Lessons from Leonardo

Lessons learned from Leonardo da Vinci, Remarks by Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne at the 2019 Convocation ceremony.

I’m really get inspired by the viewpoints of this President.

This remark was shared by Prof. Dr. Ismail Said.

Many of us knew his masterpieces, the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”, but we may know less about his achievements as inventor, scientist, engineer, scholar of literature, anatomy, and architecture.

What is so special about Leonardo? Here are the answers:

(1) Be curious. He was relentlessly curious. Due to the curiosity, he explored and gained knowledge of people, the natural world, and engineering. He combined that knowledge with his artistic inclination and created unprecedented works of art.

Moral of the story is use our time at university to explore, to be curious, with the enthusiasm and determination of Leonardo.

(2) Be true to yourself. He was individuality. He didn’t let others’ opinions constrain his own thinking, and he was often centuries ahead of time.

Being original and unique can be difficult. but ultimately rewarding.

Follow your heart and embrace your personality.

Cultivate and express those qualities that are uniquely your own.

Resist the inclination to model yourself on the success of others or to focus on someone else’s idea of what you should be.

(3) Be a team member. Although Leonardo was an individualist, he also took advantage of the growth and opportunities that come from being a team member. He was not a loner, but instead a genius who worked well with others and learned from others.

Connect with each other, support one another, and make room for new ideas.

(4) Adapt and Improve. Learned the way he experimented and then strove with great persistence to continually improve his work. He completed his portrait of “Ginevra de’ Benci”, and today we might call it a prototype.

Always try new things, adapt and improve. Don’t let obstacles dampen your spirit.

Success can take time.

“With hard work, you can accomplish more than you can imagine”.

If and when you hit rough patches, be assured you’re not alone.

You have Allah S.W.T the Almighty, The Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. (peace be upon him) and your families. 

 

 

 

The Cosmic Perspective

Today, I want to share what I learned from Prof. Dr. Ismail Said.

He already read a book entitled ” The Cosmic Perspective”,  written by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit, published in 2014. It is a textbook of physics major at Cornell University.

Begin with a nice point of view. “Science is not a body of facts but rather a process through which we seek to understand the world around us” (Bennett et. al., 2014).

Prof. Dr. Ismail Said stated that there are seven (7) pedagogical principles on delivering our lessons in the classroom namely:

(1) Stay focused on the big picture,

(2) Always provide context first,

(3)  Make the material relevant,

(4) Emphasize conceptual understanding,

(5) Proceed from the more familiar and concrete to the less familiar and abstract,

(6) Use plain language and,

(7) Recognize and address student misconceptions.

“Also, teach students to gain knowledge through analytical and critical thinking modes. These skills stay in them for long. Thus, students put less concern on getting grades, more on what they learned” he added.

He ended the sharing session with a scenario at Cornell University.

“Physics professors are instructed to set how many As be given in their classes. This to assure tough competition. Taufiq finds that his study is stressful. This is how Cornell generates good quality students. It has 22 Nobel Prizes in Physics”.

Viva for FYP (UTMSPACE)

27th June 2020 was the big day for thirteen final year UTMSPACE students to present and defend their projects called Final Year Project II (FYP). I was the second reader or second examiner for the three of them.

Other examiners that involved in this viva was Dr. Ainur, Dr. Wan, & Dr. Amy.

This presentation was done virtually through Google Meet started at 10.30 a.m. until 4.30 p.m.

PG Progress Presentation

Post Graduate Progress Report should be done every semester and the students are required to present virtually via Google Meet on 18th June 2020 during MCO.

About 9 PhD candidates were participated and presented their progress and evaluated by two examiners (Dr. Halim & Dr. Fatin), witnessed by a Chairman (Dr. Shahril) and hosted by PG officers (Pn. Harlina).

This evaluation started at 9.00 a.m. till 12.00 p.m.

MAJLIS FELO KTC AT GMEET

Our first meeting was held using Google Meet. The main focus is to propose an appreciation ceremony for all KTC front liners specifically include all volunteers from KTC.

This meeting began with a short speech from the College Principal of KTC and continue with discussions from all Majlis Felo who attend the meeting.

 

IPF BIRO KEBAJIKAN & SOSIAL

Each fellow and assistant fellow of Institusi Pembangunan Felo (IPF) have their own Biro. IPF consists of five Biro namely (1) Biro Kerohanian, (2) Biro Pembangunan & Budaya Ilmu, (3) Biro Kebajikan & Sosial, (4) Biro Sukan & Rekreasi, and (5) Biro Komunikasi & Dokumentasi. I joined the third Biro effective from January 2020 until December 2021.

Our first meeting via webex.

Lots of ideas that have been discussed together despite of pandemic of COVID19.