“Mum was the domestic engineer and handyman in our household. She fixes everything!”
Parents: Nor Shaharim Mohd Fadzlullah and Nor Hawati Yaacob
Students:
Nur Ashiqin binti Nor Shaharim, Joined in January 2012, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 29
Mohd Haqimi Izwan bin Nor Shaharim, Joined in May 2016, Mechanical Engineering
Mohd Haziq Irfan bin Nor Shaharim, Joined in March 2021, Mechanical Engineering
As a homemaker, Nor Hawati Yaacob was the designated handyman in her household – or as her children like to call her, “domestic engineer”.
Taking the cue from their dexterous mother, all her three children grew up tinkering with the household items. It was there that their love and curiosity for engineering began.
“My mum learnt to fix everything by herself. I watched her fix the lights, and that’s when I started developing an interest in repairing things around the house,” Nur Ashiqin revealed. “For example, I would pull open a laptop and see if I can execute a basic replacement for the keyboard and monitor. I would search YouTube to learn how to assemble and disassemble any current models that I have at home. Besides that, I also enjoy taking apart handphones to study the connections inside!”
Echoing his daughter’s comments, Nor Shaharim, who works in the banking industry, recalled fondly, “Our eldest daughter Nur Ashiqin has always been interested in technology and in fixing electronic items. Naturally, she decided to pursue a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in UTP.”
Growing up, Nur Ashiqin remembers the frequent drives from Ipoh to her father’s kampung in Bota Kanan, where they would always pass through the town of Tronoh where UTP was located. The expansive and impressive campus grounds made an impact on her young and impressionable mind. She already knew that it was one of the most respectable and prestigious universities in the country. The dream to pursue her tertiary education at UTP was ignited and she had never looked back.
During her final year at UTP, Nur Ashiqin majored in programming where she learnt about chip architecture and embedded systems. She’s done her family proud, but more importantly, she found her dream job in her current role as a System On Chip Design Engineer.
Her younger brother Mohd Haqimi also loved doing DIY projects and along with his sister, they even experimented by changing their father’s car radio!” Dad Nor Shaharim recalls with a laugh.
Naturally, when Shiqin left for UTP, these household tasks landed on Mohd Haqimi’s shoulders. “However, he is more interested in mechanical parts,” said Nor Hawati Yaacob. “So we encouraged him to pursue Mechanical Engineering and he subsequently majored in Product Technology.”
Youngest son Mohd Haziq has always looked up to his elder siblings for inspiration, so it came as no surprise that he ended up choosing UTP for his tertiary education too. Having eyed UTP for years, he studied hard so that he could apply to study there using his SPM trial results.
Hailing from Perak, the decision to send their children to UTP came naturally for parents Nor Shaharim and Nor Hawati Yaacob. Another reason they encouraged their children to enrol in UTP was after they witnessed how fast it climbed the ladder to become the top private university in Malaysia.
As parents, the couple noticed the interesting changes to their children’s personal development after they experienced life at campus. Nor Shaharim observed, “Both Nur Ashiqin and Mohd Haqimi have always been shy introverts throughout their schooling years. Studying in UTP gave them the opportunity to mingle with international students from diverse backgrounds and cultures. My daughter has sharpened her soft skills and socialises more confidently now, whereas my son has become more open and his English skills have also improved. Now during Hari Raya, we have many of their local and foreign classmates joining us for the celebrations!”
Nur Ashiqin agrees with her father’s assessment. “Back in high school, I would never volunteer to speak in public although my English was ok. Believe it or not, during my first year at Intel, I became the emcee for our annual dinner! My English has improved tremendously since hanging out with my international classmates at UTP. Best of all, we’re all still keeping in touch!”
Nor Hawati Yaacob chipped in, “You also participated in SEDEX with teammates from other engineering classes and your project was awarded Silver!”.
It was truly gratifying for Nor Shaharim and Nor Hawati Yaacob to see their children step out of their shells and actively participate in career-related events, attend language classes and even dabble in musical instruments class. They were also impressed that the UTP campus grounds offered a healthy and balanced space for both work and play. This provided their children with the room to unwind, relax and exercise after class, so crucial for mental and physical well-being.
UTP was one of the quickest universities to respond to the pandemic by adapting to the new norm. Currently, all their classes are conducted online. “Our youngest son is now attending his foundation classes online from home. We are happy to see that UTP has taken the extra effort to make online learning interesting by including side activities such as pop quizzes and games with rewards to keep the students engaged and motivated. Mohd Haziq has even won some prizes!’’ Nor Hawati Yaacob shares.
With such positive experiences, both Nor Shaharim and Nor Hawati Yaacob have become strong advocates in recommending other parents to enrol their children in UTP as well.
Published: 7 February 2022
