By Andrea Lim
On the 31st of October, NUMed arranged a buffet-style luncheon where our students have the opportunity to dine together with senior figures from Newcastle University. Arriving on our shores from the UK were Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Elle Ritchie, and the Registrar of the University Dr. John Hogan, who both participated in a prize-giving ceremony that commenced during the event.
Held on the top floor of the LRC, our students were invited not only to taste a variety of Indian food, but also to mingle and have a chat with people from our Mother university.
With an array of Indian delights prepared by Riverwalk restaurant, students and lecturers alike were able to enjoy tantalizing dishes such as tandoori, nasi briyani and even the sweet gulab jamun.
Commenting on the buffet, Stage 2 student Jezzmin was happy that she was able to sample her comfort food after being cooped up in Nusajaya for a month.
“I enjoyed myself,” she says, adding that she also was able to speak to some of the lecturers who came from the UK. “They were quite interested on how we were finding life here; such as our opinion on the accommodations, the food, our social life and our studies,” Jezzmin states.
Those who were interested in Intercalation were also introduced to the Dean of Postgraduate Studies Professor Barry Hirst, who gave information on how the process would go and what to expect.
As an effort to reward people for their achievements, Professor Bradley welcomed Professor Elle Ritchie and Dr. John Hogan to present the awards to deserving students and staff. To commemorate student’s efforts in their studies, Professor Ritchie awarded the TM Teoh scholarship to the best performing student from each Stage.
Three students were given the award which was Soo Xi Ying (Stage 1), See Yi Koon (Stage 2) and Nafisah binti Abdul Rashid (Stage 3). Not forgetting the staff’s own achievements, Dr. Hogan presented a trophy to Ms. Levas Majus, the head of the LRC staff, to thank them for their efforts in raising awareness about the environment. With the end of the elections for the student body, Dr. Hogan had the honour to announce NUMed’s first ever Student Council; the Big Bang.
But had the event went as smoothly as they hoped? Jezzmin thinks, for the most part, it did. “I don’t think the lecturers from the UK got as much input as they wanted though,” Jezzmin said.
“Most of the students who came ended up staying with their friends and didn’t really try and talk to the lecturers that came,” she remarks.
In fact, due to rather limited seating arrangements, most of the students had to sit down on the floor to eat while the lecturers were able to use the few chairs and tables available. This made it difficult for the students and the lecturers to mingle around, contributing to the lack of student-lecturer conversations.
Professor Bradley ended the event encouraging our students to continue to aim high with their studies, as NUMed hopes to award more TM Teoh scholarships in the coming years.
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