Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

For two weeks in January, I was lucky enough to participate in a data science program with USM in Malaysia. Over the trip, we engaged in multiple cultural activities and attended data science lessons, which expanded my knowledge about customer trends and data graphing.

USM was kind enough to allocate Malaysian Buddies to take care of us throughout the program. Our buddies led us through various different cultural activities including henna, holi, calligraphy, Chinese New Year noodle tossing, Batik Chanting, and more. They also accompanied us to cultural sights including Balik Pulau for bike riding, Penang Hill, and Georgetown.

On the weekend, a couple of us went to the escape water park. The escape water park has the longest waterslide in the world at 1.1km, which took four minutes to slide down. The park was empty that day, so we got to experience a whole water park with no queues!

Throughout the trip, USM had multiple professors and industry guests, including the former CEO of Motorola, present lectures on data science, statistics, leadership, innovation, and customer behaviours. From these lectures, I was able to expand my knowledge in data science and recognize how data is graphed and analysed to predict product trends and customer behaviour. We were also able to visit the Intel office in Malaysia where we were given a talk from leading IT and AI experts about the future of AI, as well as a demonstration of Intel products and how they are designed to simplify the process of future upgrades.

The Malaysian food was one of the most enjoyable aspects of Malaysia. Nasi Kandar, Luksa, Pan Mee, and the local fruits were some of my favourite dishes. Every day was a new experience of finding the most popular restaurants and dishes in the area.

Near the end of the trip, students from the University of Western Australia arrived at our hotel for their own three-week exchange with USM. We gathered at the hotel pool, ate pizza, and swam for three hours, playing games and splashing each other.

Overall, my trip to Malaysia was one of a lifetime. It was my first overseas trip away from family and will most likely be the most memorable. Thank you, Malaysia, for having us!

Georgina Chan
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Diploma in Professional Engineering Practice
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Faculty Led – FEIT – Tropical Data Science School

For more information about the UTS Global Short Program visit: www.uts.edu.au/thinkglobal