Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) held its 20th Convocation at the stately Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik in UTAR Perak Campus, Kampar from March 14 to 15. A total of 2379 graduands received their convocation scrolls over a two-day period, graduating from 73 programmes comprising 57 Bachelor (Honours) degree, 13 Master’s degree and three PhDs.
The Convocation also celebrated the academic accomplishments of the pioneer batches of graduates from the Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Business Administration (Corporate Management) from the Faculty of Business and Finance, Bachelor of Science (Honours) Agricultural Science from the Faculty of Science, and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Early Childhood Studies from the Faculty of Creative Industries.
Of the 2,379 graduands, five received their PhDs, 45 received their Master’s degree and 27 received their First Class Honours Degree/Honours Degree with Distinction while the rest received their Bachelor Honours with Merit and Bachelor Honours degree.
Anisha Joanne a/p Chandrasegaran, who graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) Psychology with Distinction said that she has always been interested in the human mind and behaviour, plans to do her Master’s overseas, thanked her mother for her unconditional sacrifices; and her lecturers and tutors for their invaluable advice and guidance. Having fulfilled the requirements of a first class honours, Anisha would be exempted from the repayment of her PTPTN loan.
Another graduate, Wong Thean Keat, who is attached to UMW Toyota, managed to overcome the odds to complete his part time Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) with Second Class Upper said, “time management is the key to success for most part time students, determination is just as important to ensure that you finish what you have started.”
UTAR Council Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who declared open the Convocation, congratulated the graduating students on their achievements. He motivated the graduates to be far-sighted people by quoting the famous saying of an American entrepreneur, Harvey Mackey saying, “A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward. Today’s convocation is not the end but the beginning of a new journey for you. Learning is a never-ending process and you will continue to pick up skills at work or during studies. If working is what you desire, my advice to you would be to cultivate adaptability, be open to new ideas, be flexible enough to work through challenging issues, and be able to cope when things do not go as planned.”
With the addition of 2379 graduates from this 20th Convocation, the number of the University’s alumni now stands at 38,277 since its inaugural convocation in 2005.
