Vision into ISO standards

Vision College recognises the need for delivering quality education services to their students. In search for delivering quality services, Vision College has approached ISO which is the world largest standards developing organisation.

ISO has published more than 19,000 international standards from 1947 to the present day. These standards range from activities such as agriculture and construction, through mechanical engineering, to medical devices, to the newest information technology developments.

ISO was founded from 2 organisations which is the ISA (International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations), established in New York in 1926, and the UNSCC (United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee), established in 1944.

In October 1946, delegates from 25 countries, meeting at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London, decided to create a new international organization, of which the object would be "to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards". The new organization, ISO, officially began operations on 23 February 1947.

ISO launches the development of new standards in response to sectors and stakeholders that express a clearly established need for them.

Vision College has always believed in delivering quality services to their students. We wanted to streamline our processes so that the response time to the students is addressed promptly.

Having the ISO certification also makes the organisations more efficient and more standardised therefore, any cost drivers will be reduced. Due to the standardisation of the processes, issues arising will be promptly addressed as there is a process for each action from the academic side, administration side and the marketing and sales side of the organisation.

Vision College's Director, Mr. Lee receiving the certificate.

In 2011, we have received the ISO 9001:2008 certification. In 2012, we have fully implemented the ISO standards in Vision College. We look forward to delivering the best we can to our students and our stakeholders.

Visiting RSNA, Chicago, USA

Recently, at the end of November, I was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by our partner company - Gideons - to visit Chicago, USA where I would attend the world-renowned Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Congress. It is the largest medical imaging congress in the world, a high-tech mecca of medical technology where leading hardware and software companies congregate and showcase their latest ideas and technologies in medical imaging.

As Chicago was 14 hours behind Malaysian time, we were totally out-of-sync the moment we arrived at O'Hare International Airport. For the first few days, we literally became creatures of the night, sleeping in the day and becoming wide awake at night. This was a crazy experience, but thankfully, the windy nights gave us plenty of time to reflect upon life's experiences, so it was not a total waste staying up till the late hours of the morning - not that we had a choice.

The weather at Chicago was capricious. On the first day, the weather was cool. On the second and third day, it was warm. I was actually walking around with a sweater and bermuda. After that, the weather became really cold, reminding us that winter is near. You never get this change in weather as drastic as what we have in Malaysia. No wonder Chicago is also called the Windy City.

 

One of the most interesting sights of Chicago is its architecture. Since Chicago's fame dates back to the 19th century, and has attracted many architectural talents. There are many majestic and grand buildings which define the cityscape of Chicago. I took pictures of the Wrigley Building, the Chicago Tribune Building (where they filmed the recent blockbuster - Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and also Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the Skydeck Chicago on top of Willis Tower. The Skydeck has the unique observation deck where you can step on it and it felt like you are floating in the air. It was a wowing experience and I was very nervous about the height when I first stepped on the observation deck. Still, after a while, I got used to it. This is one attraction that is definitely not suitable for the acrophobics.

The RSNA was a bustling exhibition attracting people from the entire spectrum of the radiology field. I managed to take a picture with the Neusoft 64-slice CT Scan which will be launched in 2012. 

It is an exciting environment where I had the opportunity to meet a few old friends and also to make new friendships. As with all trips, just when you got used to the place, it was sadly time to head back. See you another time, Chicago!

First Exhibition in Dhaka

Being in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is quite a sobering experience and a good exposure. The population in Dhaka itself is 11.875 million people and in Selangor is 5.5 million people. The size of Dhaka is 1,463km square and Selangor is 8,104km square. Therefore, the feeling that you get there is a bit more congested as compare to Selangor.

Rickshaw and CnG

I experienced riding on a rickshaw and also a C n G which are some of the public transport facility. It was quite enjoyable. The weather there was quite nice and the people there are very friendly.

