Uniqueness of UMPSA co-curriculum results in success for Siti Nurfazlina

GAMBANG, 21 October 2023 - ‘Always look at life with a positive attitude without comparing oneself with others and always believing in oneself and one’s abilities’ is the principle of Perak-born Siti Nurfazlina Abdul Rahim.

She was awarded the Manufacturing Engineering Technology (Pharmaceutical) Excellence Award at the Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) 18th Convocation Ceremony.

The biggest contributor to her success was her mother Noorijan Abu Hassan, 59, who is a housewife.

While her father was taxi driver Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, 72.

However, his father had stopped working since the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic due to age and health factors.

Her family members also play an important role because they never tire of supporting her every action and sacrifice a lot as she strives to pursue her dreams.

She who likes to write and read has nine siblings and she is the eighth child.

The graduand from the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology (FTKKP) obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.61 and was awarded the Dean’s List Award for five semesters out of seven semesters.

She had served as the Exco of Spirituality in the Student Representative of Resident Student 1 (PEKA 1) in the 2021/2022 session.

She was also active in the Inter-Faculty Sports Championship (SUKFAC), especially in petanque in 2019.

While at UMPSA, she also held a position as Director of the RP1 Porridge Distribution Programme with the Islamic and Human Development Centre (PIMPIN) and the committee member of the three-cornered Silat Competition Programme organised by the UMPSA Silat Olahraga Club involving three universities around Pahang in 2019.

She thinks that the UMPSA campus has facilities that can support the learning needs and daily life of students.

“Learning at UMPSA includes a combination of lectures, projects, research and practicum to enable students to gain valuable industrial training experience.

“It also meets higher education standards and can help students prepare for the working environment.

“In fact, the teaching staff at UMPSA are also outstanding and dedicated in teaching and educating students,” she said, who was also actively involved in volunteer activities outside UMPSA.

She said UMPSA has many student clubs and organisations that offer opportunities to be involved in co-curricular activities and can indirectly improve students’ achievement.

“The uniqueness of learning approaches and industry-based co-curricular content gives UMPSA students an advantage.

“This means that students are able to gain direct experience in the working environment and participate in industry-related projects before graduating which indirectly gives students intense practical skills,” she said, having been involved as an Exco in various programmes organised by PEKA 1 during the 2021/2022 session.

Her greatest success at UMPSA was when a research article from her and her teammate, Nur Syareena Nabihah Jamaluddin under the guidance of Dr. Nor Hanuni Ramli@Said titled Characteristics and Stability of Chitosan-Based Polymer for Fruit Coating in the Presence of Ginger Essential Oil: Effect of Acetic Acid Concentration was accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Transaction Journal.

She wants to build a career in the field of pharmaceuticals and hopes to become one of the auditors at the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

She intends to repay the contributions of individuals who have helped her a lot to be at this stage and also serve the community.

“Not to forget also the very understanding lecturers, who have high discretion and knowledge, and also for friends who also help a lot in facing the struggles at this university.

“This success is not only the result of my efforts but also thanks to the prayers and sacrifices of those around me,” she said.

She passed an interview at a pharmaceutical company, Novugen as Associate Executive Quality Assurance and is still waiting for a date to report duty.

Her duties include assisting in implementing the Quality Management System (QMS) in the company and reviewing technical documents from the development of work summaries and analysis development.

In addition, she is responsible for document control including approval, distribution, retrieval, destruction and archiving of documents, and audit processes within the company as well as ensuring that all processes within the company run according to established procedures as outlined in the SOP.

“The scope of my work is the same as almost all courses studied at UMPSA and I am excited and proud to be able to practice much of the knowledge I gained at UMPSA while working later.

“I think education is a very valuable investment and am grateful to be able to enjoy the benefits now.

“I hope this achievement can inspire others and as a student, you must try harder, dream bigger, and not be afraid to take risks in pursuing your dreams,” she said enthusiastically.

By: Hafizatulazlin Abdul Aziz, Centre for Corporate Communications

Translation by: Dr.  Rozaimi  Abu  Samah, Faculty   of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology