Penang, 3 July: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) became the first public institution of higher learning in the country to offer the Harvard Book Prize to outstanding students enrolling in the university .
The award, to be conferred on an outstanding first year student from the 2007/2008 Academic Session onwards,is jointly sponsored by USM and the Malaysian Harvard Club.
The acting Vice Chancellor , Dato’ Prof.Muhammad Idiris Saleh said that the selection process will involve students from USM's three campuses and this year the award will be presented during the USM Open Day and Convocation Expo scheduled to be held in August.
“The provision of this award was jointly agreed upon recently subsequent to discussions with the USM Pro Chancellor, Tan Sri Lin See-Yan who is also the Chairman of the Malaysian Harvard Club. The successful receipient will receive a book prize and a cash award of RM2,000.00.
“Selection will be conducted by a panel of evaluators chaired by the USM Vice Chancellor and will be based upon a set of criteria comprising academic achievement, co-curricular participation etcetera. The provision of this award is aimed at attracting the best students from throughout the country and at motivating students to strive for excellence in their respective fields.” he said at a media conference after the 2007/2008 Freshman Welcoming Ceremony held at the Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra today.
At the ceremony which was held at the USM Main Campus, the Chairman of USM's Board of Directors, Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Ani Arope addressed approximately 3,000 freshmen who are participating in the 2007/2008 Freshmen Orientation Week
This year, USM registered a total of 4,339 students for the 2007/2008 Academic Session. Of this total, 3,065 students enrolled at the USM Main Campus in Penang while 700 students enrolled at the Engineering Campus in Nibong Tebal, Penang. The remaining 574 students registered themselves at the Health Campus in Kelantan.
Note: The Chairman of USM's Board of Directors, Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Ani Arope (second from left) chatting with special needs student, Zafwan Rahimi Abdul Rahim and foreign students after the 2007/2008 Freshman Welcoming Ceremony at the USM Main Campus.
