I@H: Briefing Session for New UTM International Students.

MOHD ARIFFIN ABU HASSAN

Welcome to UTM family! Approaching the new semester, UTM International had specially held a briefing session to all the UTM new international students on 11th September . This briefing was held for both full-time students and exchange students from a total of almost 35 countries world wide. The objectives of this program were to address important issues faced by them as international students at UTM as well as to promote UTM facilities. It was also part of the Internationalisation at Home agenda (I@H).

For the first slot, the session began with the welcoming speech from the Pro-Vice Chancellor (International), UTM International, Assoc. Prof Dr. Mohd Ismid Bin Md Said. In his speech, he introduced UTM as a whole and highlighted to the students about each section in UTM International as well as their function. After that, the session continued by the presentation from Assoc. Prof Dr. Mohd Ariffin Bin Abu Hassan, the Associate Director of Global Education & Experience (GEE), UTM International. In his presentation, he showed a 3-minute video about the well being and activities of UTM International students. He also urged all the new students to take part in all activities and not to forget, to grab their opportunity to go abroad via UTM outbound mobility program. After that, the session continued with a presentation from Mr. Syazli Md Tahir on visa matters. He also highlighted the do’s and the don’ts of visa procedures that need to be obeyed by all UTM international students.

For the second slot, it began with the presentation from UTM Health Centre represented by their Medical Officer, Dr. Dina Farizah Binti Saliholdin. This session was then followed by an interesting presentation from UTM Counselling Centre delivered by the Director of UTM Counselling Centre, Dr. Zulfikar Bin Ahmad. Next, the session continued by the Director of Student Activity Development, Department of Student Affair, Assoc. Prof Dr. Azlan Bin Abdul Talib. All of these speakers had successfully highlighted about facilities that are available for the students in their respective center.

For the 15 minutes break, the students were entertained by Mr Shams Shazid Kader from Bangladesh. His performance was considered special as he sang a Malay song titled Permata Hati (by Aiman Tino).

The slot then continued with a presentation by Tuan Hj. Abu Bakar Bin Mohd Salleh, the UTM Bursar, and a presentation by Madam Diniha Binti Maskam, the Senior Information Technology Officer, of UTM Centre for Information and Communication Technology (CICT) followed by a presentation from Madam Khairulbahiyah Binti Yaakub, the Head of Division (Research and Information Services), UTM Library.

Towards the end of the slot, a Q&A session was held. Overall, the programme was held successfully and students were expected to gain useful insights prior to the start of their academic journey.