Exam De-Stress Games Day !

While projects, assignments, presentations deadlines and final exams are just around the corner, we here at MASAT believe that one should take some time off of all the hassles and enjoy some quality time with each other to regain our emotional strength and determination before the final battle begins for the semester. How do we have fun, you may ask? With some board games, jeopardy and PlayStation of course!

Faris conducting Jeopardy!

The games started at around 12:00 p.m. with  the most anticipated round of Jeopardy participated by Viatrix, Fatihah, Zubaidah, Izzatee, Sabrina and Fawwaz. It caught a lot of attention from the audiences as they join in together to figure out the answer to the alleged 'easy' questions. The winner for Jeopardy! was Fatihah with the 'soalan cepumas' or golden question : What is the title of the music video on YouTube with over 2 Billion views ? Congratulations Fatihah!

Zubaidah(left) and Fatihah(right) 'discussing' the answer for Jeopardy!

Aside Jeopardy, we also played rounds of PlayStation games such as FIFA15, Injustice and Mortal Kombat and board games such as Shadow Hunters, Saboteur, Fluxx, Sushi Go! and many more. Although some friendships were 'destroyed' during the games, we sure did have lots of fun!

Variety of board games played

Imran, Fathuddin and Hafizul playing Jenga!

Wei Zhen, Boon Yuen and Jeeva enjoying Shadow Hunters!

Thank you for those who came and made the event a lively one. On behalf of MASAT, we hope you had fun during this event and more importantly wind down all the stress and hopefully perform in all of your final examinations for this semester. We wish you all the best and good luck!

Bengkel Resume 2015

Being in one of the most prestigious universities is a challenge itself. And in order to hold true to its name, the students are expected to thrive well and passionately in their field of study through research and internship experiences. To better equip the students with the practicality plus giving insight into their own interests,  the university  offers various rooms for its undergrads, as early as in the second year, to get involved in programs such as Research Opportunity Program (ROP), Professional Experience Year (PEY) Internship Program and Summer Research Scholarship, to name a few.  

Hence, the anticipation of the upcoming season of research/internship applications can be felt looming over the members of MASAT. Recognizing the significance of early preparation, MASAT Executive Team, which is led by Afiq Asri, once again organized Bengkel Resume for its members. This workshop is constructed to focus on building and polishing resumes and is designed to be member-friendly. The major change that the MASAT Executive Team brought to this year’s workshop is having it held in small group discussion sessions, as compared to the previous one which was a facilitated resume drafting sessions. A chat with Thiiban, a first-year MASAT member, shows that this is an effective move as the participants can get a personalized attention and guidance from the facilitators. Plus, MASAT Media Crew offered photography service for anyone who wants their professional profile photo taken.

The workshop was held in the Friday evening of November 6^th at room 304 Galbraith Building. Despite the palpable busyness of the midterms month in UofT, Bengkel Resume received a bigger than expected turnout. The workshop commenced at 6.15 pm with an introductory presentation by Afiq Asri. This workshop also focuses on two distinct groups, students who are interested in research and the ones who are aiming to dive into the industry. The first part of the workshop was resume drafting and polishing sessions. Participants were given handouts regarding resume and cover letter writing that provide ample information and guidance for the students to start with. These handouts can be easily accessed at UofT Career Centre or Engineering Career Centre websites. 

The eager learners discussed strategies from the experienced facilitators over a cup of Tim Hortons

Eddy Zulkifly, an industrial engineering student, is guiding Izzatee Azlee to polish her resume

Some of second-year Science students listening attentively to Afiq Asri giving tips and tricks of producing an effective resume.

After a short break, the workshop continued with a session called the Upper Year Insights. Once again, participants were free to join any of the two groups which centralized the discussions regarding industry internships and research opportunities. This was the session that really gave the members the chance to listen to the first-hand experiences and challenges in the pursuit of a research and internship positions. Indeed, experience is the best teacher and who could elucidate the upcoming challenges better than the facilitators who have undergone it themselves. MASAT did a great job at rounding up competent facilitators. The group of facilitators consists of upper year students who are currently active in research and work in various fields, from Geophysics to Art History. The stories they shared really do inspire the members to network and get involved more around the university.