 

Dhaka was famous for making garments, making ropes and planting grains. Their agriculture sector contributes 19.1% of their GDP. They plant products like rice, jute, tea, sugar, wheat. Their manufacturing sector contributes about 28.6% of their GDP. They manufacture items such as garments and knitwear, jute goods, frozen fish and seafood, textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, ship-breaking for scrap, pharmaceuticals, ceramic tableware, newsprint.

The exhibition that I participated was in relation to the Malaysia My Second Home Programme. It is a programme whereby foreigners are able to get a 10 years visa in Malaysia if they place a sum of money in a fix deposit in Malaysia. There is always confusion that a foreigner is required to purchase a property in Malaysia to obtain the visa, which is not true.

Me with my friends in MM2H exhibition

 There were quite a number of people from Malaysia My Second Home and from the education and healthcare industry. Going for exhibitions is quite enjoyable because I get to meet new friends from different industry and cultures. 

By Lee Wee Giap

Human Resource Director

Vision College

Day to day at Vision College

        I can’t believe that one day I will become a lecturer. That is my first job after finishing my studies is at Vision College. I’m so happy but at the same time I was hit by my nervousness when teaching in front of students. On my first class, I don’t know what should I do, how to deliver a good lecture and how to attract students' attention. But all the staffs in Vision always give me support and tips how to improve my teaching skills. Therefore, I improve my skills and at the same time enhance my knowledge day after day.

Taken with my friendly colleagues at Royal Golf Club 

    I’m happy working in Vision College. Small number of students in class, make me feel very close to the students. Besides teaching, I become my student’s listener and advisor to their problems. I consider my students as my sister and brother because some of them came far away from their family. They had no one to listen and share their problems. Therefore, I take the responsibility not only as their lecturer, to guide and help them in their studies, but also as a sister to them by giving motivation and support.

with the pretty ladies from Vision College 

       As a lecturer, I want my class to be cheerful and joyful rather than a dull and bored class. I make some joke and fun activities in my class so that my students won’t be bored and sleepy. Besides lecture, I create many activities such as crossword puzzle, wheel of fortune, hang-man, drama, etc. From these activities, I encourage my students to participate and therefore enjoy learning in the class.

      Besides being a lecturer, I am also an advisor for Community Club in Vision College. This club provides opportunities to improve one’s leadership skills, networking opportunities, performs community service and offers various fun social opportunities. The main activity for this Community Club is blood donation campaign. Every year, this club will organize a blood donation campaign in Vision College. The purpose of this campaign is to heighten blood donation awareness and increase the amount of supply in the blood bank. With this activities, students can fill their spare time with the beneficial activities and give them a new knowledge.

         For me Vision College give me a lot of experience in the work field. I wish this college growth professionally in the health science fields in the future 

as the motto said ‘Inspiring Healthcare Professionals’.

By Roshalina Rahim

Lecturer 

Diploma of Medical Imaging 

Indonesia, we are coming to you!

  

Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education office at Jakarta

After our fruitful trip to Myanmar, we decided to visit our close neighbour, Indonesia. We contacted the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia representative office at Jakarta right after we spoke to Puan Yahurin, MOHE officer at Jakarta. We truly agreed with Puan Yahurin that in order for us to know Indonesia market, we have to be there to see and experience it ourselves.

           We headed to Jakarta in less than a week after the first phone call with Yahurin. When I arrived, I headed to the MOHE Jakarta office with the anticipation of meeting Yahurin. The MOHE office is located at Wisma Kodel, Kuningan, Central Jakarta. I reached the office in an hour, which I was later told that it would take usually 2 hours during peak hours.

Me and Pn Yahurin Mohd Yassin 

After waiting for a while, I met Yahurin, storming in after a meeting with the Malaysian embassy. She was a gracious host and we had a great brainstorming session. We mapped out a proposal on how we can approach the Indonesian market where she advised that we make plans to visit the various parts of Indonesia - Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Kalimantan to start and perhaps, heading to further places such as Makasar in our future plan. It really feels like we are in a global environment where we have now become an ambassador and explorer for our organisation.

