Page 19 - 03/2022 PULSE@FASS e-Bulletin

PROTÉGÉS Issue no. 3 | 2022
PROTÉGÉS
Mobility programme with University of
Immaculate Conception, Philippines

By Hifzhan Hafiy Mohd Shaffik, 3rd Year, BA International and Strategic Studies
From the 5th to the 12th of September 2022, 14 bright
young students from the Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences boarded their flights and stayed on campus at
the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC), Davao
City, Philippines. The trip was part of a global mobility
program set up by the faculty to engage more students
with international university partners all around the world.
Our trip was filled with different activities ranging from the
educational to the cultural, but all had the same criterion:
they not only left the 14 of us wiser at the end, but each
moment was immensely fun, being surrounded by the Zulaikha Nadia trying the local traditional game kadang-kadang.
people we were with.

Arriving at Davao International Airport after an 8 hour-
long journey, we obviously had a sense of wanting sleep
and rest, but this was all but forgotten when we saw who
was waiting patiently at the arrival terminal: our friends
from UIC who came in large numbers despite it being
9:00 pm at the time. From then on, we were occupied
with classes on the Filipino language, presentations of
their diverse culture, and even visiting several traditional
and historical sites such as Magsaysay Park and the Syazani Hafiang from UM, taking centre stage during the Student
Philippine-Japanese Historical Museum in the area. Leader’s Forum while presenting on a group task.

One of the main highlights was also the Student Leaders
Forum which we were graciously invited to participate in,
along with several other student leaders from various
universities around the Davao area. This was an
especially enlightening experience, as we were able to
develop our leadership skills to the maximum following
the forum. Other key events involved the many campus
tours of UIC, which unlike UM has three main campuses
that divide their students according to majors, as well as a
visit to St. Mary’s College of Tagum, a sister university
with UIC that welcomed us with open arms to visit their Participants of the Student Leaders Forum during a photo session.
spectacular campus.

All in all, the trip was an incredible experience for the 14
of us, not least because of the many people involved from
both the universities who made it happen, most notably
the students from the Global Leaders Club of UIC and the
International Affairs and Linkages Officer Mr Rene
Barbiera. The trip will be remembered as a successful
endeavour and serve as an example of why there must be
more opportunities such as this for students to broaden
their horizons in the future. Presentation of a Filipino traditional dance, Estudiantina during the
Cultural Exchange Night.

19 | Pulse @ FASS