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Issue #3 March 2011
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new year, new issue
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Welcome to a life changing experience The University of Nottingham International Summer Schools: China and Malaysia Spend two weeks studying in and exploring these magnificent countries in June and July 2011 Courses include: China Campus: The Creative Industries in China; The Globalisation of English; China’s Encounter with the World. Malaysia Campus: Creative Writing and Travel; Politics, Culture and the Media in Southeast Asia; Business and Development in Asia; Intensive Language Programmes in English, Mandarin, Spanish and French.
For more information, visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/internationalsummerschools
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Issue #3 March 2011
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Issue #3 March 2011
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the grill corner : ian pashby
The Grill Corner
with Ian Pashby
We would proudly like to introduce to you ‘The Grill Corner’. The CEO of UNMC was nice enough to participate and let us have a go at him. S. M. Pervaiz and Idowu Musafau have more. Let us know what you think at smcrew.2010@gmail.com. For the complete interview, please visit www.sa.nottingham.edu.my Q: You’re far from the standard academic – with a background in engineering as well as in business. Could you sum up in a nutshell?
A: I am an Engineer by training and I worked for Rolls Royce before I became an academic. So I’ve got a life before I became an academic. I’ve also got a standard academic track record, so I am a NORMAL academic [since 1984]. Q: How many books/articles have you written or contributed to?
A: Engineering isn’t as book driven as disciplines like yours. Mainly, publications are papers and journals. Umm…a hundred and twenty give or take (shrugs) Q: Are there any new plans that you can share about what is being done for accommodating the growing number of students?
A: Yup, plenty of news. We’re hoping to build some new on-campus accommodation. It’s our biggest project that we’ll take on in the next couple of years. Hope to get approval for that from the board this week. So, we’ll hopefully have 1200 more beds available by Sept 2012.
keeps the place much cleaner. Catering in the UK is a government controlled service. I mean for sure issues like that need to come through the student services committee and that’s how they can be dealt with. I wasn’t aware of this problem till now but now we will get someone to deal with this. Q: Why isn’t there an on campus medical emergency team on call 24/7?
A: That’s what we are changing. One of the things that we don’t have, and should have, is a vehicle which we have to put in place so we can transport people in case of an accident. We are looking to get paramedics on campus. Q: What do you think of the first two editions of the newsletter?
A: I think it’s a great initiative and it’s been a long time coming. It’s something that an institution like ours needs, and I wish you all the best for it.
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Q: Has the university taken the student survey into consideration for its future plans?
A: Yeah, very much. A lot of things that we’ll be doing have a lot to do with the non- academic side of life and the issues around social space. But also some other things around transport – we’re looking at perhaps getting our own bus to get to KL etc.
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Q: The question everyone wants to ask is what do they pay for? Where does the tuition fee go?
A: Everything that we’ve spent we have got to earn through tuition fee. We don’t get any grant or support from the Malaysian Government, and we don’t get any money from the UK either. Everything from staff to facilities are paid for through tuition fee. It’s pretty much our only source of income, which is not necessarily a good thing. As we grow, we need to start looking for further sources of income. But at the moment, tuition fee is everything. What we earn, we spend. And [for the last] 10 years, we have been spending, or re-investing, this tuition fee. Q: Have you ever been to the back of the SA in the evenings? Do you know about the scandalous amounts of cockroaches?
A: Yeah, again that’s associated with the cleanliness and I think there are a few things that need to be done there. One is we need to put some systems in there where students can help clear. It’s a bigger issue and rubbish is to be expected. Q: So do you think it’s the lack of rubbish bins back there?
A: I think there are two things. One is obviously people need places to dispose off rubbish. And also discipline that students need to adopt when it comes to actually clearing away. If you have been to the U.K, for example,. they don’t have the same clearing that we have here. It’s all self-clearing, so students will automatically pick up their tray and slot it into a shelf, which
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Q: Were you ever a stud back in school?
A: When I was a student, I was a student. So I would say I was a normal student. Q: There are rumors that you adopted one of the dogs on campus? True or false
A: That’s not true. My children would wish it would be but it’s not. Q: How did you manage to rise to such a position?
A: Well, I’m lucky I guess. Ever since my academic career, I have always had an interest in internationalization and when I got the opportunity, I just took it. I guess you just have to be at the right place, at the right time. Q: Have you ever gone diving or snorkeling?
