16 CIE Awards for Sunway A-Level

Ten Sunway A-level students emerged the world’s top for their outstanding academic achievement and were awarded with the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards by the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) recently. 

Ang Hui Inn, Iulia Gherman, Gan Fang Wen, Leong Yean Long and Darren Soh Ningyuan posing with their certificates after the award giving ceremony. Muhammad Siddiq Foong, Nur Dzafirah, Charmaine Leong Sook Yee, Lee Kin Wai and Jacqueline Liu Xing Yi were absent in the photo.

A brighter future for 48 Sunway ADTP Students

48 outstanding achievers from Sunway American Degree Transfer Programme (ADTP) made the Dean’s list recently. The August to December semester students produced 10 Summa Cum Laude achievers, 9 of which scored 4.0 in their GPA and 1 who scored 3.91 in his GPA. The Summa Cum Laude which means “with highest honours” when translated is a Latin phrase often used to recognize academic excellence at an undergraduate level.

Chin Kah Men, a Summa Cum Laude achiever receiving her certificate.

Dexter Shee Zhen Rong, a Summa Cum Laude achiever receiving his certificate.

VU students on exchange get a bonus

Four students in the Victoria University (VU) Bachelor of Business twinning programme in Sunway University College will be off to their mother campus in Melbourne, Australia in the middle of February 2010 to do a semester (about 5 months) of their studies in VU Australia. What the four did not expect was that they were each given a grant of AUD5,000 by VU Australia to cover airfare, accommodation and other expenses relating to their studies.

VU students, Left to right : Vicky Riana, Fannie Chandra, Ng Mun Foong receiving the grants on behalf of the exchange students, from Prof Robert Bignall, Vice-Chancellor, Sunway University College. Second from right is Mustafa Yurukoff and extreme right is Saw Siu Siu.

Saw Siu Siu one of the four students, who is a Malaysian said “I was happy to be allowed to go to Australia and now I am really shocked but elated to receive this grant. We currently only pay the equivalent in Malaysian ringgit for our fees and now everything will be paid for us by VU Australia”

Ng Mun Foong also a Malaysian said “We are all excited and can’t wait to go to Australia to find out the difference between studying the VU programme in Sunway and in Australia. We plan also to participate in all the activities and learn more about Australian culture”.

The other two Australian-bound students are Vicky Riana and Fannie Chandra who are both from Indonesia.

An Australian student, Mustafa Yurukoff, a third year business student from VU Australia was an exchange student doing the reverse, studying a semester in VU at Sunway. He has just returned to Melbourne, Australia. Mustafa who sat four examinations here said “It was the best time of my life. I love Malaysia and the people are friendly. I like the warm weather. It felt like a home away from home”. Commenting on the programme here, he shared “I found the lecturers here friendly and approachable. I have made a lot of friends here and they made my experience here worthwhile”.

Outstanding Achiever Awards 2009

Our Heartiest Congratulations to our A-Level students who received Outstanding Achiever Awards 2009 by the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) based on the June 2009 examination results.

Top in Malaysia, AS Level:

Ng Hui Sin for Accounting

Oh Coyin for Biology

Thong Ming Sen for Law

Top in the World, AS Level:

Oh Coyin for Physics

Sarah Chew Jiak Sian for Psychology

Well done! Congratulations too, to the A-Level lecturers, S. Jeyanthi, Nesa Ramani Ganesan, Rajesvaran Murugan, T. Alagarajah and Ida Ngui for their tireless dedication and guidance.

Graduation Ceremony Celebrates Efforts of Top Students and Those Who Are Financially Disadvantaged

The Sunway University College Graduation Ceremony 2009, held at Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa recently, saw recipients being conferred their degrees and granted their diplomas by its Chancellor, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO.

Computing degree graduates holding their two scrolls from Lancaster University (red) and Sunway University College (blue)

This year, there were 381 graduates and diplomates from which 86 were Business, Computing and Psychology graduates of the joint honours degree programmes developed by Sunway University College and validated by Lancaster University since 2006. Among the 86 were 33 graduates who earned a first class honours degree. Professor Paul Wellings, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, was present to confer the Lancaster University scrolls to the proud graduates.

