Three MMU Graduates Opened Up About Beating The Odds To Success. Here Are Their Stories
"We only learn to improve ourselves when we are faced with failures and reflect on our mistakes."
Published for MMU, 29 Oct 2018, 03:59 PM
With so many options out there, choosing the right university to further your studies can be an overwhelming decision
Fees, courses, facilities, university ranking, graduate employment rate... there's just so many factors to consider!
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to make sure that you're choosing a university that will not only provide you with a quality education, but also prepare you for life after university. Throughout your time there, your chosen university should be equipping you with the skills and knowledge you'll need to expertly handle the real world.
In partnership with Multimedia University Malaysia (MMU), we spoke to three of their alumni about how their time at university contributed to their success today. Here are their stories:
1. Khairul Hafizuddeen was initially studying Health Science in Egypt but unforeseen circumstances caused him to give it up and choose a new path
"I came back to Malaysia with all kinds of uncertainties clouding my mind. At first I was affected by the result but then as I took time to think and reflect on my failures, I found a new hope. My father as well as my mentor Mr. Fong both suggested that I continue to further my studies in Malaysia."
Based on their recommendation to pursue the IT field, Khairul began again from ground zero at MMU, studying an all new course of Information Science and Technology, majoring in IT Security.
From that point onwards, he never looked back and continued to move forward. Currently, he works as a Data Scientist at an IT company called Twistcode that specialises in Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, which are both areas he is passionate about.
Though his journey started with a failure, Khairul lives by the principle that failures are meant to be embraced
"Mistakes are part of our life and it is a learning process. We only learn to improve ourselves when we are faced with failures and reflect on our mistakes. This is how I continue to improve myself in various aspects which I used to see as my weaknesses."
Even while in university, Khairul struggled to balance his dual role as student and businessman, as he also runs his own company called Powerherbs. But armed with the belief that you have to work twice as hard in order to succeed in life, he rose to the occasion despite the struggles and excelled during his time at MMU. He was even awarded with the coveted President Award at his graduation.
Khairul's advice for new university students is a reminder to not only focus on gaining academic knowledge, but to also develop non-academic skills
"During my first year I would just stay in my room and study, study, study. I had a great CGPA but started feeling like something was missing and wondered if I was truly prepared to handle the real world. Participating in various college/club activities really helped me gain valuable experience - I regained self-esteem, learned about public relations, and developed all the other soft skills that you won't learn in class."
2. Driven by his passion for physics and mathematics, Ooi Su Dhi chose to pursue his career as a process engineer
The 25-year-old currently works at Texas Instruments Electronics Malaysia where his love for challenging tasks allows him to continuously face chances for improvement.
His responsibilities as a process engineer involve ensuring that his production line is functioning well and that any quality issues are immediately taken care of. He is also responsible for fine tuning the parameters of the process, ensuring that optimal output is achieved with the least amount of money spent, but without compromising quality.
He loves that he's not only able to actually put into practice what he learned during his 4-year Mechanical Engineering course in MMU, but also that he's able to widen his perspective and contribute to the success of the company in the semiconductor industry.
For Su Dhi, his greatest struggle is time constraints, which he more often than not has to face on a daily basis
"I am often entrusted with important tasks but only given minimal time to complete them. As such, learning how to prioritise is a must for me to attain success. I also have to do plenty of research to acquire additional knowledge in order to properly carry out and complete the task."
So for now, his measure of success is humble but heartfelt - completing projects on time and thinking out of the box to come up with solutions to solve line problems. In the future, he hopes to attain financial security and contribute back to society in some way.
He credits his time at MMU with training him how to think out of the box, developing his soft skills through group projects and presentations, and preparing him to face the reality of work life.
3. As a working mother of three kids, Letchumipunitha faced challenges right from the start when she decided to enroll in MMU's Executive Master Business Administration programme
Prior to taking up her Masters in 2016, she had already been working with the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2010. Specifically, she is part of the Global Service Centre (GSC) that plays an integral part in helping WHO to deliver its global mandate and implement its programs in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The Global Service Centre (GSC) provides administrative services to all staff and all WHO offices worldwide in respect of human resources, payroll, procurement, accounts payable and support of specific corporate IT applications. Punitha's role on the Payroll Compliance team essentially focuses on compliance reporting and reconciliation. So it's no wonder that her work responsibilities doesn't leave her much time for anything else, much less a Masters degree.
"I faced many challenges for the past two years - work commitments as well as my role as a mother and duties to my family have led to me having to make so many sacrifices in my life. 24 hours in a day is not enough for me. I constantly had to find better ways to balance work, studies, and daily life."
Punitha felt like all her efforts finally paid off when she successfully completed her studies and even had the added reward of being named Best EMBA student for 2018
"I truly felt my success when I finished the final paper of my last semester. It felt surreal to think that in the middle of my hectic life, I actually managed to complete my studies."
While one of the main reasons she chose MMU was because of it's strategic location close to her workplace in Cyberjaya, she feels that the university truly helped her grow and is especially grateful to all the lecturers who taught her classes.
"I really salute the lecturers for my batch, they helped and guided me in many ways. They were flexible and taught us in ways that made everything easy to understand. All this really supported me towards my success."
Punitha advises all prospective university students to "think at least two years in advance - plan well and execute your plans properly to make sure you achieve your dreams"
Inspired to start on your own path of success at MMU? Now’s your chance as the next intake is coming up soon on 14 November 2018!
Be part of Malaysia’s premiere private university where you'll get to learn from award-winning industry professionals and faculty, 46% of which are PhD holders. Get future-ready with innovative curriculum that integrates industry-relevant skills with technological and entrepreneurial know-how.
And once you graduate, you could be part of the 97% of MMU graduates who are employed just 6 months after graduation! Each of their 3 campuses in Cyberjaya, Melaka, and Johor offer vibrant student experiences, that will leave you with an unforgettable university life.
Click here to find out more.