Great treat for winners

Reaping rewards: Last year’s NiE contest winners (clockwise) Teoh, teacher Ruthirayene, Ying Wei, Milcah and Jaey Minn receiving their flight tickets by prize sponsors Taylor’s University. Taylor’s School of Communication Assoc Prof Antoon DeRycker (far left) and Rekhraj (far right) were present at the pre-departure meeting.

Grand prize winners of this year’s NiE contest will not only soak in the sights and sounds of Bristol, but get a chance to participate in self-enrichment activities.

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FOR most students, creating a poster that sends an effective message is in itself a reward. But what if this artwork rewards you with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the United Kingdom?

If you think that it’s too good to be true, read this: The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) contest 2016 is offering a trip to the UK for secondary school students who clinch the grand prize in its Game4Life poster contest.

The contest, open to all secondary school students and primary school pupils from Years Four to Six, requires participants to create and submit Public Service Announcement (PSA) entries.

While the secondary grand prize winners head to the UK, the primary school champions head to Singapore, courtesy of The Star.

The buzz surrounding the contest is undoubtedly, the minimum five-day grand prize trip to Bristol, UK, sponsored by Taylor’s University.

The winning team will join tertiary students from the School of Communication as part of the mobility programme offered to communication degree students at Taylor’s University. Not only will the winning team members soak in the sights and sounds of a foreign land while on this trip, they will also participate in personal development opportunities tapered for these Taylor’s University students.

Taylor’s University School of Commu-nication dean Josephine Tan said that the secondary school students on this trip will be given an opportunity and a window to this global experience offered by the varsity.

“It is never too early for one to have global exposure. The earlier you develop adaptability, the better you are at embracing new developments – which is key to success in change management as well as stakeholders management,” she said.

“The trip will also allow them to interact with tertiary students and give them a better understanding of what is expected when they go to university. This will prepare them for their degree studies later.”

She advised the winning team to take note of what they can do, while observing others during the trip.

Taylor’s University communication students Estelle Lim and Alisha Azuddin, shared unforgettable experiences and valuable insights gained during their mobility trip.

One of the highlights was a visit to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) station.

The students were able to see first-hand how an international television station operated. They were not only exposed to the facilities at the BBC, but were able to hear what experts at the station had to say. Alisha said that the mobility programme was especially helpful because what she learnt on the trip was directly applicable to her course modules. “The trip exposed us to how things are conducted in the industry. As communication students, this is the kind of field that we plan to venture into later on.”

For Alisha, one of the most memorable attractions was when they got to anchor in front of a green screen. “You read from a teleprompter and you get to see the added effects in the background.

“We also did a radio drama. The sound effects were not all pre-recorded. Some were done manually with random things on the table. Then we got to see the studio where they do the morning news for the Bristol area and we got to meet some news anchors,” she said.

These spaces had to be designed to generate social dialogue by creating shared experiences through play.

A graffiti workshop took students on a street art tour where they were enlightened about the stories behind each artwork.

Estelle explained that the culture in Bristol was steeped in street art. “It was so interesting! The heart of Bristol is their art. From that tour, you really feel a deeper understanding of the city,”

Students were also exposed to a hands-on session of making stencil art.

Estelle and Alisha both agreed that the best thing about the trip was meeting new people.

“Everybody in Bristol is so nice!” Estelle recalled. “Ask anything and they’ll be more than happy to help you. We met so many new people and they were all approachable and willing to help.”

This year’s PSA contest theme challenges students to illustrate how sports can be a vehicle for social change.

Apart from the all-expenses paid trip to the UK for grand prize winners, the first runners-up in the secondary school category will receive phone vouchers worth RM1,000 sponsored by The Star. The second runners-up will receive a two-day, one-night stay at Awana Genting sponsored by Resorts World Genting. The contest is supported by the Education Ministry, and participation is through schools only. The contest closes on June 24. For more information about the contest, visit: contests.thestar.com.my.

Well-earned outing

LAST year’s secondary school category grand prize winners of the We Are Malaysia contest from SMJK Kwang Hua, Klang, Selangor, are currently in the UK.

Team Titans, consisting of Brandon Teoh, Ooi Jaey Minn, Heng Ying Wei and Milcah Yeo, all 17, left for Bristol yesterday.

Accompanying the students on the trip is the team’s supervising teacher Ruthirayene M. Poologasingam and Taylor’s School of Communication programme director Hardip Singh Rekhraj.

Early last week, Taylor’s University School of Communication gave the team a pre-departure briefing at the Lakeside campus.

At the briefing, Rekhraj told the team that the trip imparted invaluable skills to the secondary school students.

“Our mobility programme aims to take students out of the institution. It is based on the belief that education and learning is not just confined to the four walls of the classroom.

“Few universities offer mobility programmes and this will be the seventh mobility programme for students from Taylor’s School of Communication since its inception in 2013,” he said.

“Communication is a vital component in all fields. In order to become a doctor or architect, you would need to communicate. It’s fantastic that the winners are coming on board with our communications faculty because they will be learning aspects of audio and visual communication,” he added.

After the pre-departure briefing, the team was introduced to two students, Alisha Azuddin and Estella Lim, from the School of Communication. Both students had been on a similar trip to Bristol last year.

Alisha and Estella were pleased to share their experiences with the winners. It is a first-time trip to the UK for all four team members who are currently in Form Five. Brandon agreed that communication was an important aspect in life. He said he looked forward to getting a more in-depth understanding of it.

“We are meeting professionals at the BBC – I’d like to learn more about their careers,” he said.

Ying Wei was thrilled at the prospect of travelling “somewhere so far away from home”, while Milcah was looking forward to Bristol’s art history.

“I am personally interested in art so I hope that I can expand my appreciation for various kinds of artwork. I am also looking forward to experiencing a different culture in another country,” said Milcah.

This trip is a dream come true for Jaey Minn who is a fan of street art. He follows pages of graffiti artists on Instagram. Supervising teacher Ruthirayene said that the trip, a perfect reward for the PSA competition will be an enriching experience for the students as they will also get a feel of university life.

Last year’s PSA contest titled We Are Malaysia saw the primary school category grand prize winners, Team Muhibbah of SK Bandar Utama Damansara (4), Petaling Jaya, Selangor, earn a trip to Universal Studios Singapore in December. The all-expenses paid trip was sponsored by The Star.