Rebecca Bunting and Paul Hayes
A record number of students from South East Asia were awarded first class honours degrees from the University of Portsmouth this year with Malaysian students making up 100 per cent of this total.
Eight students gained first class degrees, the result some put down to their work ethic and the strength of their family ties. They had studied courses from four faculties – Science, Technology, Creative and Cultural Industries and Portsmouth Business School.
The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Rebecca Bunting conferred degrees on graduates at the recent regional graduation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur’s Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel.
The graduation celebration was followed by an alumni event for former graduates from Portsmouth from South East Asia, at the Teeq Brasserie in Kuala Lumpur. Alumni who attended the event are from a whole range of employment backgrounds, ranging from boutique firms to larger companies such as British American Tobacco, Petronas, DHL, Telekoms and Maxis, and had graduated from as far back as three decades ago.
First class: Winson Yuen with Alan Collins, HoD Economics
The graduates who achieved first class degrees this year had studied logistics and transportation, accountancy and financial management, interior design, pharmacy, civil engineering and economics.
Jason Lim Wen Xuan was awarded a first in logistics and transportation and now has a job in Leeds. Before coming to Portsmouth to study Jason feared he had missed his chance to pursue his dream of studying abroad. He’d not done well in his final exams at school in Malaysia and thought he had lost his chance to go to university.
He said: “I was quite depressed at that time and my mum realised, but thankfully she didn’t comfort me and say things such as ‘never mind, you tried your best’. Instead she told me I was quite smart but just not hardworking enough.
Celebrating Jason Lim Wen Xuan
“Her words made me put myself to the test. I started working harder and set high goals, believing that even if I failed to achieve them, I’d have no regrets if I’d given 100 per cent effort. It’s not easy to keep yourself moving forwards but I believe miracles do happen when you start to dream and believe in it. However, in order to make it become reality, you need to wake up from that dream and work hard.”
Winson Yuen, graduated with a first in economics, finance and banking. He said: “When I started my undergraduate degree course, I had limited knowledge of economics and mathematics and I had to work in my family’s business at the same time which meant I never seemed to get ahead. My results at the end of my first year were not great.”
Paul-Hayes, Joe Doherty and some of the Malaysian alumni
“But I fought to catch up and at the end of my third year I was awarded the Jack Griffin Prize for Best Performance by an Economics Student.”
“Three factors contributed to my being awarded a first: Preparation, time allocation and family. At the beginning of my second year I learned more effective ways to study, such as preparing for the lecture in advance by reading relevant chapters from the textbooks. I also learned how to allocate my time better and gave up my leisure time to study. Working in the family business made me realise my parents worked extremely hard from morning until midnight everyday to fund the tuition fees. I knew there was no better way of repaying them than by achieving a first class degree and I am so proud that I finally did it.”
