Wholesome education produces family of achievers
(The Star, 20 August 2021)
“UTP’s wholesomeness made my children independent, confident and mature,” says Hisham, the proud dad of four children who have studied in UTP.
Drum roll please – Hisham Albakri has not one, not two, but four children who have studied in UTP (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS).
The eldest two, Nur Arinah and Adam Albakri, have graduated and are working, while “number three” (daughter) is a third-year electrical and electronics engineering student and “number four” (son) is pursuing a course in IT.
The Kuala Lumpur-based civil engineer says that enrolling his children in UTP has worked out even better than expected, adding, “If I were to sum it up, UTP’s wholesomeness has helped my children mature and develop significantly over time.”
Despite having almost all his children studying in UTP, Hisham says that he left the choice entirely to them.
“My wife and I don’t believe in dictating what they do; we just provide guidance,” he explains.
Arinah confesses that UTP was not her first choice.
She shares, “To be honest, I wanted to go overseas, but I did not manage to get a scholarship. As I didn't want to burden my parents, I opted for the best local private uni, which was UTP.”
Any minor regrets about not being able to go overseas disappeared when she started UTP life. “The campus itself is very modern and stunning with a beautiful lake that you can go kayaking in. Also, UTP has the coolest library in Malaysia,” says Arinah, a civil engineering graduate.
Arinah feels she made the right choice in UTP.
As time went on, she knew she had made the right choice, saying, “UTP is very industry driven. They invite key industry players to give adjunct lectures to keep the students updated with the latest technologies or inventions in the market. “During my first two years, our schedule was packed with field trips every semester. We visited a hydropower dam, water treatment plant, sewerage treatment plant, landfill, concrete batching plant and even stopped by the roadside to look at rocks and limestones for our geology class - how fun is that?”
UTP’s non-engineering courses also prepare students for the real world and train them to communicate well.
Furthermore, all events organised by the students provide a lot of exposure and experience to not only upskill their knowledge, but also sharpen their soft skills.
In other words, UTP prepares the graduates for work life outside the academic world, so much so that Arinah’s employer – Arup Jururunding Sdn Bhd, an engineering consultancy firm – looks forward to receiving internship applications from UTP students.
Echoing his sister’s sentiments, Adam, a mechanical engineering graduate, credits his career to UTP’s extensive internship programme, which has a reputation for producing well-rounded students who are industry-relevant.
“UTP makes it compulsory for their students to undergo a seven-month internship – one of the longest in the education market. I feel personally, my internship really laid a solid path for my career,” he says.
Like Adam, all his close friends got a job offer within six months of graduation. He is now working at an engineering consultancy services firm called AHAR Consultants PLT.
People recognise UTP graduates as quality graduates, he notes, adding, “Especially in the third and final year, the subjects were very focused on industry. Other than that, we also learned other subjects that translate into work-life benefits.
“I feel like these courses really help me with my day-to-day work now. Subjects like engineering economics and introduction to management and professional communication skills really helped shape us into the people we are today. These non-technical subjects train your soft skills and people skills.”
Arinah scored the silver and bronze awards for her engineering team project and final year project, while Adam achieved the bronze vice chancellor award and bronze final year project award.
Both Arinah and Adam had fulfilling extracurricular lives.
Other than excelling at their studies, both led full lives in terms of extracurricular activities. As proud dad Hisham puts it, “Life in UTP is not just about study, study study.”
On campus, Arinah played gamelan music and enrolled in acting classes. Hisham had a shock when he stumbled upon a YouTube link of his son performing in a band. As it turns out, Adam was a committee member for Euphonious, UTP's annual battle of the band’s competition.
Hisham is grateful for the many educational and life lessons UTP has provided his children.
He says, “UTP has made my children independent and confident. From my observation, UTP emphasises a lot on presentations and it has obviously honed their skills in this area.
“I’ve seen them present and talk online and I’m impressed – I think they’re even better than some of my staff.
“People always have the impression that if you study overseas, your English presentation would be better. I beg to differ and I think UTP’s internationalised approach has a lot to do with this.”
