students

On 4^th January 2016, 8 tourism students from APU were given the opportunity to render their services with Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, the 2^nd largest cruise company in the world. Students were assigned to handle the company’s turnaround cruises at West Port. Their duties included check in of passengers, luggage tagging, directing passengers to various points for 3,700 pax.

This opportunity helped participating students gain valuable experience and provided them with a greater outlook for their future. Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services was immensely satisfied with the quality of service rendered by APU’s students. Below are some of the feedback gained from both parties:-

Cruise Operator

“ Immensely thanking all of you for the great job and support rendered to Intercruises ( Ground handler ). I will prepare the appreciation letter.” - Ms Sujeithra Nair ( Intercruises )

Participating Students

“ This is the greatest moment in APU ” by Zarina Arifova ( Khazakztan )

“ Great experience “ by Surrayo Akhmedova ( Uzbekistan )

“ Thank you for providing us such a great opportunity ” by Sonam Zangmo ( Bhutan )

“ Great opportunity to work in the cruise industry ” by Alaa Alnafouri ( Syria )

“ Wonderful journey to be experienced ” by Zaid Ammar Housni ( Syria )

“ No words to describe how I feel throughout this job, a golden opportunity for us ‘’ by Lay Shar Hlaing ( Myanmar )

Students and staff from the APIIT Education Group took a break from their studies and work to indulge in the tastes of the world as the Asia Pacific Language Centre (APLC) hosted its 6th International Food Festival at its premises recently. 

The event saw active participation of students from over 20 nationalities; they prepared signature foods of their countries and served them at the event’s booths, while explaining to incoming visitors about the name, the origin and the ingredients of each foodstuff displayed. Over 200 visitors had the opportunity to taste food that are not commonly available in Malaysia, such as “Shashlyk” from Central Asia, “Vadai” from South India, “Kabsa” from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Egg Pancake from China, Kimchi Noodles from Korea and more. While feasting on these delectable foods, participants also fed their minds with knowledge as they learnt about the preparation processes and stories behind the foods through interactive conversations among each other. The study hall of APLC immediately transformed into a platform for cultural exchange.

It was an eye-opening experience for everyone who attended. Mahmood Al Harrasi, an Omani student of APLC, expressed his excitement during the event, “Today is a great day for me, as I tried many foods from many cultures, and I have learnt a lot through tasting the foods of others.” 

Our students made us proud again! 

Team YOLO, comprising Nicholas Ian Nonis, Choong Chih Xien and Goh Eu Gene, bagged the 1st Runner Up position of the UTP-HAX National Hacking Competition, which was organised by Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS on the 13th and 14th of November 2015. The competition saw participation from more than 40 teams, who came from local private and public universities.

3 teams of students represented APU in the competition: Team YOLO, Team EZ (Alexandr Suhameraa, Maray Omaraliev, Ahmed Nabil Al-Eryani) and Team NACHOS (Toong Chee Sheng, Syahmi Suleiman, Mohamed Siddiq Rahmat). The competition was intense – as students had to scan, test, hack, defend and use creative and constructive methods to secure their system. Throughout the competition, our students, who were from the APU Cyber Security & Forensic Club (CSFC), demonstrated outstanding effort and excellent teamwork; in which Team YOLO and Team NACHOS managed to enter the semi-finals, while Team YOLO eventually stood out as one of the finalists of the competition.

Other than securing remarkable positions at the competition, our students demonstrated their outstanding problem-solving ability – as Team YOLO attain 3 Bounty Awards (a special award given to the first team to solve a challenge), whereas Team EZ bagged 1 Bounty Award as well. 

Apart from the prizes and achievement they accomplished, these students were also exposed to memorable experiences of performing their best under pressure. The UTP-HAX was a good platform for them to seed creativity, foster innovation and stimulate teamwork among themselves. Congratulations to the teams and thumbs up to their coaches: Mr. Yogeswaran Nathan, Mr. Sulaiman bin Harun, Ms. Yusnita Yusof and Mr. Khoo Li Jing for their guidance and dedication in managing the teams.

APU’s Kenny Lock, a BSc (Hons) in Software Engineering graduate undertook a 6-week Global Internship Programme from May to June 2015 at HDE, Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan.  HDE is a trusted leader in Enterprise Cloud Security and provides security solutions to many large organisations in Japan. On completion of his internship recently, Kenny was offered a full-time position at HDE!

According to Mr Vijay Reddy, Senior Manager, APU, “In October 2014, during a visit to HDE Inc Japan, there was a discussion on internship and career opportunities for APU graduates, just when HDE had just introduced their Global Internship Programme. This invaluable internship opportunity was then made available to APU students”.

Kenny explains that he first applied for the internship through the APU Careers Portal. “Firstly, there was a three-step challenge to test my programming skills. After passing that, there was an online interview from the company to know more about my personalities and communication skills. It was happiness when I received a confirmation mail after HDE decided to hire me as an intern”.

 
Kazuhiro Ogura, Representative Director and Chief Executive Office of HDE, Inc. (left) with Kenny Lock (right)

Q: Can you briefly describe your workday at HDE Japan?
A: I was assigned to complete multiple challenging tasks by my mentors, which allowed them to evaluate my technical skills and soft skills based on my performance. Most importantly, I was able to learn and acquire essential knowledge as well as to meet people to develop my personal network, which are both important and useful for my future career.

 
Kenny Lock (bottom, third from left) with his colleagues at the Development Team of HDE, Inc.

Q. How has your Software Engineering studies been useful to you?
A: Fundamentals of software development and communication skills were relevant during my internship. Today's technology is moving at the fastest pace ever. The things we learned before may become obsolete within a short period of time. In my opinion, the most important skills to have as an IT expert are the ability to learn and adapt to new technology quickly and having the solid foundation of the fundamental knowledge that is related to one's IT field. I would always stay up-to-date with the latest news about technology and  the latest IT knowledge that potentially increases my value as an IT expert. With these skills one can be more versatile and competitive to face the next challenge.

 
Kenny doing a presentation in front of the staff during a monthly technical session where employees share their ideas and knowledge about technology

Q: Briefly describe your experience in Japan.
A: People are extremely friendly and the hospitality that I have experienced was like nothing I have experienced before, especially in the working environment of HDE. Everything is taken care of very professionally and all I need to do was only to concentrate on learning and exploring the Japanese way of working and their professionalism.

Q: What are your favourite foods and activities in Japan?
A: Japanese culture was always a huge influence to me while I was growing up. From the mysterious and sophisticated ancient traditional Japanese culture to the fascinating and advanced modern Japanese culture, the explorations to be made are endless. One of my favourite things to do is definitely roam around the famous Akihabara in Tokyo to hunt for rare collector’s items for my favourite movies, animes and mangas as I am a huge collector myself. I am also a huge fan of the Japanese cuisines as it is widely popular all around the world. I think they are generally healthier and there a huge variety of different foods as well.