"I decided to sign up for the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme as a tribute to my dearly departed cousin," says Nurul Adilah Mohd Joneidi when asked what prompted her to be the first rose among the thorns in Nilai UC's aviation programme.
She was speaking at Nilai University College's 2010 graduation ceremony which saw the pioneering batch of graduates from its hugely popular Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme.
She had been very close to her cousin who tragically perished in a road accident in 2000. It had been his dream to be involved in aviation as he was fascinated by all manner of flying machines. Nurul Adilah did not think twice when she heard about the launch of Nilai UC's Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme three years ago. She was the first belle to be sign up and since then up to a dozen ladies have followed in her footsteps.
According to Kunalan Marimuthu, Head of Nilai UC Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme, Nurul Adilah is an example for all her peers. "She worked hard and was not at all cowed by the practical sessions which involved maintenance activities on Airbus 320 - 200 and Boeing 737 – 300 aircrafts. Nurul is testament that gender is no barrier to fulfilling your dreams and I am very proud of her achievement in being our first female grad from this programme," he says. Nurul Adilah had also secured a job before graduating as a junior technician at Sepang Aircraft Engineering underlining the huge demand for graduates in this field.
Nurul Adilah admits to being slightly nervous about being the only girl in the programme at the time but it soon dissipated when her classmates accepted her as "one of the boys" looking to carve a career in this lucrative branch of aviation. "Once I showed that I could do everything the boys did at the workshops and at industrial placements, I earned the respect of my peers. I am really looking forward to putting my skills to good use in the real world," say the soft-spoken but determined lass from Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
Nilai UC President, Prof Emeritus Tengku Dato' Shamsul Bahrin noted in his speech that it only seemed like yesterday that the administrators were discussing offering this programme. "We now have a hangar and our own plane for students to work on. Today, I am very excited to be handing the diplomas to the pioneering batch of graduates for this programme. I am sure they will do us proud," says Tengku Shamsul. He also noted that almost 90 per cent of graduates from this batch had completed their European Aviation Safety Agency Category B1-1 examinations while the rest had deferred taking them. Tengku Shamsul was keen to point out that this was once a costly exercise but students could now take this internationally recognised professional qualification locally.
This was the largest convocation yet at Nilai UC and parents, friends and relatives traveled from far and wide to attend this special event. This year's Valedictorian was Timotious Arif Halim who graduated with first class honours in his computing degree. Tengku Shamsul noted that while Timotious's academic achievement was to be lauded, it was not the sole criteria for choosing him to be Valedictorian. It was also pertinent that he played an active role in campus life and also contributed his expertise in creating launch videos for his alma mater.
Other notable graduates were Tan Hui Ling and Ananthi Thanabalan who shared this year's BDO prize as both were joint top scorers in the financial accounting theory paper (of the 3+0 Oxford Brookes University BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance programme). The Graham Upton Award went to Lim Yong Hion who was chosen as the outstanding graduate from a 3+0 Oxford Brookes university degree programme at Nilai UC.
Nilai UC was established in 1997 and is located in the picturesque suburb of Putra Nilai, just 45-minutes south of Kuala Lumpur City Centre. It has a long and fruitful relationship with its long-term academic partner, Oxford Brookes University, UK. The prestigious Times Good University Guide has recognized Oxford Brookes as the best new university for several years running. For more information on the various programmes on offer, kindly visit www.nilai.edu.my or call 06-8502338 / 07-3332336 / 03-79603089.
