AIESEC’S Exchange Fair By Proshini Nadesan (3rd Year /2nd Semester Petroleum Geoscience)

AIESEC’S Exchange Fair

By Proshini Nadesan (3rd Year /2^nd Semester Petroleum Geoscience)

Pocket D, 23^rd to 24^th November 2015- UTP AIESEC has once again organized an exchange fair to promote the Global Citizen Program which is an exchange program. The event was officiated by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Tuan Haji Mohamed Noor Rosli Baharom. UTP students are given an opportunity to explore a vast scale of cultural diversity and broaden their horizons through this program. There were booths showcasing variety of cultures from different countries like Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Students were also given an opportunity to take pictures with each country’s traditional clothes and music instruments. The biggest attraction at the fair was the Turkey Ice-Cream and the artistic Cotton Candy. “The responses from the students were overwhelming and exceeded the committee’s goals and expectations” said Suhail Jubary, the Organizing Committee President. He also added that AIESEC’S Global Citizen program provides a platform for students and recent graduates to volunteer in projects around the world. Not only that, this process is entirely student-operated with AIESEC members working to produce the highest-quality exchange possible.

Guest appearance by Olaf

 DVC cutting the ribbon to officiate the fair

Student showcasing his culture

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National Geopolymer Concrete Competition 2015 By Naviin Balasubramaniam (Petroleum Engineering, 2nd Year/2nd Semester)

National Geopolymer Concrete Competition 2015

              By Naviin Balasubramaniam (Petroleum Engineering, 2^nd Year/2^nd Semester)

 Multipurpose Hall, 20th-22^nd November 2015-National Geopolymer Concrete Competition 2015 is an event organized by the Civil Engineering Students Society (UCITY) in collaboration with Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM) and Malaysian Geopolymer Society for the second time. This event was officiated by Dr. Noor Amila Bt Wan Abdullah Zawawi, the Head of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and sponsored by SUREMOR UTP. The main objective of this event is to encourage students and researches to creatively and technically produce a competitive geopolymer concrete design with high early strength. Other than that, this event provides a platform to create a link among students, researchers and geopolymer concrete industry. Students from many other universities apart from UTP, namely Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) actively participated in this competition. There were also other activities such as talk shows and BBQ dinner to entertain the participants throughout the three days and lastly, winners of respective categories were announced during the closing ceremony at MPH.

List of Winners

CHAMPION: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 
1st RUNNER UP: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
2nd RUNNER UP: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
BEST POSTER AWARD: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
MOST CONSISTENT STRENGTH AWARD: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

Champion of National Geopolymer Concrete Competition 2015 from Universiti Teknologi 

Malaysia (UTM)

Speech by Project Director, Nur Heiyqal Hidayat Bin Rosli

(Civil Engineering, 2nd year/2^nd semester)

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Visit to Good Shepherd Family Home (GSFH) By Naviin Balasubramaniam (Petroleum Engineering, 2nd Year/2st Semester)

Visit to Good Shepherd Family Home (GSFH)

By Naviin Balasubramaniam (Petroleum Engineering, 2^nd Year/2^st Semester)

Ipoh, 21^st November 2015- The visit to Good Shepherd Family Home (GSFH) is a one day event organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers of Universiti Teknologi Petronas Student Chapter (SPE-UTP-SC). Good Shepherd Family Home (GSFH) is a shelter for underprivileged children aged from 4-17 years old located at Buntong, Ipoh. This event aims to provide support in terms of donations to maintain the home and to ease the burden in creating a comfortable environment for the children to live in and to spend some quality time with the kids there as well. There are a total of 18 children consisting of 4 children of 5-year-old, 7 children of Primary 2 to Primary 6 and the rest are secondary school Students. Raynard Lourdes, the EXCO 1 of Social Responsibility (SR) department initiated the event by a giving a short speech followed by the introduction session of facilitators. They conducted a fun-filled game session to entertain the kids. The funds raised and the groceries were presented to Miss Jeniffer, President of GSFH organization and the children were given presents  before bidding farewell.

Ice Breaking Session conducted by Raynard Lourdes 

Kids having fun during the game session.

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LOVE IS A DRUG BY SAMI HASSAN

LOVE IS A DRUG 

BY SAMI HASSAN

I don't care what people say

The rush is worth the price I pay

I get so high when you're with me

But crash and crave you when you leave me 

Those are the lyrics of the song” Your Love Is My Drug”, but here are some scientific fun facts: 

1. Falling in love is similar to taking a dose of cocaine, both experiences affect the brain similarly and trigger a similar sensation of euphoria. 

