UCSI Students, Lee Chi Yeng and Low Chuan Yong performed a duet at the opening ceremony.

Fashion show was held at the UCSI Gallery, KL campus.

Group photo at the end of the opening ceremony

Models dressed by clothing sponsored by ZARREL, Kittie Yiyi and IIJYL

To acknowledge its commitment to women empowerment, UCSI University KL Campus launched its International Women’s Week (IWW) on Tuesday, March 6. This was in conjunction with International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrating and commemorating the many achievements of women around the world.

It was also a time to recognise the struggle for women’s rights and gender inequality that exist today and discuss measures to create a better and fairer world.

The event, organised by the Mass Communication Student Association (MCSA) was held at the UCSI Gallery. The effort was led by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts lecturer, Mr. Kenny Choong who has been involved with the event since 2006.

Mr. Choong said “My siblings and I were raised by progressive thinking parents who never failed to educate us on gender equality. This, along with my involvement in Amnesty International, made me realise the importance of recognising women who have impacted the world.”

He said, “I also want UCSI students to understand the meaning of IWD and reflect upon the role women have played in their lives.” 

The opening ceremony of IWW was attended by Founder and Chief Executive Officer of UCSI Group, Dato’ Peter Ng, faculty leaders, members and students.

The event started with a fashion show sponsored by ZARREL, Kittie Yiyi and IIJYL. A musical and singing performance were then presented by first and second year students in Mass Communication and continued with an upbeat performance by the dance group, Girl’s Illusion.

As the guest of honour, Dato’ Peter Ng shared that it is important for the women in UCSI to be provided with the opportunity to realise their potential. He also noted that many of the senior and top performing academics in UCSI are women and so are many of the high achievers.

Suzanne Ling, UCSI Chancellor’s Gold Medal Award recipient of 2017, is a good example of this, together with Lee Swee Lin and Kim Lim.

Together, they launched The Picha Project, a food catering and delivery company that empowers refugees by channeling back 50% of all profits.

They started with zero capital and today, their initiative is widely regarded as one of Malaysia’s best social enterprises.

Additionally, UCSI’s Institute of Music (IMus), was founded in 1990 by Elizabeth Lou, proof that women are capable of contributing in any industry.

Recently, IMus was ranked within 51-100 in the 2018 QS World University Rankings in the field of Performing Arts. The institution is only one of the two private universities in Malaysia to be featured in this ranking.

The series of events planned throughout IWW at the KL Campus were based on this year’s theme of Press for Progress. Workshops and films on women empowerment were organised to shed more light on this movement.