A: Yes, scuba diving. I went three years ago. Here, because it’s far too cold in the UK! Q: What do you think is the greatest quality that a person should have?
A: Integrity. Q: What work are you most proud of?
A: My kids (laughs)
We would proudly like to introduce to you ‘The Grill Corner’. The CEO of UNMC was nice enough to participate and let us have a go at him. S. M. Pervaiz and Idowu Musafau have more. Let us know what you think at smcrew.2010@gmail.com. Q: You’re far from the standard academic – with a background in engineering - then you also have a background in business. Could you sum up in a nutshell? A: I am an Engineer by training and I worked for Rolls Royce before I became an academic. So I’ve got a life before I became an academic. I’ve also got a standard academic track record, so I am a NORMAL academic [since 1984]. Q: For how long has your academic life been? A: Since 1984. So, quite a long time. Q: How many books/articles have you written or contributed to? A: Engineering isn’t as book driven as disciplines like yours. Mainly, publications are papers and journals. Umm…about a hundred and twenty give or take (shrugs) Q: Are there any new plans that you can share about what is being done for accommodating the growing number of students? A: Yup, plenty of news. We’re hoping to build some new on-campus accommodation. It’s our biggest project that we’ll take on in the next couple of years. Hope to get approval for that from the board this week. So, we’ll hopefully have 1200 more beds available by Sept 2012. So that’s great and the fact that we’re growing…we need to look at our social space and so there will be an extension to the Student Association that will be built to coincide with the accommodation. There is an extension already starting to the Sports Hall, and we are reequipping the gym which was a long running initiative. The new SA extension will have custom built catering areas. It will have the right bit of attraction. Q: Has the university taken the student survey into consideration for its future plans? A: Yeah, very much. A lot of things that we’ll be doing have a lot to do with the non- academic side of life and the issues around social space. But also some other things around like transport – we’re looking at perhaps getting our own bus to provide services to get to KL etc…yes it’s very much like that and the SA extension is already a good example because we’ve actually asked the SA exec to provide input on the design. The sort of things they’d like to see… Q: The question everyone wants to ask is what do they pay for? Where does the tuition fee go? A: Everything that we’ve spent we have got to earn through tuition fee. We don’t get any grant or support from the Malaysian Government, and we don’t get any money from the UK either. Everything, from staff to facilities, is paid for through tuition fee. It’s pretty much our only source of income, which is not necessarily a good thing. As we grow, we need to start looking for further sources of income. But at the moment, tuition fee is everything. What we earn, we spend. And [for the last] 10 years, we have been spending, or re-investing, this tuition fee. Q: Have you ever been to the back of the SA in the evenings? Do you know about the scandalous amounts of cockroaches? A: Yeah, again that’s associated with the cleanliness and I think there are a few things that need to be done there, where students can self-clear. One is, we need to put some systems in there where students can help clear. It’s a bigger issue and rubbish is to be expected and we will get onto it.
Q: So do you think it’s the lack of rubbish bins back there? A: I think there are two things. One is obviously people need places to dispose off of rubbish. And also discipline that students need to adopt when it comes to actually clearing away. If you have been to the U.K, for example,. they don’t have the same clearing that we have here. It’s all self-clearing, so students will automatically pick up their tray and slot it into a shelf, which keeps the place much cleaner. Catering in the UK is a government controlled service. I mean for sure issues like that need to come through the student services committee and that’s how they can be dealt with. I wasn’t aware of this problem till now but now we will get someone to deal with this.
