My Second Semester in USM: A Summary

I am a person who really value memories.  And documenting memories is the best thing one could do to avoid from losing them.  Knowing me who keeps on forgetting and losing things, it is best that I write it here.  Of course, I am writing only nice wonderful memories that I would like to read again when I'm an old lady with 54 grandchildren ;)

Since I have too many stories to be documented (haha..), let me start with this first.  This is, dear readers, the story of a part of my life - the simple life of being a student.

So I started the semester with a hiking trip to Pantai Kerachut with my fellow MBA lecturers and friends  (click here to read the complete story).  I took 5 subjects in my first semester and another 5 in my second semester.  Which leave me with another 4 subjects to complete before I could attain my MBA.  As an MBA Sustainable Development student, below are the subjects that I have taken/will be taking to complete the whole programme.  You can actually choose which subjects you want to take in which semester, however, it is best to complete your specialised subjects as soon as possible to avoid any complications (graduating late especially) as these subjects will not be offered every semester.

Semester 1
FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING FOR MANAGEMENT - core
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR - core
MARKETING MANAGEMENT - core
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - core
SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPTS AND ISSUES - specialisation

Semester 2
MANAGERIAL ETHICS - specialisation
CORPORATE STRATEGY  - core
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - specialisation
GREEN BUSINESS AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT - specialisation
GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT - elective
 
Remaining subjects 
PROJECT MANAGEMENT (RESEARCH) - core
ECONOMICS - core
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE - specialisation
another elective yet to be decided - elective

I am actually very worried about my remaining subjects, but let's discuss my concern in another episode. lol.

My second semester actually started on 18 February 2013 and ended on 19 June, the last day of my final exam, GSCM.  To sum, second semester was not as stressful as my first semester.  Just like what my senior, An Gee, told me when I came to her with my worries, "things will get much better as you go on.  semester pertama memang macamni".  True enough, I learnt a lot from my first semester and in my second semester I manage my time and assignments, hmm not excellently of course..  But Alhamdulillah I think I manage to do my best for everything that I have to do in the semester.     

Semester 2 consists of many subjects with theories and among all subjects, I really enjoy natural resources and ethics subjects.  Natural resource subject actually combines sustainable resource allocation with economic theory which is quite challenging but very interesting at the same time.  I wish we had more time to truly understand how all the theories could be applied in current business operations.  And for ethics, I simply love the Professor which makes me happy in his every class.. hehe.. For our final project for ethics, we actually wrote about ethical food handling in Subaidah, the most memorable assignment ever for the semester. lol

In this sem too, I received one of the best news in my life.  I am accepted to the One More Step Program, a program under Erasmus Mundus which would bring me to a foreign country as an exchange student.  I am really looking forward to this adventure which would happen very soon, next month!  Hopefully everything would turn out fine. Amin..

The confirmation, thank you Allah :)

In the middle end of the semester, my family and I went to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh  for a family vacation which was a great fun too.  More stories on this when I feel happy enough to do storytelling ;)

And finally, when the final is just around the corner, we arranged for group study :) I have never done this since SPM, but the confusing contents of several subjects and time constraint leave us no choice but to study in group.  I must say that studying together helped me tremendously, like really really helpful.  I am indebted and very thankful to every single person who have taught me beneficial knowledge throughout these two semesters.  I really appreciate your kindness :)

Cikgu Fairuz

Students beliau yang suka tangkap gambar :D

Notes to share

Waiting for 31st July I felt very nervous, but the best I could do now is pray for the best.  May we all get good result. aminn.

Below are more exclusive pictures of my MBA life (besides sitting in class, listening to 3 hour lectures daily) and my life important events too.  Enjoy :D
 

Jamuan kelas - Dominos Yumm!

 

Picnic at our secret beach

Barbeque in the morning yo!

Accidental hindustan style picnic after visiting pasar malam

My favourite sisters

Post exam durian and lunch treat :D

A note too cute to not stare at <3>

Belajar sama-sama, pandai sama-sama ;)

A ministore inside the lounge that kept me busy

When hurricane attacks MBA Lounge

Escape to Hat Yai, post final exam

Late lunch treat

GSB Club meeting

kesayangan saya kuasa tiga <3>

Meet my supervisor and other siblings :)

Vietnam :D

Pretty cake for our pretty Dr E :)

Jamuan kelas lagi

Makan banyak hati riang. lol

Final presentation: GSCM

Senior's Viva Voce

Teammates <3>

Syahmi, Farah and Tikah came for a visit. yeay!

Holiday with beloved opah and tok <3>

Kak Ana's wedding - coursemate in UiTM

Abg Khalif's Nikah Day

Kenduri Day

 

thanks for reading! :)

Ada Apa Dengan MBA?

Salam Ramadan everyone!
It has been 14 days now that we are fasting and I am sure most of you are already able to adapt well to our new eating schedule.

This post is dedicated to those who wish to know more about MBA in USM.

Being a girl with a curious mind, I have experienced being a corporate communication executive serving a big listed company before I switched to a very small construction company operating various businesses.  The experience that I had in both companies was very different but very meaningful and valuable in many ways.   I started working at the age of 21, and working life to me, is just like entering a new university called University of Money Making: where money matters above everything else.

Along the working life I then realise that, I need to be a stronger person if I were to lead projects.  I need to develop a stronger personality and speak convincingly if I were to influenced my superiors and subordinates.

So I give myself another chance to learn.  I am currently a full time student in Universiti Sains Malaysia pursuing my master's degree in business admin or a more glamorous name to it, I'm pursuing MBA now.  (Thanks to MARA and my parents I don't have to worry about funding)

So what is so interesting about MBA? Why don't I pursue a course that is more relevant to my degree - applied language studies?  (Actually MBA is quite relevant to my degree, I have a minor in business too.  )

The main reason that leads me to this course is, I see this course as a tool that would bring me towards broader opportunities.  It is true that experience is very important before you could be trusted to handle a particular task, but I believe, paper qualification is equally important.  Especially if you wish to venture into reputable companies, or even the government.  Of course, how you carry yourself, your communication skills, critical thinking skills and other soft skills carry a huge weightage too.

Given a chance, I would love to work in a moving environment.  Where I would do new things everyday, meet different people daily, gain new experience and knowledge continuously --and I could see this in business management, more than other fields.

Just like any other schools offering MBA, the students of Graduate School of Business (GSB) in USM come from various backgrounds, some are HR managers, engineers, architects, teachers, auditors, PTD, even nurse and policeman.  Being in the same class with them is actually a great honour to someone like me who could really learn a lot from these experienced people.
 

In USM, the university offer general MBA and also several other MBA with specialisation and my specialisation is Sustainable Development, we call it MBA SD.  I love my course so much and I love all my MBA friends a lot.

To my future juniors, I hope you would learn as much as we do, be as tough as us in facing challenges and please, don't forget to have fun along the journey ;)

If you wish to ask more about MBA at USM, feel free to email me at aliakamal69@gmail.com

P/s: My journey in USM has been quite colourful so far.  There were many moments where life gets hectic with piling assignments, research reports and quizzes.  And USM is quite tough I should say, with high requirements.  But trust me, YOU CAN DO IT! :D


thanks for reading! :)