Oh well, here we go again. I never thought about and experienced the existence of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS aka UTP a few days later they opened the portal for January 2014 intake which is entirely based on the trial examination results.
According to the latest news, 2014 onwards no one can appeal to Pre U studies using their trial results, but still I am publishing this article because
- I started to write this post a week ago, before the “news”
- For the sake of sharing the experience
Here’s a link for further clarification…
Moving on, engineering wasn’t my first choice though, but even so, I never wasted the opportunity to apply for UTP since few of my friends also were applying for it. After applying via their official website, I went to look out about UTP and blogs were my first pick. (I did some shoveling and diggings in Lowyat.net but….. No, it doesn’t actually answer my doubts). Few of the blogs I ran into just gave a glimpse of life at UTP and hence it became the purpose for the existence of this particular blog post.
I will include a few links down here in order to build it easy for you guys to get the information.
- http://www.utp.edu.my/ (the main website)
- http://www.utp.edu.my/virtualtour/ (virtual tour of the campus)
Where to begin, eh? Permit me to set off from the interview component. Well, UTP management would release the name of the shortlisted candidates for EDUCAMP in their website and attached together would be an invitation for the EDUCAMP (EDUCAMP is the fancy word for the interview process that one has to face prior admission into UTP).
EDUCAMP is usually divided into 4 days and for each day, approx. 600 candidates would be present. Yea, that’s heaps of them. Here, I would like to stress that the execution of the interview process is similar to that of YOUNGSTARS Day (interview for Petronas Scholarship) and note that your performance at the EDUCAMP will be considered if you’re applying for Petronas Scholarship later on.
Moving on, my father drove me to Tronoh where UTP is situated the very day where I am supposed to be interviewed which is at 15th December. We reached UTP around 6.30 am (registration is at 7.30 am) and I saw a small queue starting to form in front of the Chancellor Hall. I decided to join the queue just to make things easier and assure a smooth, registration.
One thing that I’ve to say about the registration counter, well not one, but many is the efficiency and also the politeness. You will be welcomed with a person sitting facing a laptop which is attached to an Ethernet cable and runs through the floor and almost significantly, no written document. You shall only give your last four digits of your NRIC and voila, you are registered for the interview session. No more flipping through the pages and running through the table to identify your name. Hail technology! Then, you will receive your ‘angka giliran’ with an alphabet that states which group you are in. Try to find those with the same group with you and spark up a conversation with them. It will allow you to loosen up a bit and get to know each other better.
Every single conversation at UTP would be in English (the official ones lah). The first segment would be the welcoming speech by Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics. He will walk you through the cores and belief on which UTP operates and many more stuffs. Essentially, it’s a brief intro about UTP and its story.
Then comes the big stack. The whole evaluation process is divided into two slots. Slot 1 is interview and case study (an assessor will be judging you) and the 2nd slot is the behavioral test which is computer based. The first two groups, A and B would be going for the first slot and group C and D would be going to the second slot. And then it alternates after lunch.
FIRST SLOT (Usually carried out at the Co-Q Block aka Block B)
What happens if you’re in first slot? You will be classified into a smaller group of five people and then a case study will be given over to you. You’ll need to go through the sheets and discuss among yourselves and prepare for the required task enlisted in the case study. Before that, you’ll have to undergo the personal interview first. Here, you will be questioned by the officials/head of departments/lecturers to know more about your communication skills and also a morsel of your educational and family setting. Carry it gently and don’t feel intimidated because the interviewers are actually decent. They will be asking a bit and bouts the course you’ve applied (mine was Petroleum Engineering) and they allow us to rectify our mistake that we unconsciously make in the hope of starting out the interviewer’s attention. I was questioned by the HOD of Geoscience and Petroleum Engineering Dept., hence, I was dealing with the subject matter expert. There was no room for errors. 😦
After that, comes the group discussion. Your group of five have to debate among yourselves and come upward with a resolution to the problem stated in your case study. Elect a leader amongst yourselves and be organized. Have everyone bring out their ideas and, finally, don’t forget to conclude your final decision. The interviewer won’t be interrupting your discussion session. Hence, it’s better if you perceive as if the interviewer isn’t there. Perk up the facts, but don’t be overly harsh with other’s feelings. After that, the first slot is over and you will be going along to catch your lunch.
SECOND SLOT (Usually carried out at the New Academic buildings aka Block 1/2/3)
Second slot is easy. It is just an online computer based test to determine your behavior. No prior knowledge of Kirchhoff’s law and De Moivre’s theorem is required here. Just answer the questions ‘honestly’. Usually, you need to complete 50 questions in 30 minutes. Many among us finished it in the first 15 minutes. No single sweat needs to be cast off.
And then, you can call it a day. I finished the whole process just before 3pm. All you have to do now is to go back to home and relax until they announce the result in their website.
*Those in Group C and D will be doing the second slot (computer test) first and then move on to their interview session after lunch.
Give and Take 