Q: So how do you think this problem can be dealt with? A: Well, we will get somebody onto it now. I wasn’t aware of it actually till now but now we will get someone to deal with this. Q: How is the progress coming along with this dog issue? A: Again that’s a difficult one but I think we are making good progress, and we are removing dogs from the campus. We have a large parameter and they are quite devious; they keep coming because people feed them. What we will do is progressively modify the fencing around the parameter to try to make it more difficult for them to get in. It is a contentious issue and some students actually like the dogs and some students like to feed the dogs, thereby, increasing their number. They are a health and safety hazard. We recently had an accident where a student was confronted by a dog and damaged himself quite badly and we really cannot have that. Q: Why isn’t there an on campus medical emergency team on call 24/7? A: That’s what we are changing. One of the things that we don’t have, and should have, is a vehicle which we have to put in place so we can transport people in case of an accident. We are looking to get paramedics on campus. We need to look at getting people on campus who are paramedic-trained because the more people [like that] we have on campus, the less likely these things will take place Q: With the growing amount of students and the need to be surrounded by a good environment in order to study during the study week, will the library be expanded or will there be an entirely new one? A: We put an extra floor, well it was already there, but we converted it back to its original condition just recently [the top floor]. We try, especially in the middle of exam time, make more space. [But] there have been certain incidents of tension between the library staff and the students [cases of vandalism] which we have tried to resolve. We then try to provide as much space as we can. Q: How good, in your opinion, is the SA food? A: It’s a lot better than what it was when I first came (laughs). The internal environment is not as pleasant as I would like it to be, and we are trying to deal with that while building the extension to the SA but believe me three years ago it was far worse than it is, so we are making progress there as well. Q: What do you think of the first two editions of the newsletter? A: I think it’s a great initiative and it’s been a long time coming. It’s something that an institution like ours needs, and I wish you all the best for it. Q: What’s the next step that you plan on taking in order to rewrite UNMC history? A: Well as I said, there is a lot of infrastructure investment that has to do with non-academic aspects; and we will continue to add new programs. We don’t expect to attract large numbers of students, that’s not the point but to give them a more comprehensive study plan and not just for engineers; even I don’t want that (laughs). These programs are really important to us. Languages have been proven to be very popular among the students here so we are looking to add more degree programs. SHORT AND SNAPPY Q: Were you ever a stud back in your school like? A: When I was a student, I was a student. So I would say I was a normal student. Q: There are rumors that you adopted one of the dogs on campus? True or false A: That’s not true. My children would wish it would be but it’s not. Q: How old are you? A: 54 Q: How did you manage to rise to such a high position? A: Well, I’m lucky I guess. Ever since my academic career, I have always had an interest in internationalization and when I got the opportunity, I just took it. I think if people are looking for career advice…you need to be lucky. You need to be at the right place at the right time, but you also need to be prepared.
Q: Have you ever had a favorite student? A: Students that I admire: particularly the PhD students, who are frighteningly clever and always make me a bit jealous…who can go on to achieve great things. That’s a part of what we do. We should celebrate the success of our students. Q: What do you think about religious extremism? A: I dislike extremism of any sort whether that be political or religious. And it doesn’t really matter which religion [or politics] we are talking about. University is a place about sharing ideas and being open to new thoughts. These kinds of things obstruct that. Q: Have you ever gone diving or snorkeling? A: Yes, scuba diving I went two years ago. Here, because it’s far too cold in the UK! Q: If you had to choose between Malaysia and England, which would you choose? A: Well I love it here. And people often ask me what do I miss about the UK, and I try not to think of that. If I wanted to make a list I think I could, but I am here and I am very happy here. Q: So what is the best thing you love about Malaysia? A: Well all the usual things that people say: the people, the food, the weather. It’s just a very, very pleasant place to live in. On a more serious note, education is taken very seriously here. From an educationalist’s point of view that’s a great thing to see that students care about their education Q: What do you think is the greatest quality that a person should have? A: Integrity. Q: What legacy do you want to leave behind? A: I would like the place to really progress. I have been here since 2007 and I don’t have any short term plans to go anywhere. I hope that it will grow in size, grow in schools and the biggest thing really is to try and be excellent in everything, [with regards to] student experience, whether it is inside or outside the classroom, is the one thing I want people to remember. Q: If you could go back to being just an academic without the CEO responsibilities, would you do it? A: I might have to that is the deal: when I am finished here, I go back to Nottingham and just be a professor again. It has its attractions but I must say I am enjoying doing this. Q: What work are you most proud of? A: My kids (laughs) Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule.
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Issue #3 March 2011
Dr. MM Visits
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dr. m. m. visits
By Yafus Shakeel Siddiqui
Aren’t we special. UNMC got a visit from Dr. Mahathir Muhammad and The Trigger was there to get it all.
Dr. Mahathir Muhammad was the fourth Prime minister of Malaysia and held that position for 22 years from 1981 to 2003; making him Malaysia’s longest serving Prime minister. Now for those who have heard about him, you have an idea as to what an important figure he is in Malaysia. It was a great honour for this University to have him as a guest back in January. Reason: His visit was the launch of a potential ‘green’ energy storage device which will help to power electric transport. The Sahz-UNMC Pilot Plant produces ‘Supercapacitors’, which are electrochemical storage devices with high power density. For those who were like *WHAT!*, it is technology to improve the lifetime of batteries in electric vehicles. (If this still doesn’t make any sense to you, WHAT ARE U DOING IN UNI?)
