A GRADUATE of Management and Science University’s (MSU) Bachelor in Nutrition (Hons) programme, Mohamad Sharizan Abdul Hamid has embarked on a unique and exciting career path as a nutrition officer with the Royal Medical Corps.
With an aim to further his expertise and experience in nutrition and health, as well as embark on a career with exciting challenges, Mohamad Sharizan recently shared with us his experiences since leaving MSU and how he ended up joining the armed forces.
“After graduating from MSU in 2015 I landed a job that was related to my degree. I had been really keen to work in a clinical environment, so I did my practical at a private medical centre in Kuala Lumpur. I was offered the position of diet aide upon completing the internship, but had to reject it because it was on contract basis.
“Luckily, I had also passed a two-week Graduate Cadet Officer Selection Camp in Malacca, and nine months of training as a cadet officer at the Academy in Port Dickson, so here I am now, giving nutrition talks to officers as well as staff.
“Since members of the army need to always be fit and healthy within the BMI normal range, I receive a lot of requests to conduct programmes of body weight management, healthy eating, and so on,” said Mohamad Sharizan.
Of his memorable experiences, one was when he gave a talk on halal food handling onboard the USNS Mercy in the United States. Another memorable experience was when he participated in Tiger Strike, a military exercise conducted between the Malaysian Army and the US Marines in Lahad Datu, Sabah, where the MSU alumnus gave a talk on healthy eating.
Believing that time is one of the greatest gifts he can give, Mohamad Sharizan has been setting the scene for community engagement since he was 18 as an active member of PROSTAR – short for Program Sihat Tanpa AIDS (Healthy Without AIDS Programme). His public-education activities included visiting orphanages and elderly-care centres.
During his Sabah posting to the B Coy of the First Medical Battalion at the Lok Kawi Camp in Kota Kinabalu from 2016 to 2018, he joined the Jiwa Murni programme for rural residents, where free medical and dental check-ups were provided. In his Nutritionist capacity, he set up a nutrition corner to give visual and hands-on information about eating right.
“I am super lucky to have studied at MSU. Across all the faculties and schools, community engagement is central to education. I had great lecturers, supervisors and mentors who guided me throughout my years there. Their knowledge, advice, direction, counselling, and guidance were some of my best takeaways,” he said.
Professing a love of travel and books that inspire, motivate, and teach him to be his better self every time, Mohamad Sharizan is working on a soon-to-be-published novel about relationships, self-empowerment, self-motivation, and how to deal with a heart in unease. Most of the scenes are set in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Istanbul, as he is quite familiar with these cities, having backpacked there in 2019.
The alumnus of MSU’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (FHLS) has also been featured in local mainstream media. During his practical semester, he was also interviewed by professors from four public universities for accreditation of the MSU Bachelor in Nutrition (Hons) programme.
“After the interview, I was offered, and accepted, a place on the Master in Sport Nutrition [course] at one of them, which is what I’m doing now, on flexible mode. Lifelong learning is yet another lesson from my MSU education, one that I take to heart and shall always treasure!”
As a top university in Malaysia, MSU prioritises student development to enhance graduate employability, with 98.7% of its graduates successfully securing employment within six months of their graduation, leading to MSU’s ranking by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) as Malaysia’s #1 for graduate employability.
Blending technical vocational education and training (TVET) with traditional academic curricula, MSU enhances competencies with industry internship, community and creative entrepreneurship, as well as global exposure; empowering MSU graduates with the well-roundedness desired and sought after by employers.
The university also offers various skills enhancement programmes which are aimed to improve students competitiveness. For instance, the Graduate Employability Skills (GEmS) and Personal Enrichment Competencies (PEC) programme at MSU serves to improve students’ soft skills.
Apart from the Nutrition programme, FHLS also offers diploma and bachelor programmes in the areas of Food Service Technology, Nursing, Cardiovascular Technology, Halal Quality Assurance, Medical Assistant, Radiotherapy and Physiotherapy.
For further information, contact the Engagement and Enrolment Department at 03 – 5521 6868. Additional information can also be obtained at www.msu.edu.my.