2. Love can lead to serious infatuations. The same levels of serotonin that brings about the infatuations are found in those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is an anxiety disorder. What are you afraid of? There is practically a phobia for everything and believe it or not love is no exception, it is called Philophobia and it is the fear of falling in love. 

3. Cuddling triggers the same neurological reaction as taking painkillers. If you have a slight headache, it might be worth to just cuddle with your significant other for a while, the reason being that when you cuddle or simply embraced in any way by someone you love, the hormone, oxytocin, is released and acts as a sort of natural painkiller. Even looking at a picture of loved one can be enough to relieve the pain. 

4. Couples who are in love synchronise their heart rate after gazing into each other’s’ eyes for three minute also their brain patterns. Those stomach-flipping butterflies you feel when you see someone you love is the body’s physical stress response, caused by the release of adrenalin. 

5. When you fall in love you lose two close friends, romantic partners usually absorb the time that would otherwise be spent with friends and thus friendships have a tendency to slowly fade away. 

       So is love anything like a drug? Well biologically speaking love is a powerful neurological condition much like hunger or thirst only more permanent, when you are truly in love the brain releases a whole set of chemicals like pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin. What is interesting about this though is that love is more or less like a drug and it’s exactly like a drug when you are going through a breakup. 

       Researchers have found that for heartbroken men and women looking at photographs of former loved ones activated regions in the brain associated with physical pain and intense cocaine addiction. In fact the withdrawal symptoms can be so bad that your body releases chemicals that significantly weakens your heart to the point where you could have a heart attack, you could actually die just by losing someone you love, it is something called broken heart syndrome. So be aware that heartbreak is real for intense or traumatic events, such as break ups, divorce, physical distance, or the loss of a loved one. 

       For as long as I can remember, I have had a soft spot for love and melancholy. And I think those two things are intimately interrelated. Love and sadness exists in the same space, there is a reason the film maker Cameron Crow use the term ‘happy-sad” to describe those moments that moves us that swell us that we become engorged with emotions. And Roland Barthes explored this beautifully in his book, “A Lover’s Discourse” there are a couple of lines that goes like this “the first thing we love is a scene, which is seen for the first time, a curtain parts, and what have been seen is devoured by the eyes. It is distinct, abrupt, framed, it is already a memory”. There is a reason Roland cites love as “the romantic solution to the problem of death”. As Jason Silva explains it “our lover act as stand-ins in a staged, managed resurrection where the pilgrim without faith can die and live again. These death and reborn simulation allows us to be saved by our loved ones”. And as Albert Camus says “life should be lived to the point of tears”. So I say to you my dears “fall in love or die trying”. 

       I think we talked around what "Love" is and more about how we feel it. But there's a deeper application of the concept that we missed completely. It's the difference that changes how people will live in the world and the future. I wonder how many people will know where this is quoted from, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, and does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury." Clearly, Love is identified by personal behaviour. It is an intent. An expression, action, that inspires the feelings of trust and or adoration that leads to all the feelings that we feel. But it's not about what "I" feels. It's about what "I" expresses. Love is something we do...show. Not something to get. When we Love, then we feel all the feelings of intense affection, bliss, and trust/faith, emotional and physical security.When everyone is showing Love everyone experiences a piece of mind and success. However, in the world we live in people have many different ideas of what they want to feel, and when they have that feeling they call it Love. 

       People "Love" objects, though objects are unable to express Love. But here's something to think about. The concept of Love is connected to purpose and a superior understanding of human existence. And what I mean by that is, that Love has everything to do with why we are here and how we came into existence in the first place. Philosophers meander about what Love is, because it's not a natural idea for humans and it's elusive in circles that rely on their limited human perspective for answers about who we are. Their conclusions are wordy, confident and enthusiastic, and sound good. But upon deeper consideration and examination, are actually convoluted in their parts. 

       Understanding the truth about Love will change the world. Because God is Love and he tells us the Truth about himself. When we're connected to him we are connected to everything. When we are not connected to him we are not "kind", we are jealous, we boast and brag and get puffed up with pride; we behave indecently, we look out for ourselves first and our own interests. When we are disconnected from him we become provoked, resentful and vengeful. The only "Love" that exists in a human environment without God, is the philosophical delusion of it. And when we don't have accurate knowledge about the Truth about Love, we behave contrary and cause ourselves pain and grief. 

