Swinburne Lecturer’s short story selected for Best Asian Short Stories 2021 Anthology>
“A 22nd Century Au Pair”, a short story taking place in a futuristic Sarawak by Swinburne Sarawak senior lecturer Dr Christina Yin, was selected as one of 20 short stories in The Best Asian Short Stories (TBASS) 2021 anthology.

Prithveer Singh wins Public Speaking Challenge 2021>
Prithveer Singh s/o Sharendeer Singh, a second-semester Foundation Business student emerged the Champion of the Swinburne Public Speaking Challenge 2021 on Saturday, 9th October with his speech entitled ‘Another World.’ Based on this year’s theme, ‘Another World’, Prith spoke eloquently on what life on Earth could be like and how humans can fight back against climate change, natural disasters and plagues.

Green Microfiction Challenge sparks creativity, enthusiasm>
148 entries from young writers across Malaysia took part in the Green Microfiction Challenge, the English short story writing competition organized by Kuching Beach Cleaners, Sarawak Eco-Warriors, Swinburne Sarawak and Swinburne Sarawak Green Club.

PhD candidates stay the course amid challenges>
James Loi and Shella Beatrice, lecturers at the School of Foundation Studies, presented on their PhD journey at a panel discussion moderated by colleague Dr Christina Yin. Thirty-seven colleagues and postgraduate research students joined the discussion on Microsoft Teams.

22 students in creative writing workshop>
Twenty-two students participated in the “Creative Writing Workshop” organised by the School of Foundation Studies and Swinburne Sarawak Library in conjunction with the launch of the annual Swinburne Creative Writing Competition.

Green Club marks Orang-utan Day>
The Swinburne Sarawak Green Club celebrated International Orang-utan Day with an online talk by Whitley Award winner for the conservation of ape habitats, Dr Melvin Gumal, on 28 August.

FECS, SoFS brief Foundation Students on Degree Programs>
The School of Foundation Studies (SoFS) was joined by the Faculty of Engineering, Computing, and Science (FECS) staff at the school’s “Product briefing” to introduce engineering degree programs for foundation students, on 14 July.

SoFS briefs FBDA Discipline Leaders>
The School Executive Team of the School of Foundation Studies (SoFS) invited Faculty of Business, Design and Arts discipline leaders to conduct a briefing on degree courses the faculty offers to final semester foundation students, on 14 July.

Orientation for July Foundation Students>
The Head of School and course coordinators of the School of Foundation Studies recently welcomed July intake students. After introducing her team and briefing the new students on the operation of the School and the various academic support available, SoFS head Su Sueh Ing invited them to participate in check-in surveys and end of semester surveys as a way to share their learning experience and offer suggestions.

First Korean language course>
The School of Foundation Studies coordinated the university’s first “Korean Language Short Course” from 12 April to 7 May.

SoFS catches up with students>
The School of Foundation Studies’ virtual “Meet and Greet Session” on 5 May was to enhance two-way communication between the School Executive Team and students, share important information and updates with students, and acknowledge top scorers in each foundation course.

SMK Lutong sweeps third Swinburne debate open>
SMK Lutong alumni debaters dubbed “Friends” comprising Roderic Thang Wen Bin, Daphne Yeo Lok Yin and Bong Sin Yi, won the third Swinburne Sarawak Debate Open with four wins, zero losses, and total speaker scores of 1,064.

Poem by business student is a winner>
Final year Bachelor of Business (Accounting and Finance) student Joyce Teh Yee won the Swinburne Poetry Competition 2021 with her poem “The Dancer”. Her winning piece was among three she had submitted based on the theme of Dreams.

Academics share their PhD journey>
The School of Foundation Studies (SoFS) Head Su Sueh Ing initiated research sharing sessions to provide staff with an avenue to share research tips and experiences. At the first slot on 21 April, Dr Christina Yin’s shared her PhD journey which encouraged and inspired many who attended. At the second session on 16 June, Dr Tan Vie Ming gave his “Tips on embarking on the PhD journey” where he spoke about choosing a research topic and supervisor, and drafting a research proposal.

Successful STEAM workshop in Serian>
The Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) cross-disciplinary academic team led by Shella Georgina Beatrice successfully conducted a workshop for students and school teachers from 14 April to 17 May.

Compliance audit for foundation studies course suite>
Swinburne Sarawak was awarded self-accrediting status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) in 2010. This releases the university from having to apply to MQA for the accreditation of non-professional courses delivered in Malaysia. As part of continuous quality improvement and requirement by MQA, Swinburne Foundation Studies course suite underwent compliance audit exercise.

Rotaract Club sweeps six awards>
In spite of the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the determination of the Rotaract Club of Swinburne Sarawak to help the community was recently recognized with six awards at the annual Rotary and Rotaract District Award ceremonies.

SM Lodge, SM Sains Kuching Utara win Swinburne Debate>
In the first online iteration of the Swinburne Sarawak Inter-School Debating Championship, SM Lodge emerged champion of the senior category while SM Sains Kuching Utara took the junior championship.

