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

2021 Day 77 Tasks – Grading Quiz for my Refinery and Petrochemical Technology Class

This semester I decided to make to difference. I don’t want to wait or procrastinate to grade / mark the quiz, assignments, tests etc up to the last minute. So, I began disciplining myself to grade as fast as possible.

Day 3 Task: Marking Final Exam Paper

Today is a beautiful Friday, a wonderful and long waited weekend here in Johor Bahru. Our official weekend is Friday and Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday.

Although it is a rest day, I have to do do the marking of my final exam paper – Refinery and Petrochemical Technologies SKKC4723 – Final year students. There are altogether 31 students.

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What 1 Official Task Per Day Record is —>https://people.utm.my/zakiyamani/2020/01/01/1-official-task-per-day-record-through-out-2020-a-personal-challenge/

Read all my “1 Official Task Per Day Record Challenge for 2020” —> https://people.utm.my/zakiyamani/category/1-activity-1-day/