       Although it makes me feel like love is the ultimate goal of humanity, as one who has only once known romantic love it does leave me with a sense of melancholy. My body and mind act as if in withdrawal from a drug I've never tried. My arms ache to hold someone, my heart yearns to beat in rhythm with another, my mind silently screams to hear anything other than the echoes of my own lonely thoughts. Desperate for a fix of kindness, caring and comfort I sink into the mesmer of media. Reading, internet, YouTube, movies, television but in the end all ultimately unsatisfying. All this hardware can do nothing, where a simple touch executed by millions, billions each and every day would be the cure to my ailment. 

       Love may be a drug but I don't see it equivalent to cocaine, more like a vaccine for the disease of loneliness. 

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UTP’S EATERY BY HASHWINI LALCHAND THADANI - PE (1ST YR, 2ND)

UTP’S EATERY 

HASHWINI LALCHAND THADANI - PE (1^ST YR, 2^ND)

       Food literally defines a person. I mean what you eat is what you become. As what many will quote these days ‘food = bae’. Isn’t it vital that food is at its best in campus? But what can we say that about Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP)’s delicacies? Well that’s a huge question over there. UTP does indeed provide good food but is it suitable for students?

       Visit any cafe in UTP and you’ll have a variety of dishes laid out for you. Food with scrumptious varieties and great texture illuminates around you. Taste doesn’t always equate to quality. The better the taste, the greater the damage. The food in UTP may not have the right health content for students. Food has a great impact on the student’s performances. It wouldn’t hurt to provide the right kind of food for us. We, students of UTP are left with no choice but to manage with what is provided for us.

       Let’s put health aside, the food is quite expensive for students. Some actually would rather starve than to pay through their nose to have a meal. Why should we pay RM5 for a maggi goreng biasa when I can buy the same unhealthy maggi mee for RM 2.20. RM 5 seems like a small amount, but trusts me, it can do wonders too. Food is our way of entertainment you can say, since we’re actually on the outskirts of town. So we would like our ‘source of entertainment’ to be rather reasonable. 

       Healthy food is one of the many concerns for a student, living far from home. More fruits should be provided for purchase. Vegetables really don’t need too much oil to come out delicious. Instead of sambals and spicy curries filled with the Malaysian’s well-known special ingredient, the coconut milk or in the local term ‘santan’, it would be better if they will opt to make the food with spices to enhance the flavour and also to increase the nutritional value.

       Hygiene! Who would want to eat somewhere with poor hygiene? Hygiene plays such a major role. Poor hygienic food will definitely lead to many kinds of complications. The cafes in UTP would have to be constantly cleaned and the invasion of flies in our food needs a quick solution, which is to simply to prepare the food in a cleaner environment. 

       Food isn’t luxury, it is a necessity. Our necessity has to be able to aid instead of bringing us down. For a better generation, what we consume molds us. Therefore what you eat is what you become. Let food be your medicine, before the medicine becomes your food.

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UTP Team Chess Championship By Akelesh Morgan (Mechanical Engineering, 1st Year/ 2nd Semester)

UTP Team Chess Championship

            By Akelesh Morgan (Mechanical Engineering, 1^st Year/ 2^nd Semester)

Main Hall, 31^st October & 1^st November – UTP Team Chess Championship (UTCC) is an event organized by UTP supported by Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Perak Chess Association. This event is aimed to provide a platform for the chess enthusiast to spark their talent and passion, at the same time to improve their skills. Besides, this event helps to develop students’ interest in chess hence enriching the chess community. The Project Director of this event,  Mr You Jin Wei informed that this event was participated by 44 teams which consist of 4 members per team. Those teams include players from primary and secondary schools, universities, organizations and some open groups. There were 7 rounds in total and time allocated for each game is 45 minutes with increment of 30 seconds for every moves. The champion of this event, team ‘Snoppy Returns’ returns with cash prize of RM 1000 together with certificates, medals and trophies.

Team Snoppy Returns Receiving the Championship Trophy with Mock Check

UTCC 2015 Championship Trophy 

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Oil and Gas Competition and Exhibition (OGCE) 2015 By: Vishnu Rao (Chemical Engineering 2nd Year/ 2nd Semester)

Oil and Gas Competition and Exhibition (OGCE) 2015

By: Vishnu Rao (Chemical Engineering 2^nd Year/ 2^nd  Semester)

UTP, 3^rd-5^th November – The 2015 edition of Oil and Gas Competition and Exhibition (OGCE) took place in the middle of the first week of November lasting two days. Delegates from all over Malaysia and the world came to UTP to participate in OGCE. The theme for this year’s OGCE is ‘Enhancing Future Energy’.

