, "I cannot come," or will you say, "Let's help too!"

"I'm sure YOU will be there!" - Sasha

KDU College hosts workshop for SPM students

Gopeng Camp Outing Enables Design Students to Think Out of the Box through Creativity

Behold the 'Atlantis'!

Ensuring the cleanliness of rivers and lakes has always been a riddling problem to nations all over the world. 

Something worth knowing...

Source: 

http://www.wwf.org.my/media_and_information/learning_sharing/freshwater_main/

Alarming, isn't it? What's even scarier is the fact that about 2 million tonnes of waste are dumped into rivers, lakes and streams everyday. 

Source: Executive Summary UN World Water Development Report (www.wateryear2003.org/en) 

As such, when the Mechanical Engineering Technical Division (METD) of The Institution of Engineers Malaysia held a Lake Clean-Up Machine Design Competition,  it spurred two of our Engineering Lecturers-In-Charge, Dr. Lee Chong Yew and Mr. Mason Chua together with our students, Muthu Raman Sethu (3rd year Northumbria University programme), Stanley Wong Hau Siang (Northumbria University programme graduate) and Tan Kin Sun (2nd year diploma student) to participate and design a machine that would benefit our environment. 

KDU Campus Newsletter 2010 - Issue 5/2010

To look up e-copies of the newsletters, here's a quick link.
http://www.kdu.edu.my/campus-life/newsletter.html