THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2020
COURSE FOCUS
Hands-on programmes
TO continuously meet the needs of the
hospitality and tourism industry, Tunku
Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC)
offers a wide range of hospitality and
tourism programmes to provide human
capital for the industry. Students are taught
and guided by knowledgeable lecturers
who are experienced in the hospitality and
tourism industry.
Martina Chua Swee Lin is a senior
lecturer under TAR UC’s Faculty of Social
Science and Humanities (FSSH) with almost
10 years of working experience in the
hotel industry. She teaches Beverage
Appreciation and Food & Beverage (F&B)
Service Management, which are part of the
Bachelor of Hospitality Management (Hons)
syllabus.
“When I design my teaching plan and
assessment, I focus on how to develop
students’ creative thinking skills. For
example, for the Beverage Appreciation
subject, students have to create their own
cocktails. As for F&B Service Management,
students are given the responsibility to
organise and manage themed lunches.
Meanwhile, training students to be
masters in the kitchen is chef Mohd Asrul,
who has more than 20 years of experience
in the hotel industry. He teaches the Food
Preparation I & II subjects, which are part
of the Bachelor of Hospitality Management
(Hons) programme syllabus.
“These two subjects are in-depth
practical sessions where students will not
only learn the various industry practices
but will have opportunities to experience
what it is actually like working in a
restaurant’s kitchen to support
operations,” he explains.
Muhamad Aizuddin, another lecturer,
has six years of industry experience and is
an expert in restaurant operations.
“Among the subjects I teach in the
Bachelor of Hospitality Management
(Hons) programme are Restaurant
Management, Principles of Management
and Human Resource Management for
Hospitality Industry. Each practical session
is followed by discussion sessions for
students to discuss and clarify where they
can improve and also for them to share
their suggestions and ideas for
improvements in the operations of the
restaurant,” he shares.
Yet another FSSH lecturer, Intan Nadira
Abdullah, has four years of working
experience in the tourism industry. She
teaches several subjects under the
Bachelor of Tourism Management (Hons)
and Diploma in Tourism Management
programmes. “Exposing students to
industry practices is vital not only to
help them understand the industry
better, but also to enable them to put
on their thinking caps and develop
new trends and ideas for the tourism
industry,” she says.
n Following the closure of TAR UC
throughout the MCO, prospective students
can still contact relevant faculties/centres/
departments/branch campuses. For more The various types of practical training that
details and to apply online, visit www. students undergo when they pursue TAR
tarc.edu.my. Enjoy a processing fee waiver UC’s hospitality and tourism management
when you apply by today. Attractive programmes can help them to master
academic merit-based scholarships and industry-relevant skills and develop their
sibling discounts are available at TAR UC. creativity and innovativeness.
2 Hospitality, Law, Teaching & Mass Communications
New web
media stream
THE Curtin Bachelor of
Communications offered at
Curtin University Malaysia
(Curtin Malaysia) has been
further strengthened with the
addition of a web media stream
to the existing corporate screen
production, journalism,
marketing and public relations
streams.
With the new stream, added to
meet market demand and
ensure the Bachelor of
Communications (formerly
known as the Bachelor of Arts in
Mass Communication) remains
industry-relevant and cutting-
edge, students can ready
themselves for careers in the
expanding field of web-based
media and communications.
The broad-based Bachelor of
Communications degree, one of
the most popular courses at
Curtin Malaysia, not only trains
students for traditional media
and communication roles, but
also prepares them for emerging
job roles that may not yet exist in
these fields.
In their first year, students will
be introduced to the different
spokes of communications and
study optional units that reflect
or refine their learning in
specific communication areas. In
their second and third years,
they will choose two streams in
which to specialise: one media
stream and one design or
business stream, or two media
streams. For example, they can
take a combination of corporate
screen production and either
journalism, web media, public
relations or marketing, or a
combination of journalism and
web media, public relations or
marketing.
For those taking the web
media stream, taking corporate
screen production as well will
enable you to become
multiskilled web content
producers; or when combined
with journalism, become cross-
platform writers and reporters.