Some of the highlights of the first day included the inaugural of National Oil Rig Competition (NORC) which involved delegates from secondary schools in Malaysia, Paper Contest Final Presentation and SCOMI Mud Laboratory Session. For NORC, the delegates were required to build a model of an oil rig which was judged by adjudicators in a presentation in Chancellor Hall. The models were then tested in the only Offshore Tank Simulation Facility in UTP. A separate group of delegates were taken to Multipurpose Hall (MPH) to sit for the Smart Quiz Assessment.  The Paper Contest involved delegates presenting the findings of their research papers to a panel of judges while the SCOMI Mud Lab Session involved delegates preparing mud used in oil rigs, the result of which would be presented the following day.

The officiating ceremony of OGCE 2015 was held in the afternoon and was immediately followed by the NORC awards ceremony. The results of NORC saw SMJK Chung Ling, Pulau Pinang claim the place of champions. The day concluded with the Networking Night held during dinnertime. This provided a platform for the delegates to socialize and get to know one another better.

Baker Hughes PetroQuiz took place the next day. After four rounds of intense competition, the delegates from Palawan State University (PSU), Philippines triumphed over Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). The UTP-EP team managed to snatch third place from Universitas Pembangunan National ‘Veteran’ (UPN) A team. The SCOMI Mud Presentation took place simultaneously where the delegates presented the results of their lab session to a panel of adjudicators. Shell and PETRONAS held a career workshop before an internship sharing session by Halliburton. The afternoon saw the coming together of guests from four major Oil and Gas companies such as PETRONAS, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and UMW Oil and Gas for the Professional International Forum held in Chancellor Hall.

The day was capped off with a Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony in WEIL Hotel, Ipoh. The delegates and VIPs were treated to good food and great performances. The awards for the winners of the competitions over the last two days were also presented. All in all OGCE 2015 was a resounding success.

Full List of Winners

NORC

Champion – SMJK Chung Ling, Pulau Pinang

1^st Runner Up  – SMJK Chung Ling, Pulau Pinang

2^nd Runner Up – SMK Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur

Paper Contest Final Presentation

Champion – Ricki Aditiya Fandi, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

1^st Runner Up  – Muhammad Ghifari Ridwan, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

2^nd Runner Up – Tamil Alagan, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia

SCOMI Mud Innovation Challenge

Champion – Curtin University Sarawak, Malaysia

1^st Runner Up – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

2^nd Runner Up – Universitas Pembangunan Nasional ‘Veteran’ Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Baker Hughes PetroQuiz

Champion – Society of Petroleum Engineers-Palawan State University Student Chapter, Palawan                             State University, Phillippines

1^st Runner Up – UTM-2, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

2nd Runner Up – Expecto-Petroleum, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia

Participants of the National Oil Rig Competition from SMJK Ave Maria Convent, Ipoh

The advisor presenting token of appreciation to the representative from Halliburton

Participants of Baker Hughes PetroQuiz competition

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UTP GENESYS by Mohamed Yeslem Abbad, Mechanical Engineering, 2nd, 2nd.

UTP GENESYS

by Mohamed Yeslem Abbad, Mechanical Engineering, 2^nd, 2^nd.

       Every semester we hear complaints about the bad state of the internet connection that has been provided to the students in their hostels. Students have struggled to register their courses on the PRISM portal and they have to deal with a list of online technical problems.

       However, we might be on the way to experience less of those discontent-inducing occurrences. Highlight to the previous statement that has happened during this semester; a tremendous improvement of internet transferring speed in campus. And if things go accordingly to the plans of public management, we will not have to face either internet problems or any technical difficulties again. 

       All thanks to “UTP-genesys” which was officially launched by our chancellor YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir during his latest public lecture last August, and there was a stand inside the IRC. “UTP-genesys is an IT transformation initiative aimed at improving staffs and students experience. This a 3 phase program spanning across 5 years and we are currently at phase 1. Phase1’s main focus is on you, our students. 2016 would be an exciting year, bringing you to faster internet on campus, Wi-Fi in your residential villages, we’re also replacing prism with a world class system (campus management system used by top 100 universities in the world), access your student portal via your smartphone and tablet With the new student portal, tired of long queues when paying your fees (ohh..yessss), with the new student portal you can pay your fees online.

