A New Challenge: Designing METE1153 for the Short Semester

About three weeks ago, I received unexpected news: students had registered to take Occupational Safety in Energy Systems (METE1153) during the short semester break. I was honestly quite shocked, as I had been hoping for a well-deserved academic break—especially considering the heavy administrative workload currently on my plate.

Over the past academic year, my teaching responsibilities have been intense. I taught 6 credits in Session 1, followed by another 6 credits in Session 2. Last year during Session 2 alone, I carried a 12-credit load, which included multiple versions of METE1153 (full-time, part-time, and ODL) along with METW1153: Quality Management. Given that context, it’s clear why I was hoping for some breathing space this time around.

However, as it turns out, this will be my first time teaching a course during the short semester. My goal is to structure the course in a self-learning format, allowing students greater flexibility while managing the compressed timeline. There are currently 7 to 9 students enrolled in the course, and I’m hopeful this approach will work well for them.

Today, I spent some time setting up the eLearning platform for METE1153, using the ODL model as my reference. In fact, I’m also working on enhancing the full METE1153 ODL version in parallel. Should I be assigned to this course again next year, it would mark my third time handling METE1153—but that’s still eight months away.

Right now, the pressing challenge is how to compress a traditionally 14-week syllabus into just 8 weeks, without compromising learning quality. I believe I’ve managed to prepare at least 50% of the content and structure for students to begin their self-learning journey today. I hope that they’ll find the materials engaging and beneficial, and that this short semester will still provide meaningful learning, despite its condensed format.

Other official tasks today include coming out with a new novel review paper idea to collaborate with someone from Australia. InsyaAllah.

#20242025 Day 034

#Sunday

Weekend Commitment: Supporting a SPACE Final Year Project Student

Weekends are typically seen as a time for rest and personal renewal, especially for most employees. However, for academicians and lecturers, weekends can often be just another extension of our academic responsibilities. While Saturday and Sunday are officially non-working days, it is not uncommon for teaching-related duties to spill over into the weekend due to packed schedules on weekdays.

Today was one such instance. I had to carefully balance my time between personal, family, and social commitments in order to accommodate a mock presentation session for one of my Final Year Project (FYP) students from the SPACE program, UTM’s part-time undergraduate program for working adults.

Given my full-day commitments, I informed my student, who is currently working at a major oil refinery in Pasir Gudang, that we would conduct the mock session later at night, after I returned from attending the Maulidur Rasul Kuliah at Masjid Taman Pulai Indah. We began the mock presentation at 10:25 p.m. and concluded by 11:00 p.m. I listened attentively to his presentation and provided detailed, constructive feedback focused on both the content and delivery aspects. I advised him to revise the slides and submit the improved version to me by tomorrow for final review. I sincerely hope that the revised presentation will reflect significant improvement—InsyaAllah.

Earlier in the day, I also attended a wedding ceremony in Pasir Gudang, following an invitation from a former colleague at Mewaholeh Industries Sdn Bhd, my previous workplace. It was a meaningful social occasion that allowed me to reconnect with old friends, former students, and fellow professionals.

Days like today remind me that while weekends are meant for rest, they can also offer valuable opportunities for mentoring, reflection, and nurturing long-term academic relationships, especially with committed students who juggle work and study in parallel.

#20242025 Day 012

#Saturday

Visual Communication Through Freehand Training (VCTF)

Last week, I was informed by my friend from MCKK, Amirul Iskandar, that he and Dr. Ruzaimi would be coming to UTM to conduct the Visual Communication Through Freehand (VCTF) training. Unfortunately, yesterday was completely occupied. Alhamdulillah, today I had a relatively free schedule, allowing me to focus on other pending tasks without any meetings.

After lunch, I stopped by Masjid Sultan Ismail to perform the Zuhur prayer, where I unexpectedly met Amirul and Nazri Rusli. Following our prayers, we walked together to the training room at FABU, where the VCTF training was being held for UTM’s non-academic officers.

I took the opportunity to sit in and re-immerse myself in the session. Even though I had attended this training previously in May 2024, I still found it highly insightful and inspiring. The session emphasized the power of visual communication and sketching as a universal language — a truly valuable skill in academic and professional settings alike.

I was also delighted to learn that Dr. Ruzaimi and Amirul have recently published a book on VCTF titled Profits from Visuals. From what I saw, it’s an impressive and one-of-a-kind publication — informative, creative, and absolutely engaging. Congratulations to both of them on this remarkable achievement! I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in improving their visual communication skills.

Other tasks of the day: (1) Finalizing NYR International paper work (2) Marking assignments for METE1153 ODL

#20242025 Day 009

#Wednesday

To be Productive, You Cannot Be to Perfectionist

Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Productivity

Productivity isn’t about getting more done. It’s about what you get done. Three aspects of perfectionism can interfere with your ability to prioritize the most important tasks.

1. You’re reluctant to designate decisions as “unimportant.”

2. You feel morally obligated to overdeliver.

3. You get excessively annoyed when you aren’t 100% consistent with good habits.

Continue Reading this article HERE.

 

 

Computer scientist (Larry Tesler) behind cut, copy and paste dies aged 74

He dies…

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51567695

 

Kekayaan Yang Tiada Makna

Gambar yang dikongsi oleh pengguna Facebook, Mageswaran Spotomoni ini diambil di Hospital daerah Harbin di China. Pesakit kanser yang membawa beg penuh berisi wang meminta doktor untuk menyelamatkan nyawanya dan dia mempunyai banyak wang untuk membayarnya.

Tetapi doktor mengatakan dia tidak boleh melakukan apa-apa kerana kansernya berada di peringkat akhir.

Dia sangat marah dan begitu kecewa lantas melemparkan wang ke seluruh koridor hospital itu sambil berteriak “Apa gunanya memiliki wang?”

“Wang tidak boleh membeli kesihatan, wang tidak boleh membeli masa, wang juga tidak boleh membeli kehidupan.”

Kisah ini masuk akal untuk difikirkan sebagai pengajaran. Kita masih diberi kesempatan untuk mengekalkan kesihatan yang baik sementara kita mempunyai masa dan wang.

Mesej penting yang boleh dikutip dari cerita ini menunjukkan bahawa kesihatan adalah kekayaan yang. sebenar. Sihat lebih penting berbanding menjadi kaya !!!

PM Dr. Mazura Jusoh Featured in NST About AR and VR

https://www.nst.com.my/education/2020/02/562767/bringing-learning-life

Loan Rumah Untuk Staff Kerajaan, Rugi Kalau Tak Guna Sebelum Usia 35 Tahun

Tahukah anda…

https://himpunanceritalawak.com/2018/06/loan-rumah-untuk-staff-kerajaan-rugi-kalau-tak-guna-sebelum-usia-35-tahun.html

Malam Cinta Rasul di Surau Al-Taqwa

dav

 

Mesyuarat Majlis MaulidurRasul Surau Al-Taqwa

Besok surau kami akan menganjurkan Majlis MaulidurRasul. Sebagai persiapan terakhir, para AJK Surau mengadakan satu mesyuarat ringkas untuk finalize persiapan-persiapan untuk majlis tersebut. Dalam majlis tersebut saya akan menjadi penyambut tetamu, penyambut Penceramah dan Pengacara Majlis. InsyaAllah