Journalism workshop to welcome students back to campus

Miri – 27 August 2022 – Media students of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) organised a TV news workshop called ‘Crash Landing on Journalism’ recently to welcome media students returning to campus for full face-to-face classes in the new semester.

The three-hour workshop, which was named after a popular Korean drama to attract wider participation, was aimed at developing the students’ communication skills and ability to deliver facts-based news.

About 20 first-year students signed up for the workshop and learned how to write news scripts, present stories on screen and edit videos – generally experiencing the life of a TV journalist.

Media and Communication Programme Coordinator Dr. Ngu Ik Ying said the workshop was an admirable initiative by the students who wanted to apply what they had learned in class to help their juniors.

“Now that we are back on campus and resumed face-to-face learning and teaching, we highly encourage our students to engage with one another. This kind of bonding could not be replicated online and was something we sorely missed in the last two and a half years of online and hybrid classes,” she said.

According to organising chairperson Wong Tze Mei, the workshop was a collaboration between two student groups, the Pineapple Media team and the M-Project group, who are majoring in Corporate Screen Production and Journalism.

“We wanted to organise a really hands-on event to not only foster the physical interaction we once enjoyed before the pandemic, but also help the participants transition back to practical learning quickly, and what better way than to let them experience live TV reporting in a professional setting,” said Wong.

One of the participants, Foundation student Victoria Li Hui Ching, said she really enjoyed working in a team with other students and contributing ideas to the news-making process.

“I was the news presenter in my group and I needed to read news on the spot. It was a nerve-wracking experience, I must say, but a really good challenge,” she said.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin’s three-year Bachelor of Communications which helps students develop skills and knowledge in two or more related fields of study at the intersection of media, business, design and new communications technologies.

The course offers contextual study of the history, theory, ethics and criticism of the various practices, institutions and discourses in media, communication and information. Fundamental skills and knowledge for work in the corporate media and information field is provided with considerable breadth of expertise.

The course is technology-centred and gives students real opportunities to work with commercial-level equipment and produce real work for print, film and television. It also provides ample opportunities for practical learning and exposure to industry practices to help students build their portfolio of work experience and engage with industry professionals.

Currently, students have a choice of five specialisations in the Bachelor of Communications, namely, Corporate Screen Communication, Journalism, Web Media, Marketing and Public Relations.

Graduates of the course can find employment in a wide range of industries as public relations officers, market researchers, journalists, advertising account executives, communications officers, filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, video editors, scriptwriters, Internet analysts, online marketers, digital content creators, marketing officers, web designers/developers, and more.

For more information on the Bachelor of Communications, go to https://courses.curtin.edu.my/courses-and-study/undergraduate/humanities-health-sciences/communications/.

Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found on its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.

Participants posing for photo with organising committee (front row) and Dr Ngu Ik Ying (far right, second row)

Participants setting up camera for TV news recording in media lab