Excited yet? Because we are. More information on program genesis is coming your way! For enquiries email us on: UTPProgGeneSys@petronas.com.my”

       As an official description of the initiative, a video was made and can be viewed on the Student Support Services Department’s Facebook page with more details. According to official sources, the project will revolve with the change of UTP’s core Student Information System, which manages all information and activity of a student’s life in campus; from graduation to an alumnus. 

      Other projects were included such as a new library and content management system along with a campus-wide upgrade of the network and wireless infrastructure. UTP-genesys seeks to solve some really serious problems, ones that really ought to be solved. Therefore, we all cross fingers for its successful implementation and that we finally get a decent IT services deemed worthy of the image UTP is trying to reflect.

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A Chance to Give Back By Afiq Shahril

A Chance to Give Back 

By Afiq Shahril 

       In this modern era, we live a very privileged life. We have sufficient food supply and comfortable shelter. Not to forget, we are very fortunate to live in a peaceful country. Every morning, we are not awakened by bomb explosions or gun shots. That should be fortunate enough, I guess. As students, we are now not only learning the academic aspects but every single aspect of life. Life is not always about getting good grades but it is also about how we treat others. Every single one of us is developing into a better person and what would be a better way to do so than to start giving to those who need?

       Though most of us live under a decent shelter and eat good food, there are still others who struggle 24/7 just to have a bowl of rice. These people have never tasted the richness of good food or the comfort of sleeping on a bed. It would mean the world for them to just have a full stomach before going to sleep at night. So the question is, do we oversee this or should we do something? Indeed, this is the chance for us to give back to the community. Some of us might question whether we have the capability to solve this unfortunate issue considering that we are only students. Well, we can at least participate in the charity events.

       

       Lucky for us because Universiti Teknologi Petronas is one of the many universities that has always reached for the needy. We have numerous programs and events that involves charity as one of the main purposes. Therefore, it is only good for us to start participating and do our parts. The Student Representative Council of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (SRCUTP) has quite a number of charity events yearly. Titian Kasih and The Kasih Project are one of the few events that is held annually by SRCUTP to help the underprivileged villagers living nearby Tronoh. Residential College Support Unit (RCSU) does not miss the chance to help the poor. RCSU organizes Residential College Mesra Outreach or better known as RECMO annually. Meanwhile, there are also events that helps students from rural areas in improving their education. Cybergen, organized by the Media and Technology Club (MEDTECH) holds the objective to expose students with technology while Sehari Bersama organized by Sekreteriat Rakan Muda (SRM) is one of a few initiatives to help the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) candidates to prepare themselves for UPSR. So, why not use these channels as an opportunity to give back to the community? We will be able to explore life more by joining these events rather than lingering  in our rooms catching the sunset.  

       Joining these events will definitely create delightful and memorable moments based on my experience. These events would help us to build sense a of gratitude which can be hard to find these days. We might not be able to improve everyone’s life but our good deeds will never be overlooked. Our efforts will definitely restore faith in humanity as we can see a lot of cruelty going on. The little help we contribute now could affect the world tremendously in the future. In a nutshell, we can never walk in others’ shoes but we can always walk with them. 

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ConvoFest - 2015 By Imaiccarani Manaharan ( ICT 2nd year 1st semester)

ConvoFest - 2015

By Imaiccarani Manaharan ( ICT 2^nd year 1^st semester)

Village 4 Car park, 23^rd October 2015 – Morning 8 o’clock the vendors have started to set-up their business stall at their respective tents. At 9 o’clock games and exhibitions started. The Convofest crew was busy preparing the things.

There was a blood donation and health check center going on at Village 4 foyer. The officiating ceremony was started at 3 o’clock. Convofest was officiated by Dato Dr Muhammad Amin Bin Zakaria the State Committee Chairman for Education, Science, Environment and Green Technology. At night, there was a talk by Ustaz Azhar Idrus. The talk was started at 8.30pm and ended at 10.30pm.

On 24^th October 2015, there was an aerobic session done by Isa Jomfit in the morning. The national nasyid festival started sharp at 2.30 p.m. The preliminary round of that nashid festival was from 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm and the grand finale started at 9.00 pm. The whole festival was ended at 11.00 pm. The students were very excited during the festival.

On the third day of Convofest, there was a coloring competition for the kids started at 8.30 in the morning. The competition had finish around 12 o’clock in the afternoon. The winners of coloring competition got their prices from a Spongebob mascot. English JER! slot was from 2.00pm to 4.00 pm. For the closing ceremony there was a concert by Warner Music. The concert started at 8.30pm. 

A participant is taking picture with Spongbob mascot. 

Hamper is being given out to the Festival Nasyid contestant

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