The web media stream
emphasises social media and
networking, and the units
combine practical components
with core concepts to give
students the necessary
understanding and skills they
need in the online environment.
The corporate screen
production stream, meanwhile,
teaches concepts and skills for
client-based screen production,
including advertising and
Clearing the air
THE advancement of digital
technology has woven mass
communications into our day-to-
day lives. From breaking news to
the latest updates, the media
serves to inform, educate and
entertain us, regardless of topic
and location. It is a very
powerful tool, and mass
communications courses are
growing in popularity in recent
years as companies scramble to
hire professionals to better
engage with the public.
However, communications
majors are often stereotyped,
despite playing an essential role
in every organisation. In the
public’s eye, people who pursue
these degrees are generally
deemed to be lazy, have bad
grades, are hungry for attention
THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2020
promotion, corporate
communications, informational
and educational media. On the
other hand, the journalism
stream covers journalism theory
and practice through print,
broadcast and online media,
and provides students with the
opportunity to publish on a
variety of media platforms
including online, radio and
television.
In the marketing stream,
students learn and apply
marketing principles within
specialised areas, including
international marketing,
marketing research, services
marketing, consumer behaviour,
retail marketing and Internet
marketing. Those taking the
public relations stream will
develop an understanding of the
fundamentals of professional
public relations practice,
equipping themselves with skills
and knowledge in the principles,
techniques and specific issues of
contemporary public relations.
The courses offered at Curtin
Malaysia are identical to those
offered at other Curtin campuses
and the degrees earned by
students at the Malaysia campus
are awarded directly by the
main campus. In line with its
vision to enrich and innovate,
Curtin Malaysia continues to
offer new material to meet
current trends and demand.
n Enrolment for Curtin
Malaysia’s July/August
(Semester 2) intake is now open.
Prospective students can
enquire about the course by
visiting futurestudents.curtin.
edu.my/enquiry and further
details can be found at courses.
curtin.edu.my
or are people who just wants
to be done with their tertiary
education while exerting the
least amount of effort.
Though indecisive
students may have taken up
communications because of its
broad career path, most students
who join the course do so with
genuine passion and interest.
Hustle and bustle
Contrary to popular belief,
communications students do not
have it easy. In fact, they usually
have a lot on their plate, so much
so that if they do not manage
their time properly, they will not
be able to cope.
> TURN TO PAGE 4
THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2020
Grooming
quality
lawyers
THE recent recognition for the
HELP Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Hons degree by the Malaysian
Legal Profession Qualifying
Board enables HELP University’s
Faculty of Law and Government
to redouble its efforts as a
leading law school in grooming
lawyers of quality and
distinction. Graduates of the
HELP LLB programme are now
eligible to pursue the Certificate
in Legal Practice to qualify as
legal practitioners in Malaysia.
To suit the current need and
demand, HELP University’s
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Hons
programme is crafted with a
curriculum incorporating
practical modules. This includes
Legal Skills and Legal Practice,
taught by practitioners alongside
substantive law subjects that any
other university would offer, and
all other fundamentals, in the
three years.
These two additional modules
expose students to the
fundamentals of lawyering skills
such as client counselling,
negotiation, drafting, advocacy
skills, mooting, managing a law
firm and more. Everything is
embedded in the two modules,
and students are required to pass
these two compulsory modules in
order to move on. In addition to
these practical components,
students are introduced to core
issues surrounding the legal field
such as ethics and social justice.
Part of the legal skills taught is
the focus on legal technology.
According to one of the
practitioners teaching legal skills
in the HELP LLB programme,
Darmain Segaran, who graduated
from HELP University and
University of the West of England
(UWE Bristol), says, “Legal
technology is a huge sector by
itself, which is very quickly
changing the face of the
profession. It is used by lawyers
to automate routine tasks and
carry out various forms of
analysis within a case file. It is
also being used by non-lawyers
to get faster and cheaper access
to the law.
“Legal technology would force
a shift in the direction of practice.
It will not make lawyers
redundant, but it will shift the
scope of what a lawyer does. It
also opens up opportunities to
jobs that require legal education
but are not necessarily in law
firms. Many consulting
companies are already looking
for law graduates with technical
understanding to help lead the
law technology component of
their services.”