Most importantly, we want to know how this workshop actually benefits the members, because they are our best interest. So, in the production of this cover story, we had a chance to talk with some of the participants and these are a few of their reflections;

"As I am planning to intern in Malaysia, this workshop is really helpful for me. The one that holds out to me the most is the tip given by Naveen in finding internships positions, which is to directly email the university or company instead of going through the websites. Be open and try to focus on experience instead of pay." – Jehan Nazri, 2^nd year, Biotechnology.

 “I like how the workshop is such an active learning platform. The major tip I would say is to start early. If you’re like me, a person with zero experiences in resume writing or work experience, it’s time to plan ways to write your resume effectively and figure out methods to find work experiences so that your resumes are not empty.” – Thiiban Paskaran, 1^st year, Chemical Engineering. 

“I recognized how one’s persistence can actually bring about opportunities. If one is truly interested and determined to take part in a project/research, go ahead to show your engagement with the subject and commitment to the right persons in all reasonable ways. More often than not it will work in your favour.” – Teoh Wei Zhen, 3^rd year, Economics and Mathematics.

True to Afiq’s aspirations which are, in his words, “giving back to MASAT community and imparting useful legacy to younger members”, the workshop can be deemed a successful one. Best of luck to everyone in your future endeavors! 

Hello October and Midterms!

October is here, and most student at UofT knows what this means. It is midterms season!

In order to endure the upcoming bloody battle, strenuous preparation for our MASAT battalion is a must. Comprised with the best of training and guidance from MASAT's seniors and alumni, these golden advices we have prepared for you will help you in ensuring a smooth semester.

We asked MASAT alumni if they could meet their past self while they were still at UofT, what would they tell themselves? Here are their responses;

" Studying outside your room is better. Of course there's people who's comfortable studying at home, but it's safe to say that 9 out of 10 people find that there's too much distraction at home, be it the drama television; the non-stop action of opening the empty fridge, and then there's the comfy couch or bed. So, to get rid of all that, with the added bonus of quiet(er) space and positive environment of other people studying you'll save time completing that Required Readings or Lab Report; with better quality outcome."     

-Fathuddin    Romeli

" One thing - find or have a good studying partner(s) for every course. I realized that many of the success that you'll achieve in UofT would be difficult if you (are) doing it alone. Having a good working or studying partner(s) could help a lot in your studies."            

-Muzakkir  Mohamad

      " Have a balance between academic and social life. Participate and join clubs & volunteer activities to discover yourself and your interests. Make new friends outside your circle as many as you can. Try to know your professors and maintain the connection. Also make an effort to have an experience in research as well as real working environment before you graduate." 

-Zahir Shaifuddin 

 " One thing I would tell myself would be to take some time off and go for a trip whenever there's a break. UofT can be stressful, so regardless if you have plenty of work, or things are not going well, just take a few days and get out of the city to see new place or friends. (It) certainly does help." 

-Nizhan Faraz

Hope with these golden virtues from our successful alumni and senior will inspire current students and MASAT members to strive and achieve our individual goals at university. If any of the alumni or seniors that have any other tips and advice, please do share with us your experience by commenting on the comment section below!

Good luck on midterms everyone!

Credits to Irfan Rahim  for the images of the alumni used in this blog post.

Raya Haji , Mooncake and First Years Welcoming !

The night of September 26th 2015 was surely a memorable one for all MASAT members that attended the Raya Haji, Mooncake and First Years Welcoming event. It was an event that left us all full with food, laughters, new friendships and sweet memories.

Welcoming the members to the event

Vyn Gie and Viatrix attending Sabrina at the registration table

The event was held at the  Multi Faith Centre of UofT St. George. Although it was scheduled to expect arrivals from members at 6.00 pm, being Malaysians as we are, a handful of members showed up at around 6.30 pm. Registration fee of 10CAD were collected from all members at the registration table by our lovely MASAT's Treasurer and Secretary, Vyn Gie and Viatrix.

Albeit we were running behind schedule, our admirable President, Faris are able to give a short and simple speech which was then continued with the introduction of the new first years students as per MASAT's yearly tradition. We welcome a total of 9 first years both from UofT St. George and UofT Missisauga.

First years introduction

Mr. President with his speech.

Thiiban and his inspiring speech

In order to complete our MASAT Executive Committee, first year representative were elected that evening. Thiiban managed to win the audience by his powerful and inspiring speech and thus are elected to be the first year representative for 2015/2016 term. Congratulations Thiiban!

At 7.00 pm, the event continued on with a speech from Amin, our Vice-President about the announcement of the new Mcard and MPlanner followed by MBazaar announcement by our Cultural Officer, Amier .

