UCSI Radio
2025
14 MayUCSI Valedictorian Builds a Better Future, Brick by Brick
KUALA LUMPUR: A passionate advocate for community architecture, sustainability and grassroots impact, Joanne Chan Wen Hui is not your typical Malaysian architect.
Addressing the Class of 2025 as valedictorian at UCSI University’s first convocation ceremony of the year, Joanne spoke about her mission to serve underserved rural communities through architecture.
“Those who are underprivileged often have to live in environments that lack dignity and design, not because they don’t deserve better, but simply because they can’t afford it,” she said.
“It has changed my perspective and given me a thought. That good design should not be a luxury reserved only for the rich.”
That belief shaped her entire university journey. Over the past three and a half years, Joanne actively volunteered and contributed to various causes - serving people, communities and even animals.
In her first semester, she joined COLLAB, a student-led initiative advocating for architecture’s civic responsibility. Through COLLAB, she helped build a kindergarten for refugee children.
“The children wanted to learn so badly despite their underprivileged circumstances. Seeing them affirmed my desire to use architecture to drive meaningful change for those in need,” she said.
Since then, Joanne spent every semester break on COLLAB projects, including building affordable homes in remote highlands. She also collaborated with Paw’s Eden, a local NGO and animal shelter housing over 200 stray cats and dogs.
Through crowdfunding, she and her team raised over RM11,000 to customise wheelchairs for 20 mobility-impaired dogs. They also built a bamboo hut and improved the shelter’s outdoor playground.
Beyond her volunteer work, Joanne initiated the Study Buddy system to foster peer mentorship, cross-year collaboration and student-led workshops.
She also served as president of Makelab, UCSI’s architecture student society.
“My experiences in UCSI affirmed what I have always believed: the built environment is a necessity, not a privilege. Everyone deserves access to thoughtful, inclusive spaces.”
Driven by this ethos, Joanne turned down higher-paying offers to work as an assistant architect at a local start-up focused on sustainable and socially conscious design.
She plans to pursue her Master’s degree, sit for the Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia III Examination and eventually establish her own firm to revitalise rural and educational spaces through culturally sensitive, sustainable design.
UCSI vice-chancellor and president Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir remarked, “Let the opportunities gained from a UCSI credential guide you to a greater purpose and shape the decisions you make. Let them influence the work you pursue.
Our valedictorian embodies this. I was moved to hear that she chose to join a small start-up whose mission aligned with hers - to design sustainable spaces for underserved communities. I’m proud to share that today, she is doing the work she believes in.”
The convocation also marked the installation of Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz as UCSI’s second Chancellor, following his tenure as pro-chancellor since 2021.
The ceremony celebrated the achievements of 898 graduates in the presence of UCSI University council chairman and founder Dato' Peter Ng and UCSI Healthcare Group chairman Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Ranked in the world’s top 1% in the QS World University Rankings 2025 by virtue of its top 265 ranking, UCSI University stands out as one of Asia’s top private universities.