Darmain is currently running
his own practice as well as doing
consulting work in the field of
data privacy.
In one example of a legal
technology class, students are
introduced to one of the
technologies that are beginning
to be used in the legal sector –
chatbots. A chatbot is a web-
based tool that simulates
conversation. First, students will
look at rules-based chatbots that
can be used to automate simple
Hospitality, Law, Teaching & Mass Communications 3
advisory topics using a decision
tree. These topics are suggested
by the students themselves. Next,
they will look at a more complex
version of the chatbot using a
machine learning backend.
Finally, they will introduce other
forms of legal technology that
are aimed at easing a lawyer’s
burden.
Apart from the two additional
modules mentioned above, the
faculty provides a variety of
other learning and practical
experiences designed to
strengthen students’ Darmain (second from left) with students in his legal technology class.
competencies. The law
programme also requires the
students to produce a Student
Law Journal, which is similar to
the Harvard Law Review. Here,
the students set up their own
editorial board and research,
write and publish their own
papers.
Moreover, HELP’s law
students have their Law
Students’ Conference, which
other university students are
invited to join. The conference is
unlike a typical conference
where academics are present; it
is a conference for students to
present. Several lawyers have
commended HELP University’s
law graduates and are saying
that its quality graduates are
what law firms look for. This is
why HELP University’s mission is
to continue to groom employable
lawyers.
For the degree transfer
programme, HELP partners with
SOAS University of London,
Cardiff University, UWE Bristol,
Aberystwyth University,
University of Liverpool,
University of Manchester,
University of Sheffield,
Northumbria University,
University of Hertfordshire and
University of Leeds. This
programme is fully accredited by
the Malaysian Qualifications
Agency.
Recently, HELP University was
awarded the Premier Digital
Tech Uni status by the Malaysian
Digital Economy Corporation,
which recognises HELP as one of
Malaysia’s leading digital tech-
focused tertiary institutions.
HELP aims to enable all students
to be knowledgeable in data
analytics. Analytics modules are
being widely embedded into
academic programmes and
every student is given a free
Certificate in Big Data and
Business Analytics course.
The aim is to enhance their
entrepreneurship capabilities
and employability.
Join HELP’s inspiring LLB
programme that grooms
employable lawyers who are
distinguished for their
leadership, communication and
organisational skills, and are
highly sought after in the
industry. Its next intake is on
May 25.
n For more information on
HELP’s Faculty of Law and
Government, call 03-2716 2000
or 016-984 9038 (Amir Syah), or
visit www.help.edu.my
4 Hospitality, Law, Teaching & Mass Communications
LOCATED across 1,386 hectares of reclaimed
land in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, is Chinese
developer Country Garden’s RM410bil Forest
City development. It is a prime example of
China’s pervading influence in overseas
property development projects, as well as
the Asian giant’s impact on urban
development in destination countries.
Launched in 2014, the mixed-use
development is set to be constructed across
four man-made islands over a span of two
decades and is expected to fuel the economy
by generating jobs and housing 700,000 new
residents in the planned eco-smart city.
The Forest City project’s massive scale of
development piqued the interest of Dr Koh
Sin Yee, senior lecturer in Global Studies at
Monash University Malaysia’s School of
Arts and Social Sciences, who chanced
upon the development when pursuing a
research project in migration studies a few
years ago.
“I was looking at people who were living
cross-border lives and purchasing homes
and properties across the border. The project
seemed tremendous in terms of scale of
development, and the numbers of people
and money flowing through it. I began
researching and writing on this project over
the years before a few others. Prof Hyun
Bang Shin from the London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Dr
Yimin Zhao from Renmin University of
China, whom I knew from LSE, suggested
that we put together a research proposal,”
says Dr Koh.
Dr Koh’s collaborative research project
with Prof Shin and Dr Zhao, titled The Urban
Spectre of Global China: Mechanisms,
Consequences, and Alternatives for Urban
Futures, commenced in February last year
under a grant by the British Academy’s
“Tackling the UK’s International Challenges
2018” programme.
