CYBERJAYA: It was a weekend full of celebrations for 1,038 graduates who received their scrolls at the University of Cyberjaya’s 12th Convocation Ceremony on the 3rd and 4th of December 2022.
The convocation ceremony also celebrated 7 renowned individuals for their contributions and achievements in the fields of business, education, human resource, pharmacy, finance, and science. This included Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan of Berjaya Group who received the Honorary Doctor of Business Innovation.
In his acceptance speech Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan said, “I am very honoured and grateful to be conferred the Honorary Doctorate by University of Cyberjaya. I feel very fortunate that I am able to achieve all this. To all graduates, I am sure you will be out looking for a job. I encourage some of you to be brave and to also consider taking the challenge of setting up your own enterprises and businesses.”
The university also conferred an Honorary Doctorate to Associate Professor Annette Foley of Federation University, Australia. Honorary Professorships were conferred to Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi of Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri, Dr. Arunachalam Nagappan of Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Professor Dr. Balakrishnan Parasuraman of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Mr. Amrahi Buang, committee for Halal Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Standards while Dato’ Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie, former national astronaut, doctor and entrepreneur received the Honorary Master of Medical Science.
Meanwhile Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom said, “When entering the workforce, new graduates should take the initiative to work on their tasks before someone asks them to do it. Another important value that graduates should know is, delayed gratification is more virtuous and satisfying. Do not fret if you feel that you are not being recognised in your career. Do the best you can, and in the end, you will be rewarded in one way or the other.”
The conferment of honorary awards is a hallmark of the growth of the University since its inception in 2005. Now almost at its 2-decade mark and having grown from a University College to a full-fledged University, the institution honours these individuals for their tireless efforts within their respective fields, with the hope of inspiring the next generation of graduates as they enter the working world.
The ceremony also awarded its best graduates with a total of 7 awards for their achievements including an Alumni Excellence Award which pays tribute to those who have played an important role in contributing to the social and economic lives of their communities.
The Alumni Excellence Award was given to 2014 MBBS alumni, Dr. Alia Nadhirah binti Ahmad Fakhri, whose significant achievements included creating the Integrated Bed Entry and Database System (IBEDS), which is a database project on the data management of
COVID-19 patients. This system efficiently manages patient data with real-time reporting using Microsoft Excel and was implemented in Pahang’s largest quarantine centre that housed 1,400 beds.
Her invention also awarded her the Winner of the Jury’s Choice Award at the JomLaunch Programming Conference 2021, a conference of ICT professionals across the country. “During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was working as an administrator in the operational room for one of the COVID-19 quarantine centres in Pahang. The situation was overwhelming as we had to input, analyse, and update the data for bed assignments which was a time-consuming process. To increase efficiency and productivity, I was able to come up with IBEDS which resulted in the reduction of work processes from hours to minutes, reduce errors and duplication of data,” said Dr. Alia.
The 2-day convocation ceremony was conducted in 3 sessions and were officiated by the Chancellor of University of Cyberjaya, Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Anuwar Ali.
“I am truly honoured and humbled to receive the Chancellor’s Award today. I thank all my lecturers for the time and effort they have put to nurture us to become who we are today. It was not easy juggling and adapting from physical classes to online classes then going back to physical classes again but I’m proud that we never gave up,” said Chancellor’s Award recipient from the Bachelor of Psychology, Julia Natasya binti Ahmad Kushairi.
“A big thanks to the lecturers and all friends for guiding me through this pathway. What I'm going to miss the most about University of Cyberjaya is the library, lecturers, my friends, and the student life at the campus,“ said an emotional Siti Syafinaz binti Kamaruzzaman, Vice Chancellor’s Award recipient from the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme.
Dean’s award recipient from the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme, Ng Hui Ting said, “My experience at the University of Cyberjaya has been enjoyable as I was able to be an active participant in various faculty and national events which led us into the Top 3 Semi-final round and 4th place in the National Pharmacy Competition: Clinical Challenge. My biggest motivators have been my parents and lecturers who were always there to guide me and give me encouragement to cope with my studies.”
“University of Cyberjaya has taught me so much – I have acquired soft-skills and hard-skills that I’m certain will help me in the future. Psychology has always been a passion of mine, and University of Cyberjaya has made that passion burn brighter for this Sarawakian!” said Diploma in Psychology graduate, Jared Edward Norman Bowker.
