Surviving the first year engineering programmes at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Abstract

Coming to a university can be invigorating experience – students will make lots of new friends, meet a variety of people and be influenced by numerous new experiences. It may well be the first time students have lived by themselves and the prospect of such freedom is very exciting. Students have probably been looking forward to it for a long time. However, some students find that after the novelty wears off, they start to feel homesick and that started to affect their studies. Many found that the skills that they possessed to survive the high school were not sufficient for engineering school. Problems faced by students during their first year of campus life were studied. Issues such as family, friends, finance, study skills and studying environment are highlighted in questionnaire filled by students. Several measures have been taken or planned by the faculty either to minimize the gap or to equip them with the right skills are also mentioned in the paper. Introducing a new subject called “Introduction to Engineering� is one of the gallant steps taken by the faculty and together with UBRP, i.e. faculty’s student support and counselling unit, workshops and camps are organized.