Say what? The plant has developed the new superca-
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pacitors under the brand name Enerstora. It is cost saving and environmentally friendly. Its application can be spread not only to transport but also solar energy and mobile devices, where extremely fast charging is a valuable feature. The unit was established by the UNMC Faculty of Engineering, with industry partner Sahz Holdings, to design and manufacture the devices with the eventual aim of building a high volume manufacturing plant in Malaysia (Sponsored by the Malaysian Government). The fabrication process for this new technology was developed in collaboration with the Chemical Engineering Department at the University Park campus in Nottingham, UK. (Nottingham Press Release)
So what happened?
At the launch and signing ceremony, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir was given a guided tour of the lab facilities. Leading the pilot plant at UNMC, Professor Dino Isa said:
“The project is one which is leading the market. We are gambling on the demise of hydrocarbon driven vehicles, and the eventual emergence of the pure electric vehicle as the dominant means of transport in the next ten years…. We thank the Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Sahz for their trust and insight, I personally thank the University for providing me with an environment conducive to inquisitive research, my students for their patience and hard work and, not least, Prof George Chen for his input during the initial stages of the project."
The invention: Manoj E, a PhD student at the UNMC Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, calls it “My electric *Kancil*” (Source: HIS BLOG -http://manojevproject.blogspot.com).
*Hope the PM comes to visit me on my project*. A grey Perodua Kancil sat there, with its hood open. In there was not an ordinary environmentally hostile combustion engine, but a separately excited DC motor rated at 8KW continuous and 20KW peak. Weighing just 600 kgs and a payload of 2 passengers “for now” (he assures through his blog), it has a top speed of 80 km/h. (Estimated from theoretical calculations. Jalan Broga is not a road to test the top speed of a car). 8 T105 Trojan 6V, 225 Ah deep cycle lead acid batteries (8 batteries – for the non-engineering studs) and, of course, an 48V 165F module supercapacitor revs the silent mobile. But to have an environmentally friendly car the source of the energy should be friendly as well. To solve this problem a solar cabin was constructed on campus to charge the electrified car. (LOCATION: Facing the estate office, move left).
Result: The car was taken for a round with the former Prime Minister in the passenger seat, with his having a go at it too! The silent machine moved like it floated on air. (If I blind folded myself, I swear I would have no idea where the car would be). Dr Mahathir left the scene, with everyone feeling honored to have had him in their presence.
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one night as a bartender..
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Issue #3 March 2011
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ccs lantern festival
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10.pdf 1 3/9/2011 11:34:00 PM
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11.pdf 1 3/9/2011 11:35:09 PM
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12.pdf 1 3/9/2011 11:38:30 PM
Issue #3 March 2011
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india vs. botswana
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Issue #3 March 2011
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reviews
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14.pdf 1 3/10/2011 12:09:54 PM
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15.pdf 1 3/10/2011 12:11:39 PM
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16.pdf 1 3/10/2011 12:18:01 PM
Issue #3 March 2011
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| welcome to kapas
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Issue #3 March 2011
| LDV
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Issue #3 March 2011
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spittile.
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Issue #3 March 2011
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life as we know it
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Overheard Girl: Argh, I look like a slutty secretary. Boy: And that’s bad because… * ‘The mobility guy is so hairy…and interesting’ * ‘Man! I thought it was Hollywood night, not Bollywood night’ (by Confused) * Damn, that boys’ hair could have its own nationality! * At the library regarding the diligent librarians conducting their rounds.
Students eating peanuts: Boy A: If she see’s us with nuts, she’ll kick us out. Boy B: Just ‘cause she doesn’t have any, doesn’t mean she should discriminate… * The epitome of misheard: Dude A: Yeah man, it’s the force between your legs! (gives a high five to the other guy) Dudette 1: What?! The forest between your legs?? Dude B: Eh? You’ll have a rectal exam?! Real sentence: ‘I’ll have a rest right now’
* Guy: My dad does it all the time – milk and water… Or maybe he was lying to me and trying to save money. * ‘We are despo for TESCO!’ * ‘Dude, that’s not a back pack… that’s an overgrown fanny pack’ * An African dude upon seeing another in class: ‘Oh! I’ll be right back, I see African dude! Got to connect! *
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