Self-Reflection of Ang Siew Yan

The DISTED-OIT Summer Exchange Programme has given me a chance to build my planning
and coordinating skills. The students from Taiwan were friendly and warming up to them was
easy. Although I have a slight communication problem with them due me to not being able to
speak fluent Mandarin and them not being able to speak fluent English, the time we had
together has given me a bigger chance for me to learn their language as well as they learn ours,
Bahasa Melayu. By learning our language, they are also able to learn more about the culture of
Malaysia. This experience was indeed knowledgeable and memorable.

The experience to be involved in this student exchange project has been beneficial and has
indeed taught me several skills and qualities. First, I learnt that planning and coordination is no
easy matter. Thorough time is needed when making a best decision, especially when we are
working in a team. This is because a decision of one member requires the opinions of others as
well. Only then can a decision be made fairly. Teamwork is a quality that was essential in this
programme. Due to having a small number of members, we faced a few problems such as
transportations and other costs. However, I learnt to be more understanding and patient from
all the difficulties that we had to go through. This then has led me to improve on my problem-
solving skills.

Besides that, I managed to further hone my communication skills by being a representative to

present a short introduction of Penang and DISTED College to the fellow Taiwanese students.
The presentation went well and has given the students an insight of our college as well as the
culture here. I too got a chance to be an MC for the closing ceremony of DISTED-OIT Summer
Exchange Programme. Dr Liew who was an important party has been a great guidance and has
complimented how the MCs ran the ceremony well. This experience was memorable and I look
forward to emcee an event someday with even more confidence.