Chinese might
The scale and speed of development are
really what set the Chinese developers apart
from the others. “When it comes to
Balancing urbanisation
and environmentalism
Dr Koh found that some members of the local community around Forest City had views
that challenge overwhelmingly negative local and international media coverage of the
development.
technologies, especially in construction
methods, obviously they are used to large-
scale and fast-paced development projects.
They have the knowledge and expertise to
deliver that, which the Malaysian
construction industry could learn from,”
says Dr Koh.
Unfortunately, the efficiency of Chinese
developers may also pose a threat to local
construction and real estate players in
destination cities, who may argue that the
former is unnecessary competition and that
local players can deliver the same job, albeit
at a slower pace.
More than
just good writing
> FROM PAGE 2
Majoring in communications means
knowing how people think, why they think
in that way, how they behave and what can
be done to appeal to them. Students will
need to explore and find their own unique
style of speaking and writing while learning
a whole list of communication theories,
which will be applicable in their future
endeavours.
Every semester feels like slacklining as
they strive to balance between multiple
modules simultaneously. Considering how a
mere 15-second advertisement requires
weeks of planning and preparation
beforehand, such as scouting for venues and
casting talents, communications students
definitely cannot afford to procrastinate.
More than meets the eye
Mass communications goes beyond
writing, speaking and recording. Take
photography for example. Anyone can point
and snap, but not everyone can take truly
beautiful and artistic photographs. Much
consideration is required before the shutter
button is clicked.
Another misconception is that when you
tell anyone that you are studying mass
communications, they will ask when they
will see you on television. Most people think
that mass communications is synonymous
with broadcasting, which is not wrong, but
only partially true.
Communications studies comprise
different majors, including broadcasting,
public relations, advertising and journalism,
though a typical mass communications
module consists of the basics of all majors.
You may think the news reporter or the TV
host’s job is simple, but whatever they are
doing is certainly not. It only seems easy
THE STAR, TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2020
Local communities’ voices
Another finding that Dr Koh found to
be interesting was the views of some
members of the local community that
challenge overwhelmingly negative local
and international media coverage of
Forest City, ranging from issues of
property overhang to the adverse
environmental impact of the project.
Dr Koh hopes that the research findings
would be useful in consideration of future
foreign investments that drive urban
development in destination cities.
“We must understand the nature of
how these large-scale urban
developments happen and their possible
consequences. With this better
understanding, we hope that in the
future, destination cities will not blindly
rush into such urban developments.
Although these projects bring positive
consequences, there are also negative
ones such as the environmental impacts,
which are irreversible,” she says.
She maintains that it is the
responsibility of local policymakers and
authorities to ensure the sustainability
and inclusive nature of such development
projects, as businesses primarily concern
themselves with maximising profits.
“We need to understand that
development is not solely about GDP or
economic growth, but also about finding
the balance between modernisation and
not compromising on matters such as
environmental impacts and the needs of
the local communities,” concludes Dr Koh.
because they are professionally trained and
have continued to hone their skills for years.
Light at the end of tunnel
People often think mass communications
students as “jacks of all trades, masters of
none”, which makes them unemployable
upon graduation because their qualification
is deemed too general. However, when it
comes to the communications industry, it is
highly recommended and commendable to
be well-rounded, instead of just being a
master of one mode of communication.
Endless possibilities
A few years ago, positions such as social
media executive and digital media manager
did not even exist. Now, however, new
communication models allow advertisers to
reach a much bigger audience, often
instantly. Needless to say, mass
communications is one of the major
contributors to the existence of these job
titles, as organisations begin to realise the
importance of developing and maintaining
relationships with the public, especially
through the Internet.
From the enormous billboards lined along
the highway to the advertisement banners
on website pages, and even trailers to
blockbuster movies, these are all the results
of the hard work and creativity of mass
communications practitioners.
The things you can do and achieve in this
field is very broad, and one of the perks is
that you can switch lanes if you so wish and
still be able to adapt to the new environment
quickly due to your well-roundedness. It is
definitely not a lightweight course and
requires tremendous effort, but be assured
that many doors will be open to you when
you graduate.