Miri – 19 September 2022 – Seven students from the Foundation in Arts programme at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently spent two days exploring attractions around Kuching as part of a field trip for their Travel Writing and Photography unit.
The unit, which encourages hands-on exploration and experiences of people, cultures and places, requires students to gather information and take photographs of their journey.
The students visited a number of places, including Carpenter Street, the Kuching Waterfront and the newly-opened Borneo Cultures Museum where they spent an entire day. They also witnessed the 19th Kuching Inter-Cultural Mooncake Festival held on Carpenter Street, making the most of the inter-cultural experience as well as the unique photo opportunities it presented.
Bangladeshi international student Saniya Afroz said the field trip was a real eye-opener as she got to learn a lot of new things about Sarawak, particularly how its diverse peoples and cultures intermingled in events like the Kuching Inter-Cultural Mooncake Festival.
Saniya was also very impressed with the Borneo Cultures Museum and its role as a repository of Sarawak’s rich cultural heritage. She said she was particularly intrigued by the exhibition on shamanism being held at the museum.
Saniya’s coursemate Victoria Lai, who hails from Miri, said that while the main intent of the trip was to explore peoples, cultures and places in the state capital, it was an occasion for the students to build a strong bond travelling and learning together. They were also able to collaboratively build their teamwork, effective communication, writing and research skills, which are essential attributes of the foundation courses at Curtin Malaysia.
Accompanying the students on the field trip was Travel Writing and Photography lecturer Peter Jamba, who said it was good to be able to organise a field trip for the unit again after two years due to the pandemic.
He said Travel Writing and Photography is a unit in the Foundation in Arts course offered at Curtin Malaysia’s School of Pre-U and Continuing Education (SPACE). The unit includes a compulsory field trip to enhance the students’ learning experience, requiring them to gather information to write about their travel and also capture their experience through photographs.
In addition to Travel Writing and Photography unit, students in the course also study units in Media and Communication, Journalism, Information Technology, 20th Century World History, Screen Production, Visual Culture, Effective Communication Skills and Writing, and Research Skills.
Two of the students looking at exhibits at the ‘Shamanism – Spiritual Journey’ exhibition at the Borneo Cultures Museum.
Saniya and Victoria exploring Kuching’s Wayang Street.
Curtin Malaysia offers foundation courses in arts, commerce and engineering and science as pathways to relevant undergraduate degrees at its Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences, Faculty of Business and Faculty of Engineering and Science. For more information about the foundation courses and SPACE, visit its website at cmspace.curtin.edu.my.
For more information on Curtin Malaysia, visit its website at curtin.edu.my or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tiktok.
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