April 18, 2016, by Lisa Chin
Strike a balance!
This post is written by Kalaimani Markandan, PhD candidate from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.
It all traces back to July 2008 when I joined UNMC for foundation in engineering. One’s first semester in university is often an eye-opening experience. Mine was no different; in particular I found myself studying more than ever for good grades. Years passed; in July 2013 I graduated with a first class master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. To be brutally honest, for those 5 years in UNMC; I had not been to Broga Hill (a must-do if you’re studying at UNMC), I had rarely hit the gym and little did I know about restaurants that served the best food near UNMC; be it Broga, Semenyih or Kajang.
Just when I thought I was about to leave UNMC, I was offered a PhD position. It is common knowledge that getting a PhD degree is hard, well it’s meant to be! It was during this period that I realised I was missing on a lot of activities which I should have done during my undergraduate years. It was time for me to strike a balance between research and social life. I made many amazing friends who have today become an integral part of my life. We had lots of fun and managed to stay focused on research.
I’d like to express my gratitude towards UNMC Graduate School for their training courses which has made significant impact on my research, professional skills and confidence level. Thanks to these skills which I developed, I had the fortune to receive the People’s Choice and Best Press Release awards during the Research Showcase 2015 and the best speaker award amongst 17 international researchers at the 3rd Asia Conference on Materials and Mechanical Engineering held in Chengdu, China. The final icing on the cake and probably the best achievement I have till date was winning the grand prize at the annual FOE postgraduate research showcase where the grand prize was a travel fund to the UK, for which I am very grateful to the Faculty of Engineering.
There’s nothing wrong with striving to do the best you can for academic excellence, the key is to attain balance in different aspects of life. I will always cherish the precious moment I had in UNMC during my PhD.
*P.S. I did finally hike Broga Hill
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