Out of the number, 17 are international students from eight countries namely Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, France, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Tajikistan.
Three students from Tajikistan immediately caught the attention of the media when they were introduced by Unimas vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Ab Hamid during his speech at the oath taking ceremony in conjunction with the orientation week held at the campus here.
The Tajik siblings – Rustam Sharipov, 18, Anvar Sharipov, 17, and Farzona Fayzuloeva, 17, are students of Faculty of Economics and Business.
Anvar, the twin brother of Farzona, said they had chosen Unimas because Malaysia and Tajikistan had similar cultures.
“We feel like home here. I respect Malaysian people because there are so many Muslims here. We are also Muslims, that’s why we have chosen to study there,” he said.
Malaysia was relatively famous in Central Asia region, Anvar said, pointing out that there were Tajik organisations responsible for sending Tajik students to study in Malaysia’s higher learning institutes.
“I know many Malay words such as ‘Selamat Pagi’, ‘Bagus’ and ‘Apa Khabar’,” he said, adding that they would try to further study Bahasa Malaysia.
To the 22-year-old French Axelle Noconi, she viewed her five-month stay at Unimas as a valuable exposure.
The design student from Groupe ECS Troyes in France would be here until this July under the student exchange programme between the two higher learning institutes.
“I choose Unimas because my university has partnership with Unimas. I’m here as an exchange student for one semester. I will continue my master degree in France later.”
She added that she would be attached to the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts of Unimas.
Noconi’s faculty mate, Paramita Annaziati Mahardhika, would specialise in industrial design as she felt that the field of study would have a good prospect.
The 22-year-old Indonesian was not a stranger in the land of hornbill as her family moved to Kuching 11 years ago.
“I like Unimas and it has the course I want to further in. I hope I can get good grades and hopefully in the future, I can get a good job,” said the diploma graduate of Limkokwing University
Khairuddin said it was the commitment of Unimas to provide students with quality teaching and best facilities.
He expressed his hope that the new students could balance their time between study and co-curricular activities.
“Besides joining the existing clubs, we also encourage students to create their own activities. You should not just attend lectures and go back to hostel to eat or sleep. You should make the university more vibrant and lively,” he said.
The vice-chancellor also assured that the welfare of students would be taken care of by the university.
Extracted from The Borneo Post.