Professor Wellings said “I am delighted to be here in Malaysia to celebrate the results of the Lancaster/Sunway partnership. I am particularly pleased that 80% of the cohort have received a higher second or first class degree. These results are a real tribute to the quality of the students and the hard work that they have put in and give the students a real advantage in realizing their future ambitions”.

Community Scholars Graduating : (Left to right) Jagadesan, Azerena, Reenuka A/P Appalanaidu, Theresa Jerome, and Khalid bin Zainal Abidin. Absent, Emmanuel Yong

The ceremony also witnessed six community scholars receiving their scrolls under the Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin Community Scholarship, a scholarship programme for the financially disadvantaged. This scholarship is funded by the Sunway Education Trust which was recently converted to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation. One of the community scholars is Azerena Nediba A/P Zainal Abidin, who is of orang asli parentage. She received a Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Another community scholar who performed well is Jagadesan A/L Chandra Mohan who graduated with a First Class B.Sc (Hons) Information Technology and is the first in his family to graduate with a degree.

Jagadesan (centre) with (left to right) Lee Siok Ping , Director of Students Services, Lee Chee Loi, Executive Director of Malaysian Care, Rev. Esther Alfred, Malaysian Care and Elizabeth Lee, Executive Director, Sunway University College

 

Jagadesan who hopes to help others like him said “I’m grateful to the lecturers who have been very helpful to me as well as Malaysian Care and Sunway University College. Without them, I would not have been able to achieve this”.

Two Times in a Row!

Gan (left) with his drawing and Susan Phua, a GMD lecturer

Gan Soon Bing won again in the Tanjong Heritage 2009 art competition. Last year he won first prize in the watercolour category for his pointillism rendition of a Chinese temple. This year he wins the second prize for his uniquely angled pencil drawing of fishermen in Port Dickson in the charcoal/pencil category. Gan completed his diploma in Graphic and Multimedia Design this year and is now working with an advertising agency. Not bad Gan!

First Engineering PhD as a Connection with Sunway

In 2001, Mark Ng Kok Yew was in the Monash University Foundation Year (MUFY), a pre-university programme at Sunway College before it became Sunway University College. He then went to do an engineering degree at the Monash University, Sunway campus.

In just eight years, he made news, when he became the first graduate from Monash University campus in Bandar Sunway to be conferred a PhD in engineering and the first PhD graduate who completed full tertiary studies at Monash University, Sunway campus. He was conferred his degree and title in September 2009.

Mark is currently an engineering lecturer at Monash University Sunway Campus and is part of the Robotics, Automation and Manufacturing (RAM) Research Group. He is actively conducting his research in the area of Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI). He recently presented his research findings at international conferences, such as the 2007 International Conference on Control Applications (IEEE) in Singapore and the 2008 International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) in Seoul, Korea.

“I would very much like to see my theoretical work evolve and be implemented onto practical applications, with hope that it could improve the stability, safety and also the reliability of the systems,” he explained.

A MUFY lecturer at Sunway University College, Helen James, who taught him English, has this to say about Dr. Ng.

“Mark was a pleasure to teach. He was a teacher's dream student – someone with an inquiring mind, hard-working and very, respectful. With such an attitude towards his studies and people in general, it really is no surprise that he has reached such heights.”

Advising younger people, Dr. Ng said: “It’s not easy to make a choice sometimes, but I guess I made a right decision when I chose the MUFY programme because it provided me with the foundation that I needed for my undergraduate degree at Monash University. The curriculum was very well organized and I did not face any major difficulties in my studies, transiting from my foundation year at Sunway to Monash.”

Ninth Impressive Performance by MUFY Sunway University College

MUFY Top Scorer Chew Weng Chuen (right) with Lee Weng Keng, CEO, Education & Healthcare Division, the Sunway Group

Chew Weng Chuen, a student of the Monash University Foundation Year, pre-university programme at Sunway University College did Sunway University College proud by achieving the highest overall score in the June 2009 exams. His score was ranked the highest among all the providers of MUFY in the world, namely Taylors College Melbourne in Australia, Jakarta International College in Indonesia, Vientiane College in Laos, ANC Sri Lanka, Sunway University College and Sunway College, J.B.

