No Comments// Posted in harvard, USA, utm by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 11.30.13.
Harvard Global Outreach Programme is a part of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Global Outreach Programme (GOP) that was initiated in 2009. It aims to encourage the mobility of UTM students and to provide the opportunity for UTM students to experience the extraordinary ecosystem of Harvard academics,resources, and residential life. In the context of learning opportunities, UTM-Harvard Global Outreach Programme acts as a platform for UTM students to experience the extraordinary learning ecosystem of Harvard University as well as contributing to multifaceted immersion opportunities for Malaysian Higher Education. The inception of this programme in 2010 is a milestone for UTM where its top students are sent to this Ivy League university to immerse in thought-provoking interactions with world-class scholars and the brightest students from all around the world.
The prestigious scholarship is awarded based on the student’s academic excellence (GCPA 3.5 and above), personality and curricular accolades. Apart from essay submission, the successful UTM-HARVARD GOP 2013 participant had to undergo rigorous series of assessment, interviews and Aptitude Test. So far, 16 undergraduate and postgraduate students have benefitted from the UTM-Harvard GOP and more students are expected to benefit from this programme in near future.
For 2013, out of twelve applicants, four participants were selected; three undergraduate students and one post-graduate student. The students were Andrew Lee Meng Fai (Aeronautic Engineering), Yap Sze Yong (Petroleum Engineering), Mohd Hafiz Bin Badrulhisham (Mechatronic Engineering) and myself, representing IT Management. We had to sit for IELTS/TOEFL in order to qualify to study at Harvard. Minimum requirement for English proficiency at Harvard is IELTS 7.0. Alhamdulillah, I managed to get 8.0 and successfully went through all the tough interviews and Aptitude Test.
Prior to my studies in Harvard University, we were asked to select courses that we would like to learn during the summer. As I am currently studying IT Management, I feel that choosing related course would be essential and beneficial for my studies. I decided to study Management of Technology and Innovation. This course examines the literature on management of technology and innovation. It is taught by Professor Cherian S. Thachenkary, PhD, Professor of Managerial Sciences, Georgia State University. As this is a graduate course, the class comprised 30 students who comes from 12 different countries. I’m the only Malaysian and Muslim in this class but that doesn’t deter me from networking with multi-cultural classmates. Mostly have working experience as diversed as IT Manager, Marketing Analyst, entrepreneurs, graduate students and even there’s a diplomat from Kazakhstan!
The course mainly study on the success and failure of innovation in corporate sectors and global market. Students are expected to understand the relevant theoretical frameworks that explain the conditions under which investments in technology can produce payoffs for the innovating firm. The implications for formulating a firm’s technology strategy are analyzed. Lectures and discussions are supplemented with extensive use of case studies, journal articles, and trade press. considered myself lucky as I have such wonderful team mates who made collaborative project an enjoyable process apart from the rigorous and demanding projects. My group comprises Luigi Masi, London School of Economics’ graduate student, Monica Alvira, Marketing graduate student from Chile, Earl Ng, a Filipino studying at Hong Kong University and Michael Verdonck, a Systems Analyst from Belgium. We collaborated and discussed via F2F and a lot of sessions at Starbucks.
It is hard for me to describe how moved and amazed I was to see so many people of so many different backgrounds brought together in one place. All of us were so different and yet so similar. Despite brought up and shaped completely on different forces and experiences, all of us shared a common love – brushing up the management skill.
As an avid researcher on learning innovation, I felt the course immensely assist me to improve my research skills and share the knowledge with the education community in Malaysia. As the class comprised an eclectic mix of novice and experienced technocrats in marketing, technology and innovation realms, the professor highly encouraged active debates and discussions on past and current innovations in the market. One of the best Harvard experiences for me is when my group received the highest mark in the class for our Harvard Business School Case Studies on Alibaba.com.
The academics at Harvard University are most challenging, however I believe that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself and strive for excellence. Albeit having to fast for more than 20 hours, alhamdulillah, I am thankful that I managed to still study and scored A for this subject. I was thrilled that I aced my exam, all the hard work paid off. All of these won’t be possible without the assistance of my professors, friends and support from my loved ones. In class, I tried to be actively involved in intellectual discourse and in Harvard, the ability to justify and question is very vital, it stretches to define who is able to successfully develop plans and implement their ideas. Networking and bonding with great friends that came from all parts of the world had enriched my personal perspectives on friendship, camaraderie, leadership, respect, trust and compassion.
No Comments// Posted in competition, conference, ICT, utm by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 11.28.13.
In conjunction with International Conference on Innovation & Information Systems (ICRIIS) this year, Wikiwiz had come up with DeXter. It is the latest venture of Wikiwiz’s technopreneurship project where one can turn one’s skills into money or outsource skilled tasks to trustworthy individuals with no fuss or worry. Alhamdulillah, Wikiwiz is going from strength to strength, challenges make a team stronger and closer.
So what is Dexter? How does it actually work? There are two parties involved, the one seeking service (dextee) and the one providing service (dexter). Dextees can post their task to get help from Dexters. Dexters find jobs by browsing through open tasks and choosing the ones they’d like to do. Whenever a Dextee posts a task, Dexters receive automatic alerts so that they can pick up the task quickly. Dexters get assigned to a task by agreeing to a Dextee’s set price or placing a bid that is selected by the Dextee. Once assigned, the Dextee contacts the Dexter, completes the task, and then marks it complete. The Dexter pays for the task through the website (mydexter.net) using our payment gateway, and then both parties have the chance to rate and review each other. Tadaaa!!
