By Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin
Pix Pix: Shahiddan Saidi, Izwan Azman

BANGI , 4 September 2015 – Every new student should pick a field of their choice to excel other than their formal studies.

“Your 3 or 4 years is about to make you a highly valued person. It’s not just about academics,” said UKM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali.

He stated that they should brandish red umbrellas, a metaphor for standing out from the rest of the crowd or being distinctive.

“The class of 2015/16 will outdo the previous batch. All of you should be good in team-work and have the entrepreneurial spirit to raise UKM’s profile. I want to see all of you proudly flaunting a red umbrella,” he told freshmen at the Student-Friendly Week (3M) orientation programme for new students here today

The Vice-Chancellor said UKM’s uniqueness had attracted a lot of attention from the top 500 companies, among them Standard Chartered, Exxon Mobile, Sime Darby and UEM.

He further explained that even internationally-renowned universities in ASEAN countries had taken the cue from UKM which founded the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme (AYVP) where motivated and forward-thinking volunteers who would willingly give back to the community.

“Some 600 UKM students from South-East Asia had taken part in the AYVP programme, some of the from UKM. So take this opportunity to aid the community.

“You should also try to establish partnerships at home and abroad to become the unofficial representative of the country,” he advised.

On how many freshman entered UKM this session, he said 3,100 had accepted the offer from about 4,000 who received it, out of the more than 40,000 who applied for the university

“For every successful candidate offered a place as a freshman at UKM, there are four others who applied to the university as first choice but were not selected,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor said successful new students should be proud that they are among the best of the applicants.

He told the students that they would be given the encouragement and support needed in their endeavors, with some 10,000 professors, lecturers and support staff standing by.

During his motivational talk, Prof Noor Azlan also introduced the freshman to the top management, including the four Deputy Vice-Chancellors; Prof Dato’ Dr. Mazlin Mokhtar, Prof Dato’ Ir. Dr. Riza Atiq Abdullah O.K. Rahmat, Prof Datin Noor Aziah Mohd Awal and Prof Dr. Imran Ho Abdullah.

Also present were the Pro Vice-Chancellors Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Marzuki Mustafa and Prof Dr Nor Ghani Md Nor.