12 Mandarin-language students bound for China

IT will be a lifetime experience for 12 Mandarin language-learning students from four Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) campuses who will be involved in a short-term ‘Outreach Mobility Programme’ at the Qingdao Hengxing University of Science & Technology, China.

The students will leave for Qingdao on 18 September (Wednesday) and return on 25th September.

The objective of the programme is to expose students to a purely Chinese language environment, communicate in Mandarin effectively thus building their confidence and cultivate personal interests and potentials under different cultures.

Those in the mobility programme are Nurul Alin Kamarudin (UniKL MIIT), Nur Raihan Nisreen Salleh (UniKL MIIT), Muhammad Nashiruddin Muhmin (UniKL MIIT), Nor Alia Syuhada (UniKL MIIT), Norfatonah Zaili (UniKL MIIT), Nur Diyana Mahadzir (UniKL UBIS), Ainul Wahida Mustaffa (UniKL UBIS), Anis Diyana Zin Azman (UniKL UBIS), Anis Hazwani Zawawi (UniKL MITEC), Nor Atokah Rosle (UniKL MITEC), Muhammad Izzuddin Abdul Halim (UniKL MESTECH) and Olivia Howell Jabu (UniKL MICET).

They will be accompanied by Madam Lai Siew Yoon and Nurhadiana Nurulmatin, lecturers from the UniKL Malaysian Institute of Information Technology.

“This Short Term Mobility Programme is a unique opportunity for students to explore different cultures and to get access to extraordinary learning opportunities via immersion. It is a fun bonding experience for everyone involved especially for UniKL students who learn Mandarin as a foreign language,” said Madam Lai.

This outreach programme to Qingdao is the second mobility programme to China. A similar maiden programme was launched in September 2017 whereby a group of 23 UniKL students went on a study tour to Beijing through which the students were able to enhance their Mandarin proficiency.

“The students also managed to explore the unique Chinese cultures. This fruitful and rewarding programme was an unforgettable learning process for the participants,” she added.

The signing of the Letter of Intent (LOI) and collaboration note between Universiti Kuala Lumpur and Qingdao Hengxing University of Science & Technology, China officiates the collaboration between both universities. This programme will not only strengthen the friendship between the two Universities but also enable students to explore different cultures and lifestyles in China.

“While UniKL supports this mobility programme to China with some form of funding we have also managed to secure sponsors and students also held fund-raising activities,” said Madam Lai.

She added that this mobility programme would be a significant first-hand language learning experience for the 12 students apart from cultural immersion. Besides, the CSR project would also instil good teamwork and social responsibility among the students.