Wikiwiz & Dexter team comprising Muhammad Riazi, Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Habeeb Omotunde and myself.
Dexter flyer.
Explaining the Dexter’s project to Prof. Rose Alinda Alias, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & International) during the Innovation showcase.
Alhamdulillah, we won!
No Comments// Posted in malaysia, merdeka, writing by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 11.07.13.
This is my letter, featured by The Star on 5th Nov 2013.
Let’s learn to respect one another
WHEN I was six years old, living in Pontian, Johor, my neighbour was an Indian family.
Maniam was a cendol seller and his daughter Sugami, who was 13 years old, was very bubbly and friendly.
She was close to me and she considered me as her sister as she was the only child. She was very protective.
Her watchful eyes would observe me like a hawk and she would run after me when I absent-mindedly sprinted across the dusty kampung roads, trying to catch whatever insect that caught my interest.
As my parents were in the medical line, their working hours were irregular so sometimes, my mom would remind Sugami to watch over me as I spent my time with my grandma.
We would play “masak-masak” or “teng teng”. Sometimes, I watched her read her books aloud, admiring how intelligent she was for being able to read so well. It was so easy to impress a kid.
Every Monday and Wednesday, she would accompany me to Muqaddam classes over at my neighbour’s house, a stone’s throw from my grandma’s house.
She would pick me up after the classes and send me home safely.
Being a kid there were times I felt lazy but she would reprimand me and tell me that I needed to learn.
Sometimes, I would hang out at Sugami’s house and her parents would give me goodies like murukku and idli and delicious cendol.
However, when I was eight years old, Maniam moved to Negri Sembilan and that was the last time I met Sugami.
She taught me that love and compassion did not depend on your religion, the colour of your skin or how much money you make in a year.
Maybe I was too young to understand the significance of this but when I hear my mom retelling this story, the memories come flooding back. I remember how I cried when Sugami left and how much impact she had on me, a small Malay Muslim kid who grew up to be an educator.
When I look back at my childhood and reflect on how Malaysians treated one another, I wish more Malaysians realise that if we don’t learn to respect one another, if we don’t learn to tolerate, if we stop loving one another because we are of a different race or religion, we will end up being heartless intellectuals who see things from our own dogmatic perspective and not from our instincts as mere mortals.
To all my Indian teachers, lecturers, neighbours, friends, students and Malaysians, I wish you Deepavali Vathukkal.
Let us all respect one another and learn to love and never to hate.
NOR FADZLEEN SA’DON
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
No Comments// Posted in conference, ICT, IMETC, learning, m learning by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 09.17.13.
The 7th International Malaysian Educational Technology Convention (IMETC) was held in Bandung, Indonesia. A week after my studies in Harvard, I joined the secretariat at Golden Flower Hotel in Bandung, the venue of the convention. I was not alone as I was accompanied by my sister, Ucu. It was a great knowledge sharing session where there were many interesting papers presented on various research on social media, mobile learning, multimedia and blended learning approaches. Here’s a photo of all the presenters and committee members of 7th IMETC 2013.
Prof Ana Donaldson, Past Immediate President of AECT and I. Albeit her fame and reputation, she is very laidback and friendly. She gave me excellent advice on my thesis and upcoming projects. Thank you so much, I am humbled by your openness in knowledge sharing.
The secretariat. Associate Prof. Dr. Ariff, President of META and Dr. Rosnaini, Auditor of META. They are the backbones of this NGO that strives to acknowledge the key players’ contributions and knowledge in the realm of educational technology in Malaysia.
This year is a milestone for META as we have signed a memorandum with AECT on collaborative projects and several future joint-ventures. Even the Director of BTP signed up as a member These are some of the META members who have registered with AECT.
No Comments// Posted in internationalisation programme, talk, utm by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 09.12.13.
In the midst of my semester break, I received a call from UTM International, informing me that I was chosen to be on Agenda Awani, a talk show on Astro. Honestly, it took me by surprise but I’m humbled to represent Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to discuss on its monumental role in transforming the future leaders of our nation. They asked me to come up with a topic for the interview and after a long thought, I came up with ‘Mobiliti Mahasiswa & Globalisasi Minda’ which encapsulates UTM International’s vision and mission to encourage more students to explore the unchartered waters, travel and expand the horizon of their perspectives. I am glad that they love the topic!
The interview was recorded at Taman Tropika, UTM. The venue is so breathtaking and beautiful, it kinda took of the jitters that I had prior to the interview. The compere was Mr. Dzulfitri Yusop, a bubbly and friendly guy who asked us to relax and just go with the flow. Another student representing UTM is Wani Aznan, the former Secretary of the Students’ Union and acting as President as well. We both were kinda nervous but gradually, we learn to calm down and share our ideas with Mr. Dzul.
Never in my wildest dream that I would be given this opportunity to represent UTM on air to talk about a topic that I’m passionate about, mobility and innovation. I am proud that UTM has been robustly promoting myriad programmes that cultivate leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation and passion for life-long learning. If you are interested to watch the interview, you can check out it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHM6eI_axa4
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