"For many freshies, the greatest jolt to their system when entering university is the sheer diversity of the student populace. They will be in class rooms and halls of residence with students from countries they did know even existed," says Lo Chee Hoe, President of Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) Students' representative Council.
Smiling broadly as he ushered visitors from invited secondary schools to Nilai UC's International Cultural festival, Chee Hoe, a student in Nilai UC's BBA (Hons) in Human Resource Management, could be heard explaining to his young charges that one of the most exciting things about private higher education is the chance to meet international peers and to learn about their culture and way of life.
A Student Affair
The first International Cultural Festival was the brainchild of the Students' Representative Council (SRC) and the President Union which consists of leaders of the 40-odd clubs and societies at Nilai UC. It is one of the many activities organised by the students throughout the year. Everything from sourcing for tents to the logistics of setting up the numerous booths representing the various countries on campus, Chee Hoe and his council members took the lead in mobilising the student population into putting on a great show for everyone.
The administrators were confident of the SRC's ability and trusted them implicitly, giving them almost carte blanche to run the show. "We believe in giving the students a chance to prove their worth and give them useful experience of organising and managing an event of this scale," says Prof Emeritus Tengku Dato' Shamsul Bahrin, Nilai UC President. "This is very much part of the Nilai UC philosophy of producing well-rounded graduates and by allowing them to organise social and educational events such as this allows them to be more confident in their future endeavours."
Chee Hoe admits to having sleepless nights as the myriad of logistical issues and teething problems cropped up but his team displayed a calm that betrayed their tender years as they slowly but surely overcame each of the obstacles. "We definitely learned a lot during the run up to the International Cultural Festival, especially on how to organise an event as large as this. We mobilised about 300 Nilai UC students and had to handle over 400 visiting secondary school students. This is invaluable hands on experience," says Elbegzaya Temuulen, SRC Secretary and a student in Nilai UC's BA (Hons) in Business and Hospitality Management.
Fortune Telling & Other Workshops
Temuulen who hails from Mongolia also conducted a workshop for the visiting secondary students on how her people used goat's bones to predict the future. This is known as Shagai and four bones from a goat's ankle are used to signify horse, sheep, goat and camel. A person rolls these bones on the ground to determine his or her fortune. Four horses are deemed extremely lucky whilst goat and camel are the unlucky bones explained Temuulen to the students.
Other workshops during the International Cultural Festival included how to make a bunga telur (by Nilai UC's Malay Cultural Society), batik production techniques (Indonesian Society), the art of mehndi (Indian Cultural Society), Korean Hanbok paper folding (Korean Society), and Chinese calligraphy (Chinese Cultural Society).
Nilai UC students also put on a variety of stage shows featuring traditional dances from Nepal, Khazakhstan, Malaysia and India. The Indian presentation was especially popular as the secondary students were invited to join in the fun by mimicking the dance group's moves. The dance group known as Kristal incorporated both modern hip hop into traditional Indian dance to give it a contemporary feel and they literally brought the house down with their energetic performance.
Of course, any sample of international culture would not be complete without a food festival and students and staff were able to sample a wide variety of exotic grub. Ranging from Mongolian fried puffs to traditional Nepalese dumplings, taste buds were taken on a world tour.
Celebrating Diversity
The student helpers and organising committee had gone to great lengths to pull off the International Cultural Festival. Judging by the number of smiles on campus that day, it would be safe to assume that everyone thought they had done a great job. They had learned a great deal and made their alma mater proud with their endeavours.
"I have to say the organising committee are very satisfied with the International Cultural Festival, and we are thrilled to have been able to give a feel of a lively, cosmopolitan campus to the visiting students. We hope they realise that diversity is to be celebrated and that they will remember this event fondly," concludes Chee Hoe.
Nilai UC's student body comprise of students from over 40 countries making it a truly vibrant and cosmopolitan campus. The administrators hope that this diversity will allow students to adopt a global perspective as well as a better understanding of their international peers. These are values which employers place great emphasis on alongside the graduate's academic achievements. For more information on Nilai UC, kindly go to www.nilai.edu.my or call 06-8502338/07-3332336/03-79603089.
