HIGH ACHIEVERS
Ainil Asyikin –
Multi-Perspective Engineer
Kelantan-born Ainil Asyikin exhibits keen intellect , inner drive and positive attitude . She took the limelight in 2022 when she graduated from Princeton University with a BSc in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering . On top of this , the young engineer won an award for undergraduate research in defect detection . She sees engineering as interesting science where she can be creative with both hardware and software . In an online interview from New York with The Ingenieur , Ainil comes across as a well-rounded , confident and enterprising engineer .
Ainil says she has a natural inclination to find out how things work . Her interest in machinery and working moving parts started early . Her father , an engineer , exposed her to tools and mechanical parts from young . She is fortunate that both parents were supportive and encouraged her to find solutions to achieve what she wants .
Her academic excellence shone in secondary school . At the MARA Junior College of Science in Pengkalan Chepa , Kelantan , she scored 9A + in the SPM . This led her to a scholarship to take up the pre-U International Baccalaureate ( IB ) diploma in New Mexico , US . Ainil notes that the two-year IB diploma course was very stimulating as the subjects were inter-disciplinary and globalfocused . “ We learn History of the World , World Wars , Sciences , Arts ,” she elaborates . It opened her mind to multi disciplines in her pursuit of knowledge . Her research skills were also honed in one of the IB programmes called Extended Essay .
Her good results paved the way to enter the prestigious Princeton University . The Ivy League university is one of the world ’ s foremost research universities . It enrols about 1,500 students a year and the acceptance rate for international students is reported to be only 6 %. How is it like to study in an Ivy League institution ? Ainil reveals that it is highly competitive because of well-heeled
Ainil Asyikin
students . For instance , many of her peers have vast learning resources . “ They could have already mastered Coding level 10 while you have to start from scratch ,” she illustrates . Adopting the right attitude , Ainil acknowledged the circumstances and told herself not to compare herself with others .
On the other hand , she finds that Princeton University opens doors to the ‘ real world ’ as students get to hear from prominent speakers from renowned corporations like Tesla and Nasa . “ We are not in a bubble setup ; it helps to hear people from industry , how they grapple in the real world .” After graduation , she acknowledges that the Princeton name has a lot of alumni and
HIGH ACHIEVERS
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