“A few words of advice to all aspiring students looking to be a PFF scholar are to roll with the punches despite failure or being unfamiliar, grab all opportunities which will develop your learning curve that come your way (because “you only live once” (YOLO) ) while you’re in or out of the academe, and always manage your stress levels when you’re in the midst of trying because they can make or break your performance as a student.” – By Sebastian Lee Chong Aik (PFF 2018 Scholar)

Watch the video to know more on Sebastian’s experience as a PFF Scholar!

Featuring the voice of Muhd Ishraq (PFF 2018 Scholar) as  The Journalist

https://fb.watch/v/1MX_mWnZh/

My name is Esther Kee Mei Ting. I am from Sarawak and currently studying in Bachelor of Electronic – Mechatronic Engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). I am privileged to be selected as one of PFF 2019 scholars.

Why is PFF important to me? My parents were never given a shot at having an education beyond tertiary education. They were never given an opportunity to show their full potential and make a difference in the world. At a young age, watching my loved one’s struggle and not being able to do anything about it was difficult for me. That is why this scholarship is important to me. This scholarship has helped my family reduce the financial burden of paying for my university expenses.

The PFF scholarship is not only a recognition of my hard work but also acts as an encouragement for me to always give my best in everything that I do and never give up on my goals.

I believe I deserve this scholarship as it helps me to achieve my long-term goals. By furthering my education in Mechatronics Engineering, I can work towards my career goal in the engineering field. I aim to contribute for technological innovations that can make a difference in my community, and this scholarship has certainly helped me by affording my education.

I am honoured and thankful to be selected as one of the PFF scholars. It is indeed a privilege to be chosen as one of the PFF scholars, and I am more than happy to share my experiences here.

As a PFF scholar, I get to join conferences via online due to the current state of COVID situation that is prevailing in our nation. One of the webinar sessions that I joined was titled “Onwards & Upwards: Explore New Careers”. The webinar gave students a chance to get close with Penang’s Industry Leaders from ViTrox, Intel and so on. This webinar has given me insights on ways I can advance my career in Penang. The leaders also shared their experiences in the industry in regards to their obstacles and how they managed to overcome it.

To constantly challenge and improve myself, I participated in the UTM ROBOCON Team that was established by the university in my first and second year. In my first year, UTM Robocon team won the first runner-up and best engineering award in the 2019 Malaysia competition. In my second year, I have made additional improvements taking the role of being a secretary for the UTM ROBOCON team.

Besides joining UTM Robocon team, I also participated other robotic competitions. The most memorable one would be the Johor Impact Challenge that was organized by CREST during the year 2019. My team and I successfully won the C\championship in that competition and proceed to next phase, which was The Great Lab Grand Design Challenge, University Level 2019 in USM, Penang.

As of now I have yet to have an opportunity to experience working in Penang that promotes ‘My Penang, My Workplace”. However, currently I am applying for an internship position to work in Penang. I look forward to working in Penang and believe that Penang will have a lot of great opportunities for students and fresh graduate to grow.

Technology has positively affected human life from antiquity until now by solving problems associated with everyday life and making it easier for different tasks to be completed.  After I complete my studies, I hope to be able to contribute to the society through technological innovations that can elevate the quality of life.

My advice to those who want to apply for PFF 2021 is to go for your goal, believe in yourself that you can do it and make sure that you are always prepared to give your best.