For his outstanding performance, Weng Chuen received the Monash Excellence Award at the recent MUFY Graduation Night and this makes him the ninth winner from MUFY Sunway out of the ten times that the award has been presented. Weng Chuen has been awarded a full scholarship to read engineering at Monash University, Sunway campus.

In the same exams, MUFY at Sunway clinched twenty Monash Subject Awards. The Monash Subject Awards are presented to the students who score the highest mark among all the providers of MUFY in each of the subjects offered.

Nine students qualified for Monash University entrance scholarships to pursue undergraduate studies at the Australian university.

Recently, the Chancellor of Monash University, Australia, Dr Alan Finkel paid a visit to Sunway University College. During the visit he spoke to a packed auditorium of MUFY students, on how the university plans to move forward.

Dr Alan Finkel speaking to Sunway University College MUFY students

Kudos to Qu Hsueh Ming for His Outstanding World-Class Performance!

The Sun-U A-Level Programme is proud to announce the emergence from its ranks of yet another world beater!

First, in June 2006, there was Qu Hsueh Ming the pre-university graduate par excellence with a perfect 5A showing in the renowned Cambridge A-Level Examination.

Then, in September 2006, there was Hsueh Ming the Oxford-bound soon-to-be scholar of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), with impressive oratorical skills to boot, ready to mingle with Britain's best.

Today, there is Qu Hsueh Ming, B.A. (Oxon) in PPE, First Class. And deservedly honoured by the famed Oxford University as the crème de la crème of its Philosophy adherents.

Kudos to Hsueh Ming for his outstanding world-class performance! Kudos also to the dedicated team of A-Level educators who set him on his journey there!

14 Students Given USD118,000 per annum in Scholarships, Transferred to the Land of the Free

The WMU Presidential Scholars (except student in front row, third from left) with WMU staffs Cathleen Fuller (6th from right), Dr Craig Kaml (5th from right) and Mr Kirk Sundling (2nd from left)

12 students of the Sunway University College American Degree Transfer Program (ADTP) have each been awarded Presidential Scholarships worth USD8,000 per annum from Western Michigan University (WMU). Among them is the past President of the ADTP student committee Foo Kok Seong, who has chosen to study engineering. Foo played a large role in organizing the ADTP Twilight Carnival 2009 which raised funds for the Vivekananda Home in Rembau. WMU has been a twinning partner of the Sunway ADTP since 1987.

Apart from WMU, two other US universities awarded scholarships to Sunway ADTP students. Anjuli Rabindranath was a recipient of a scholarship from Illinois Institute of Technology to study chemical engineering. The scholarship is valued at US$12,000 per annum. Alvin Tan is studying business administration on a Community College Leadership Award valued at US10,000 per annum, from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. This scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated leadership ability through co-curricular activities.

Some other students are to be congratulated too for transferring to good US universities which are well-known for the programs they offer. Ahmad Safianu Saleh from Nigeria is pursuing aviation at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, a top aviation university in the US. Sean Shao Chi Yap, (who had deferred his studies from an earlier intake) is pursuing film production at Chapman University in Orange County, California. Lau Jann-Lim, who was Vice-President of the ADTP Student Committee transferred to New York University located in the “Big Apple” which is New York City. Lau is thrilled that New York University is 5 minutes away from Wall Street and he is majoring in Finance.

Sunway A-Level Students Are Tops Again

Recently two Cambridge GCE A-Level students from Sunway University College achieved the top 3 position in the world for Mathematics after sitting their examinations in November 2008.

Ooi Yu Min and Sim Hui Wen received the coveted Cambridge International Fellowship Top 3 in the World awards for Mathematics from Mr Ng Kim Huat, Cambridge International Examinations Regional Representative for Malaysia.

