Here, he shares his experience in MUFY which inspired him to go into economics and finance, and nurtured his growing interest in research.
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| Alex is currently undergoing his PhD at Monash University, Malaysia Campus. |
“Coming from a Science-stream background, I had no prior knowledge on economics and accounting when I entered into the MUFY programme.
At first, I felt very much left out (in class). However, thanks to the dedicated team of MUFY teachers who were willing to answer my questions, I caught up with the rest of the students and scored all right.”
The 24 year old from Tawau, Sabah shared that he asked a lot of questions after class, so as to not disrupt the class too much.
“Especially in Economics A and B with Ms Pratiba Narayanasamy, I am very grateful for her help as she never hesitated to answer my questions. This inspired me to dive deeper into economics and eventually finance.
Furthermore, MUFY’s syllabus and method of delivery was very similar to our units in Monash University, which gave us a very good head start compared to other students. It didn’t take much time for us to fit into the university life at Monash.”
Given his lack of background knowledge on economics and accounting, Alex shared that Sunway’s well-stocked library also helped him to succeed in his studies.
“I made use of the library resources well, not only the tables and chairs of course!” the former student of SMK St John Kuala Lumpur joked.
“I would spent time in the library once a week, going over recommended text for extra materials and examples. Even when I was in my Honours Degree programme at Monash University, I visited the library quite a few times to pick up books I urgently needed. I feel that the library is very well-stocked plus it also offers online resources.”
Alex’s interest in research started when he worked as a Research Assistant at Monash University during his undergraduate years.
“I find research work fascinating. Instead of relying on knowledge from books and available materials, we are out creating our own work! No more knowing what is known by other people, once we find something worth knowing more about, we just hop on a journey of discovery! That’s how I came up with my research topics! Dying to know something with no answers!”
Alex said his studies in the MUFY, Degree and Honours programme at Monash University had prepped him well for his PhD. He shared that his time at Monash University was moderately challenging. The tasks assigned by lecturers were creative, intellectually-stimulating and practical.
However, he found life as a first-time research student in the Honours programme very different as the cohort was smaller for there was just 3 of them in the semester, with more tasks and assignments. His biggest challenge was the 20,000 word thesis.
“In the beginning, 20,000 words seemed like a never ending word count that was unreachable. However, we got more creative and with feedback from our supervisors and research peers, we started to add more flavour to our thesis. We were slightly overburdened but we managed to sail through with each other’s support.”
Although it was a tough journey, Alex found it was worth it as he learnt and practiced strict time management, and had early exposure of research life and sufficient training prior his PhD.
Alex who is an aviation and technology enthusiast, completed his MUFY programme in December 2010 after which he did his first internship with the Global Market Operations (Treasury) Department in HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd before continuing his degree in Monash University.
While currently undergoing his PhD, he also tutors Accounting and Finance at Monash University.
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