Celebrating Beyond Education: From an Idea to an Extravagant Awards Ceremony

Vibrant, healthy, and active campus lifestyle is how Beyond Education is defined at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT). Every TAR UMT student (TARCian) experiences this dynamic lifestyle, especially through the University’s more than 100 clubs and societies and various co-curricular activities, catering to a wide range of interests and passions. 

Year in year out, many types of events and activities are organised by TARCians through the clubs and societies as well as the co-curricular modules. TARCians are involved in the organising and planning of the event, right up to the coordination, operations, and raising the necessary funds for the event. 

“I have been a part of many events and it is no easy task to organise a project as there are limitations that we as students face and would need to solve these problems. Financial limitation is a good example and it has become a common practice among students to seek sponsorships from companies. Although challenging, we are learning a lot about how to solve various problems that we will face in our future careers. These experiences are important, especially in character building and expanding our horizons,” shared Wong Man Ee, who is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) in Data Science.

This TARCian, who is in her final year at TAR UMT, has gained a lot of experience through her involvement in all these projects, but she also realised that more can be done. "As someone involved in numerous small-scale events, I've noticed the lack of recognition these events receive, especially the amount of effort put in by the teams behind all these events. This is how I got the inspiration to organise a special awards ceremony to raise awareness and acknowledge the hard work put in by all the clubs and societies,” Man Ee continued. 

Together with her two friends, Man Ee began to put her inspiration into action. “I remember well that the idea of an awards ceremony came up during one of our casual chitchat sessions last year. The more we explored the idea together, the more excited we felt about actually working on it. With support from my friends, who were also the Co-Organising Chairpersons, we met up with the Director of Student Affairs who supported this idea and advised us to submit a detailed proposal. I completed it in a week and submitted it on the first day of the semester to show our commitment. In addition, I believe we chose an appropriate name for the awards ceremony, which is Top Achievers’ Recognition Awards or TAR Awards. TAR is a significant abbreviation, as it is also the name of our University,” she shared.

Once the proposal was approved, the team began preparing for the big day, where the tireless efforts by everyone in the committee resulted in the inaugural TAR Awards being held successfully on 3 May 2024. There were three main categories, namely Club and Society Awards, Event-Based Awards, as well as Individual-Based Awards and under these categories were a number of sub-categories. TAR UMT President, Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei attended the ceremony to present the awards to the winning clubs or societies. 

The winners of each award were determined through the reports submitted by the clubs or societies. The panel of judges included representatives from TAR UMT, the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC), University Malaya, and Taylor’s University.

The Club and Society of the Year 2023/2024 Award went to the Accounting Society. Its President, Sak Nuan Yan, shared her joy when asked about winning the award. “We definitely had an active year filled with exciting, interesting, and informative activities, which attracted active participation  from the members. So, this is a true honour for the society. This award will not only boost the morale and commitment of our members but will also encourage new members to join our society to not only learn more about accounting but to gain dynamic experience while investing their time and energy into the society’s activities,” Nuan Yan expressed.

Looking back, Man Ee is proud that she gave life to her idea, which brought a lot of joy to many of her fellow TARCians. When asked about her expectations for future TAR Awards events, she mentioned, “I believe we have done a good job of introducing TAR Awards as a prominent platform to appreciate the efforts of all the clubs and societies at TAR UMT. I hope this award ceremony will inspire TAR UMT’s clubs and societies to continue channelling their valuable efforts to the many important activities and projects on campus,” she concluded.