Sponsorship from accounting bodies for Curtin Open Day

Miri – 9 September 2010 – Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) recently received sponsorship from the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and Certified Practising Accountants of Australia (CPA Australia) for the university’s Curtin Open Day 2010 event this 18 September 2010.

MICPA contributed an Apple IPod and CIMA sponsored shopping vouchers and other prizes, while CPA Australia sponsored cash towards the event.

The sponsorships from MICPA and CIMA will go towards prizes for the Curtin Sarawak School of Business Accounting Department’s promotional activities during the Technology & Innovation Exhibition being held in conjunction with the Curtin Open Day.

The exhibition, from 10 am to 4 pm in the foyer of the university’s Harry Perkins Lecture Theatre, is jointly organised by Curtin Sarawak’s School of Business, School of Engineering & Science, School of Foundation & Continuing Studies and The Learning Centre.

Anbalagan Krishnan, head of the Accounting Department, hopes that the prizes will attract more visitors to the department’s booth at the exhibition.

“We would like to introduce the Accounting Department to all the visiting public through the exhibition. The prizes will be given out to the participating public for giving the right answers to a set of questions,” he said.

According to Anbalagan, the questions will be based on the information displayed on the department’s promotional board at the exhibition.

“More importantly, the sponsorships are testimony to the strong relationships that exist between Curtin Sarawak and the accountancy bodies, and certainly heralds a new era of collaboration between us,” chipped in Chan Kwok Mow, Accounting Department representative for the Curtin Open Day.

The School of Business will also showcase the achievements of its students and lecturers, career opportunities in business, film-making and video-recording by its Department of Media, Culture and Communication, as well as various interactive and fun learning activities.

Dean of the School of Business, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah, said, “The School of Business is  proud to showcase its achievements and success and is taking the opportunity to share with the public activities related to business, such as marketing, accounting, finance, economics and media.”

The School of Engineering and Science will showcase its prize-winning robots, past and current research, a Tsunami Model, and the school’s fuel-efficient car that participated in the recent Shell Eco-Marathon Asia at the Sepang F1 circuit, among other exhibits.

The School of Foundation and Continuing Studies and The Learning Centre will meanwhile conduct laboratory simulations where the public can try their hand at simple scientific experiments, a Giant Boggle Game, and other interesting games and activities.

Lecturer Nazaruddin Hj. Hamit, one of the coordinators of the exhibition, said he hoped the public will give its full support to the Curtin Open Day 2010 and the Technology & Innovation Exhibition. An estimated 3000 visitors thronged the campus for the last event in April last year, and the organisers hope to attract over 5000 this year.

“There will be something for everyone, whether you’re interested to enrol in one of our programmes, or would simply like to visit our campus, and perhaps bring the entire family for a day of fun and festivities,” said Nazaruddin.

Curtin Open Day 2010 will also feature a Kite Festival, Future Students’ Booth, International Culture Exhibition, Charity & Community Corner, Environmental Awareness Corner, blood donation drive, free health checks, food and games stalls, product display and retail stalls, academic talks, fashion and hair shows, musical and cultural performances, a Mr & Miss Curtin Contest, Curtin Idol competition, first aid demonstration and hourly lucky draws. There will also be a Kiddies’ Corner, Hobby Corner and Animal Corner specifically for children.

This theme for Curtin Open Day 2010 is ‘Get Curious’, as Curtin Sarawak is encouraging the community to find out all about the university, as well as discover the wonders of nature, science and technology, human achievement and innovation.

It also carries a secondary ‘Let’s Go Green’ theme in support of the Miri City Council’s objective of making Miri the country’s first ‘green’ city, and to promote Curtin Sarawak’s own ‘Go Green’ environmental initiatives. The MCC is one of the main supporters of the event.

Visitors are reminded to bring the event’s promotional flyers and newspaper pages with the event advertisements to redeem environment-friendly non-woven shopping bags with the Curtin Open Day 2010 logo and other giveaways. Flyers will be mass-mailed to residences throughout Miri just before the event and advertisements have been published in selected local dailies for last three weeks. The flyers and newsprint will be sent for recycling later.

They are also encouraged to bring their own shopping bags and recyclable food containers to help minimise the use of plastic bags and styrofoam containers on the day.

For more information on Curtin Open Day 2010, visit the event website at www.curtin.edu.my/curtinopenday2010, or call 085-443939.

Pro Vice- Chancellor Professor Ian Kerr, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah, Anbalagan Krishnan (4th to 6th left) and Chan Kwok Mow (far left) with MICPA Executive Director Foo Yoke Pin (3rd left) and MICPA Assistant Manager Education & Training Victor Liew (2nd left).