The aroma of all the foods filled the air and made everyone eager to dig in. When all of the announcements are made, attendees are welcomed to enjoy the food brought by everyone (since it is a potluck-style event) . We were served with all kinds of food; pulut kuning, rendang ayam, kuzi ayam, rendang daging (from Malay Kitchen), nasi impit, kuah kacang, bihun goreng, mee goreng, roti jala, kari ayam and many more. As a dessert, we had mooncakes, chocolate oreo cake, cekodok pisang, kuih sagu and of course the highlight of the food mania was the air jagung! The attendees dined delightfully until 8.30 pm.

Makan time!

After everyone was energized with the food, it was time to start the game sessions. We played two games in which both games emphasized on getting to know the people around and having fun. The main activity hall was surely filled with a cacophony of laughters and tears (of joy of course) which definitely made all of our MASAT members feels closer together.

Syamil as the MC 

Game on!

We wrap up the game at 9.45 pm and ended the event with a group photo of all of the MASAT members.

MASAT Family 2015/2016 featuring Zubaid's peace pose !

On behalf of MASAT, we would like to say thank you for those who participated in this event. We hope you had a great time with all of the Malaysians and keep up to date with our incoming events on our Facebook Group page. See you soon !

MASAT 2015 Graduation Dinner

Salam sejahtera everyone,

 Masat Graduation Dinner is an on going tradition of where graduating members are celebrated of their achievements and accomplishment in completing their studies at UofT. This year, the dinner was held at the MultiFaith Center at UofT with a special menu catered by Affy's Premium Grill. A total of 14 grad made it to the dinner with the special appearance of Zakkeeyyah Zainoddin's parents.

It seemed like the attendees enjoyed the 3 meal course served personally by us, the committee member. The mood of the evening was then taken deep into the blue by the short video made by the Media Department. It sure did shed tears. But in the end of the day, everyone enjoyed the dinner and realized how much they have gone through in this chapter of their life. Here are some of the photos and the video for the grad.

Games Day: Stress Treatment!

Hello our dearest followers!

Last weekend, we organised the Games Day in collaboration with the previous Execs (2014/15) as the first event so that we can bond together as well as learn on managing an event. Being the fresh Execs, we learned a lot on that day and understand that it was not as easy as it may seem on event management. The Games Day was also our first collaboration with the UofT Board Games Club so that we have variety of board games to play. Also, we have variety of video games console such as PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii and the classic Jeopardy game. Not to forget, we had MasterChef too where contestants had to prepare a dish of Canadian and Malaysian food fusion.

They seem to enjoy the game by UofT Board Games Club

Boys will be boys

Happy moments there

Who says girls don't fight?

MasterChef

Yummy!

They're playing Jeopardy hosted by Mr President himslef

The previous Mr President judging the MasterChef

What a fusion?! ( wrapped Nasi Lemak)

That's all for now! Till next time... Have a nice day!

MASAT Annual General Meeting 2015: New Executives reporting for duty!

Every year, members of the committee gathers by for the biggest meeting of the year that is the Annual General Meeting, where the financial report being presented, and the highlights of every events of the year. Also, on this meeting, the voting of the new Executive Members takes place. This year, the  Election Commission was lead by Anas Faris and assisted by Ahmad Zahir, Muzakkir Mohamed and Fathuddin Romeli. The Election Commission refined the last year's method of election that is the online voting with the addition of secured website where members could nominate candidates, as well as read their manifestos online and ask the candidates questions on the website itself. This shows how far we have improve since the first AGM where the members voted using the count of hands. 

Here are some of the photos from the event!

Registration handled by Muzakkir

Event highlights

The Presidents speech as well as disbanding of the previous executives

Manifestos presentation and election

The previous and current MASAT Executive Members

MASAT 2014/15 Executive Members

MASAT 2015/16 Executive Memebers

Resume Workshop

Greetings all,

Here at MASAT, we do take career seriously. And, resume and cover letter is best learned first hand by the experienced ones. On this workshop, we invited our alumni, Arif Makhdzir and also other Malaysian students that had went through the hiring process to share a couple of good advises on how to write the best resume and cover letter. The kind that will catch the hiring managers attention.
Here! take a look at the photos!

Afiq explaining the research opportunity module

Naveen(left), proof reading resumes

The first years learning on how to write the best resume

Arif discussing on work experience

Eddy(left) giving insights on cover letter writing