These awards are only given to Cambridge International Fellowships Centres and Sunway University College being one, earned this honour since 2005 in recognition of its excellent track record of high achieving students. Another A-Level student, Uranbileg Enkhturshin, from Mongolia, won First Place in the world in the University of Waterloo Euclid Math Contest 2009.

The A-Level programme was established at Sunway in 1987. Sunway University College is one out of about 40 Fellowship Centres in the world, and is one of four in Malaysia among the more than 1,100 Cambridge centres worldwide.

Wild Creativity Earns Students a Prize

Left to right (centre) students Kenry Tang, Laura Viviana Acero Collazos, Sharmila Shresta, Lyana Shamsudin, Amir Ali with their lecturers Joseph Fernz (left) and Nasarudin Ahmad (right)

In the Design & Illustrate : Horse Sculpture Competition organised by the Selangor Turf Club, Sunway University College students vivid painting on a life-size horse sculpture won them the third prize of RM3,000.

The title of their creative work was “Through the eyes of the Artist”. Their concept reflected the great master paintings of horses from primitivism to post-modernism covering the works of artists like Carvaggio, Peter Paul Reuben, Picasso and others.

The expression of the painting was as free as the movement of a horse on an open field, wild yet beautiful and controlled.

The competition was organised in conjunction with the Selangor Turf Club International Racing Carnival 2009.

Students Apply Knowledge to Become Champs in Future Leadership Program

(Left to Right) Dato’ Sri Nazir Abdul Razak, Group CEO, CIMB Group, Chan Yung Mun, Chan Jinn Yep, Chang Mei Yan, Joyce Oo Pui Yee, Phillip Owens, Director, Future Leadership Programme, Wall Street Journal Asia and Hamidah Naziadin, Head, Group Corporate Resources, CIMB Group

Sunway University Students emerged the champions of the Business Challenge event in the CIMB Group and Wall Street Journal Asia Malaysia Future Leadership Program 2008/2009 held recently. The team made up of four students, Chan Jinn Yep, Chan Yung Mun, Joyce Oo Pui Yee and Chang Mei Yan beat teams from 8 other private and public universities and colleges. The four are pursuing B.Sc (Hons) joint degrees in collaboration with Lancaster University at Sunway.

The Business Challenge comprised the submission of a business proposal, presentation of the proposal and a quiz during the grand final held recently at the Securities Commission. The title of the business proposal was “Opportunities for Financial Services Amidst the Economic Crisis”.
The quiz which was the highlight saw participants engaged in three rounds of quizzes. The final round had a risk and reward element in the game which added spice to the whole exercise. The Sunway team had earned a total of RM8,000 in “investment money” in this round enabling them to beat the other teams in the quiz.

Team leader Chan Jinn Yep shared “This competition provided us a chance to prove that the knowledge gained from our course complimented by our own current affairs knowledge can be utilized in the real business world”. Team mate Chan Yung Mun added “We were trying to gain as much experience as possible and at the same time, it was fun. We just tried our best not to be knocked out”.

For their amazing efforts each team member won a return Air Asia air ticket to Hong Kong, RM500 cash in a CIMB-AirAsia Saver account and trophies.

Chancellors Scholars Visit to Lancaster

Sunway University College sent the first batch of its Chancellors Scholars, Tay Ee Lin and Chan Jinn Yep on a two-week study visit to Lancaster University, UK. The visit, which took place in March this year, was jointly sponsored by both Sunway University College, Malaysia and Lancaster University, UK.

The objective of the trip was to provide an opportunity for outstanding Sunway students, of the Sunway degree in affiliation with Lancaster University, to get a glimpse of campus life at Lancaster University and learn about British culture and heritage. The two third year students also visited departments relevant to their studies and experienced how lectures and tutorials are conducted at Lancaster. Such trips also provide an opportunity for students to build a network of contacts in Lancaster which might be helpful in their future career planning or postgraduate study.

Ee Lin (left) and Jinn Yep (right) on the Lancaster University campus.

