Pavandip realises the fine balance between hockey and engineering.

For the love of the game: Pavandip in top form.

Pavandip Singh, a second year Civil Engineering student at UCSI University, knows all about how to put in the extra effort to study hard and also go that extra mile to play hard too.

Last year, in September he was called by the Malaysian National Hockey Team to go through a month of selection, after which he was shortlisted into the 30 player squad. He has been training with the team since October 2020.

Pavandip comes from Taiping, Perak and he has loved hockey since he was young. Many of his stints involved him travelling to different countries.

“When I was 12 years old I received the best player award during the U-12 National Tournament. I also represented the U-16 1Malaysia Hockey Team taking part in the FHE Cup that was held in Perth. I represented the team in 2014-2016 and won the gold medal once and silver medal twice. We played against multiple teams from Australia and also the Japanese national team” said Pavandip.

In 2016, Pavandip was part of the National Men’s U16 team that went to Mannheim, Germany and most recently, he participated in SUKMA 2018 representing Kuala Lumpur while in 2019 he played for Butterfly Roma HCC in the Italian Seria A League.

With all these achievements under his belt and his dedication to the sport, it is amazing how Pavandip has the time to excel in studies. As a UCSI University Trust Sports Bursary student, Pavandip reveals that he has to manage his time well sometimes having to burn the midnight oil to catch up with other students.

As he puts it: “I have to make a lot of sacrifices to balance sports and education. But I’ve been playing hockey since young so I can’t imagine life without hockey.”

For Pavandip, playing hockey has made him a better person, more disciplined, responsible and hardworking.

At UCSI, through its IDP programme with the University of Queensland, Pavandip has the chance to pursue his dream to move to Australia where in the next 5-10 years he aspires to have a steady job in a big civil engineering company and get the opportunity do his Masters as well.

Pavandip revealed that he has learnt many lessons at UCSI.

“In the classroom, I have learnt that it is extremely important to pay attention and focus when the lecturers are teaching. Students tend to take classes for granted and they think that they will be able to study on their own but when you listen to the lecturer during class, it makes studying a lot easier,” he says.

“Outside of class, I have learnt to be friendly and to be outgoing because university life is not only about studying; and when surrounded with people from around the world, it makes university life more interesting as I learn something new every day” he adds.

“I want to be a civil engineer at a top firm,” he reveals. According to him, with the help of kind lecturers at UCSI who go out of their way to help students, this ambition will soon become a reality.

Hence for Pavandip, although challenging, balancing education and passion is achievable with the right guidance, determination and the drive to succeed.