Green Club VP writes his way to consolation prize>
Swinburne Sarawak Computer Science student Elwin Chan Kok Wei recently won a consolation prize in the Maybank Foundation – Perdana Leadership Foundation Writing and Photo Contest 2020 “Empowering Youth for a Better ASEAN”.

Taking care of Mother Earth talk>
Leo Club of Swinburne Sarawak and Swinburne Sarawak Green Club co-organised an online environmental awareness talk, “Taking care of Mother Earth” event, on 25 October. More than 63 students and members of the public attended the talks by three local conservationists via Google Meet from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Student ties for Overall Best Speaker spot in National Debate Tournament>
Swinburne Debaters’ Club President Ryan Yap Chen-Yen tied for overall best speaker in the Malaysian National Intervarsity Debating Championship that took place from 6 to 8 November.

60 in webinar on life in the age of Covid-19>
The School of Foundation Studies and Fondation Rolf Schnyder jointly organized a community wellness webinar about “Staying sane when everything seems insane: living in the age of Covid-19”, on 4 November.

First Hult Prize winners on campus> 
Team Photon consisting of first-year undergraduate students majoring in international business Jeffrey Bun and Loh Ngik Sing and foundation student Lim Han Jet  won the first Swinburne Sarawak Hult Prize OnCampus Program that took place over six weeks culminating in pitch day on 28 November.

Orang-utan talk brings Sarawak, Melbourne students together> 
The Swinburne Sarawak Green Club and the Swinburne Sustainability Society, Melbourne Campus co-organised an Orang-utan Talk and two-campus student get-together via Zoom, on 21 November.

Wahaj Qaisar Syed wins creative writing competition>
Jointly organised by the School of Foundation Studies and the Swinburne Sarawak Library, the prize-giving took place online on 18 November. This year’s entries included students in foundation, undergraduate and PhD courses. Their stories ranged from romance and family relationships to science fiction and horror.

SoFS goes virtual to meet and greet students>
The School of Foundation Studies (SoFS) held a virtual “Meet and Greet Session” via MicroSoft Team for the first time on 23 September. The aims of the 3:30pm session were two fold: to recognize the outstanding achievements of students with the presentation of the Letter of Commendations for top scorers of each unit; and, to offer an opportunity for two-way communication between students and the SoFS management team.

Green Club celebrates World Cleanup Day>
The Swinburne Sarawak Green Club celebrated World Cleanup Day by hosting three presentations on marine issues by Green Club Exco members and a speaker from the Sarawak Eco-Warriors on Google Meet, on 19 September 2020.

Marketing student’s poetry wins competition>
The Swinburne Poetry Competition 2020 jointly organised by the School of Foundation and Swinburne Sarawak Library ran from 29 April till 22 May. Participants wrote three poems on a single theme of their own choice: Love, Sorrow, 21st Century Living. The winners were announced on 21 June at a virtual ceremony via Microsoft Teams, including the guest of honour, Professor John Wilson and the Head, School of Foundation Su Sueh Ing, and Manager, Information Resources, Adeline Ho. The organising team consisted of Bong Siew Ming from the Library and judges Cassandra Lau, Christina Yin and Liaw Chiew Han from the School of Foundation Studies.

Paplets for Padawan School>
Forty-seven paplets were donated to the students and staff at SK Pelaman Sidunuk, Padawan in March just before the Movement Control Order took place. Teacher Madam Ubok Baya had participated in a Next 100 Workshop for English teachers, organised by Swinburne Sarawak and the Wildlife Conservation Society in October 2019, and had received a paplet as a souvenir to demonstrate how recycling paper could be put to good use among students and teachers who are always in need of writing paper.

Making the switch to online orientation week >
The University has conducted orientation week (O-Week) virtually on 1 April until 24 April 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Online O-Week website and Swinburne 2020 Facebook group were created to guide and assist 249 new students from Foundation and Diploma program on the essentials of studying in Swinburne, as well as to meet new friends.

No stopping Earth Hour>
The Swinburne Sarawak Green Club’s Earth Hour Challenge took place on 28 March 2020, celebrating Earth Hour, when people all over the globe switch off their lights for one hour in an effort to promote awareness of the need to reduce our carbon footprints.

New students kick-start their university life at O-Week>
Swinburne Sarawak welcomed new students to Orientation Week (O-Week) 2020 for January Intake on 2,3 and 6 January. There are 71 new students enrolled in Foundation studies, Degree Business program and Professional Accounting Course, and this marks a new chapter in their life as University students.

SMK Lutong wins 15th Swinburne Sarawak Inter-School Debating Championship >
SMK Lutong has taken the 15th Swinburne Sarawak Inter-School Debating Championship, the first team from Miri to win the debate tournament since its inception in 2006. A total of 306 students comprising 68 teams in the senior category and 34 teams in the junior category from 34 schools from all over the country and state took part from 17-20 February 2020.