Tay Ee Lin, currently pursuing her BSc (Hons) Psychology not only had the opportunity to attend third year classes and research discussions while at Lancaster but also visited the infant assessment observation laboratory and attended the National Science and Engineering event conducted by the staff from Lancaster’s Psychology Department. Chan Jinn Yep on the other hand, a BSc (Hons) Business Management student attended classes and tutorials at the world renowned Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) which is ranked 4th in the UK and 27th in the world by Financial Times Global MBA 2009.

The students were based at Bowland Hall on campus for the whole two weeks but also had the opportunity to visit nearby Liverpool, Manchester and the Lake District. One weekend was also spent in York visiting castles, cathedrals, museums and various other places of interest.

The two weeks saw both Ee Lin and Jinn Yep get a different perspective of student life through joining university activities organised by the Lancaster University Student’s Union (LUSU) and a community project organised by the Lancaster University Volunteer Unit (LUVU). The LUVU project involved introducing local standard 3 school kids to environmental issues though music and art. Both students were impressed with how strong and active the Student union at Lancaster University was and how they were able to mobilise students to participate in university-wide projects. They were also especially pleased with how environmentally conscious students were at Lancaster.

Ee Lin (right) and Jinn Yep (left) meeting with Professor Robert McKinlay, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Lancaster University during the visit.

Jinn Yep shared “The two-weeks in Lancaster was indeed a very fruitful one. All through the journey, I learnt a lot and have been inspired with many new ideas for what I am going to do in future. I was particularly impressed with the “green” mentality which I hope can be implemented in Malaysia, eventually spreading to our local community. If this really works out, it will benefit not only the students but the community at large. I thank Sunway University College and Lancaster University for providing me with such a valuable experience during my university life”.

“On the whole, visiting places indeed gave me an opportunity to see the world at large. It allowed me to meet new people, experience different cultures, see how things are carried out in a different system and in a way it has triggered my thoughts from a whole new different perspective. This trip also made me walk out of my comfort zone and carry myself well in a new environment. While being away from home, naturally I just want to carry and present myself well to give a positive image to others about my country and more specifically, the university I am representing. For me, I realised that this trip wasn’t just as simple as seeing new things, familiarising with new culture or learning about history; I also learnt to interact and communicate with people of different nationalities and in various settings” said Ee Lin.

The Chancellors Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship from Sunway University College. It is named after the two distinguished Chancellors; Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO, Chancellor of Sunway University College and Sir Chris Bonnington, Chancellor of Lancaster University. It commemorates the affiliation between Sunway University College and Lancaster University in offering Sunway developed joint degree programmes in Business, Computer Technology, Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management and Psychology.

In addition to academic excellence, applicants are expected to excel in extra-curricular activities, possess leadership qualities, are self motivated and display an overall positive attitude.

Bags With Down-To-Earth Style

Sunway University College’s Shalei Yazmin Hamid Fulgencio, 18, a Graphic & Multimedia Design student won a Top 10 Designs Award at the 1000+7 Designs: World of Eco Bag Design Competition held in conjunction with KL Design Week 2009 Festival recently. The competition organised by BECOME “Be an Eco friend like Me” environmental community organization featured 1007 reusable bags with messages aimed at raising the awareness of conserving the environment and minimizing the use of plastic bags.

Shalei who hails from the Philippines won an Eco goody bag worth US1,000.00, a Certificate and a 1000+7 Designs BECOME special edition book. Three other Sunway students Yun Ha, Low Hock Yong and Yap Ching Nam earned a place in the Top 1000 Designs Award in the same competition.

Commenting on her achievement, Shalei shared, “I was overwhelmed when I heard that I won an award in this competition and I am especially proud that I could do this for Sunway and my parents”.

VU Student Wins Discovery Trip to Melbourne

Kesego Elizabeth Poomore, student from Botswana cried tears of joy when she found that she had the winning raffle for a return air ticket to Melbourne sponsored by Victoria University (VU), Australia.

Kesego is the lucky student in the first year of the Bachelor of Business twinning programme with Victoria University at Sunway University College. Her prize includes three night’s accommodation, a guided VU campus tour and a Metlink pass to help her enjoy the delights of Melbourne. Kesego will also get to have dinner with the VU Chancellor, Hon. Justice Frank Vincent and the VUI crew.