2 years flew by faster than a Thermodynamics exam.
And here I am again writing another blog post, only this time itâs to conclude my time spent at the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus.
Looking back, Iâm surprised at the number of things I have experienced since starting my course at USMC, each one of them deeply engraved into my memory. Letâs check them out, shall we?
With the gathering of people, it becomes a great opportunity to do some sports, especially those where you can’t play alone and you find yourself searching high and low to get someone willing to play with you.
Forming a netball team for the NUMed Games in my first year was a challenge from the get-go with the obvious lack of females in the student population. Hence, the following scenario:
A month before the games – 1 substitute player and players that knew nothing about netball.
A day before the games- 1 substitute player and players that knew something about netball.
We lost all our matches that day but I’m proud to say that we did not get thrashed. Good job fellow Wookies.
The Netball Club became an official club during my second year and we had another attempt at an upset at the NUMed Games. Old members left and new members came. How will this all affect the team’s Feng Shui?
With lots of luck, more luck and some skills, we miraculously emerged as the second-place winners.
Iâve picked up two other sports during my stay in Iskandar which are Ultimate Frisbee and volleyball (my Haikyuu dream was short-lived though).
Other than team sports, I also tried indoor climbing for the first time!
If you think you can escape all things electrical and electronic as well as any form of programming by choosing mechanical engineering, you are greatly mistaken. This is because over at USMC, the Design and Computing module assignments prevent you from doing just that.
For our Part 1 Design and Computing assignment, we had to work in groups to build a quadcopter.
The following year Part 1 students were able to 3-D print their parts (we got a chopping board by the way) as well as test their quadcopter indoors.  Due to the vastly improved conditions, their quadcopters flew higher, were more stable and actually landed safely. That said, our juniors never got to feel the thrill we felt every time our quadcopter barely avoided a crash landing.
Learning programming, from Python to Arduino, had opened up many opportunities for me. I managed to participate in two programming-related competitions this year.
The first was the Ultimake Makerthon held at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus where we had to build a prototype of a product that will be used to help the underprivileged. We were given 24 hours to complete as well as unlimited snacks and drinks.
The second was the Robotics Competition held at UTAR.
Another big part of my experience at USMC had to be being a part of the IET, a suggestion from Dr. Low turned reality.
Our first IET event was Pi Day where we could only afford to buy whipping cream and not actual pie. It was fun nonetheless.
Taking part in the Present Around The World (PATW) Competition was something that was way out of my comfort zone. Although I did fail miserably, it was still a traumatising an interesting learning experience.
After our one-year stint of running the IET On Campus, it was time to pass down our responsibilities to our juniors.
The EduTech Program was where we taught two groups of Secondary school students from different schools a bit of programming and give them the opportunity to present and share their ideas.
I was continuously amazed at how well my peers were teaching the students and interacting with them in general as I had quite a bit of trouble explaining and connecting with the students. Seriously, props to everyone. I have much to learn from you all.
Being a part of the IMechE Student Chapter of USMC (of which I somehow became the secretary for) was another invaluable experience.
We also invited Dyson to organise a workshop at the university.
Volunteering as a student ambassador for the university’s open days gave me the chance to share my thoughts with potential students on what it is like to study at USMC and collect some free university T-shirts along the way. Y u no give the red or navy shirt??Â
Below are more photos I’ve taken during my stay to view if you aren’t sick of this post yet.
Lastly, a transition/farewell dinner was organised for the Part 2 students right after our final examinations.
All in all, I had a fair share of stressful periods as well as fun times during these last two years and I had definitely learnt a lot, be it studies-wise or about life in general. One of the best things I’ve experience here though is meeting a ton of great people.
A person will only continue to experience new things as he or she goes through life, just as a student will continuously gain new experiences during their time in university. How much you experience is important, but itâs how much you let them change you that really matters. Donât you agree?