Photo by MONGA
Gender and sexuality
in Malaysia
The Women’s Officers of Monash
University Student Association hosted
their first Speakers Series with a talk
titled 'Gender and Sexuality in
Malaysia: Then, Now, Tomorrow'.
Invited guest speakers were YB Maria
Chin Abdullah and Ivy Josiah, both of
whom have played major roles in setting
up some of the most longstanding
non-governmental organisations in
Malaysia such as All Women’s Action
Society and Women’s Aid Organisation
respectively. Among the issues covered
were domestic violence and sexual
harassment in Malaysia, and how the
environment around us has changed
within that context over the years.
15
Students team up with World Wildlife
Fund and Asylum Access
The World Wildlife Fund and Asylum Access worked closely with two groups of final
year capstone students from the School of Arts and Social Sciences on projects relating
to responsible corporate consumption of paper, consumer awareness about sustainable
palm oil, and changing attitudes toward worker rights for refugees. This ‘reverse
internship’ is made possible through Task Force, one of the School's Workplace
Integrated Learning subjects where groups of students partner with external industry
organisations to work on a specific project with tangible results to be produced by the
end of the semester. Other partner organisations included the Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil, Sime Darby, and IOI Group. This arrangement provides a crucial
link between study and the working world.
Debaters take on nation-building issues
Around 22 debaters from various local universities took part in the Association of
Malaysian Economics’ Undergraduates Presidential Debate Competition, co-organised
with the School of Business and OCBC Bank. Debaters tackled topics ranging from
education policies to international trade. On the judging panel were President of the
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs YAM Tunku Zain Al-Abidin, Ministry of
International Trade and Industry YB Dr Ong Kian Ming, and lecturers Dr Grace Lee and
Dr Habibur Rahman.
Putting theory into practice
Our Food Science and Technology students were invited by Fiatec Biosystem Sdn Bhd
to participate hands-on in the processing and packaging of the 3-in-1 coffee Recharge.
The sachets were then sold on campus with all proceeds donated to a shelter home.
A model World Trade Organization
negotiation Using biodiversity displays
for learning
Sixty students from the School of Arts and Social Sciences
participated in a full-day model World Trade Organization (WTO)
negotiation on renewable energy and trade. The capstone
learning activity tasked students with the challenge of finding
agreement on reconciling protectionist trends in renewable
energy and the liberal principles of global trade. At the end of
the conference, a declaration was adopted, addressing
subsidies and trade barriers for renewable energy, reforms to
the WTO dispute settlement system, and preferential treatment
for developing countries. Academic staff and students from the School of Science and
the School of Arts and Social Sciences partnered with the
Library to establish a permanent insect biodiversity
exhibition, which displays a variety of tropical butterflies and
insects, some of which were camouflaged in life-like
environments. These insects were collected over several
years by academics and students on their field trips. This
joint initiative illustrates the potential of biodiversity displays
as pedagogical objects.