Yahurin was a very influential lady. I was supposed to meet another agent named Audy. She called him to come to the MOHE. Audy politely accepted and was at the MOHE office momentarily. I was fortunate with this arrangement as this would mean that I did not need to brave the traffic jams, which are notorious in Jakarta.

After a fruitful discussion, Audy sent me to Tamrin City, a shopping centre, which neighbours Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia - all gigantic developments, which makes our shopping centres in Malaysia, pale in comparison. I took some pictures of the shopping bazaar, had a burger for dinner and then, had a cake for dessert.

I then headed to the hotel - Manhattan Hotel, which is ranked 5 star but the price was quite reasonable. I had a room on the 28th floor, which offers a picturesque view of the Jakarta skyline. The evening was swift as I started early and wanted to retire early. I watched the movie Black Swan, headed to bed and slept snugly.

  

   

View from my room

a wide variety of food for breakfast at Manhattan Hotel

The following day, I visited another partner - Cosmo Education. It is an organisation run by ladies which I was impressed by their professionalism and also, their diligence. After the meeting, I headed to the Jakarta Airport, to head back home. We are hopeful that this visit is the first of many to come as we start to discover more about Indonesia.

The professional ladies at work - Cosmo Education

By Lee Wee Loong, Director of Vision College
Study Ultrasonography in Malaysia

Vision is moving towards Virtual Learning

Moodle Expert, Teo Chuin Hau

Moodle: A Virtual Learning Environment, No Relation to Noodles (Except in Culinary Colleges)

Getting your teaching and learning stuff done over the internet has become a pretty popular concept over the past five years or so. Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to find any college or university worth their salt that doesn't implement any virtual learning environment (VLE) for their faculty and students.

A virtual learning environment, in its most basic concept, takes the form of a webpage where teachers upload information and students download that information. Most, if not all, VLEs nowadays definitely offer chat or discussion facilities where students can interact with their teachers online. In terms of form and function, it is pretty similar to any of your garden variety forums that you find mushrooming all over the internet.

Of course, this is if we're talking basic concepts. It is entirely possible for VLEs to incorporate online quizzes, assessments, grade tracking, messaging, e-mail notifications, games, and so on and so forth, till we can conceivably plan out a VLE that is similar, but not identical to, say, Facebook – except academics-based.

Yes, it can be that cool.

In any case, VLEs are a great way to modernize teaching-learning and to get the modern-day tech-addicted youths interested in their studies. Of course, Vision College might be small but we certainly don't plan on getting left behind – so we've went ahead and begun implementation of a VLE of our own. At Vision College, we're using the free source Moodle as our VLE. Free source means that we don't pay for it (much), so we can pass the savings on to the consumer.

Now, when you tell someone about the word 'free source' they also think of its alleged accomplices, such as 'instability', 'user-hostile', or 'bug-ridden piece of ****', but truthfully most of the widely-used free source software nowadays do match their more expensive and enterprising cousins in usability. Moodle is no exception, having been selected by many universities as part of their VLE effort; Open University and the University of York in the United Kingdom, as well as Australian National University, Melbourne University and Monash University in Australia are just some of the multiple institutions of higher learning utilizing the software.

So, what are we doing with Moodle nowadays?

As of now, we are in the phase where lecture information is being uploaded to form a cohesive database. This database will serve as a repository for both teachers and students to view and download lecture slides, lesson plans and study notes. By giving easier access to the information, we make it possible for teachers and students to be less tied down to college premises when it comes to the teaching-learning process.

So, that's probably what we call Phase Two.

By the way, Phase One was where we set everything up and went for a trial run or two.

Phase Three, slated to commence in January 2012, will see all courses being run with the aid of Moodle. This means that teachers will have to direct their students to the website and let them know that yes, they can get their slides from the internet now. In this phase, the teachers will also be able to open discussion forums where students can ask all the questions they never got to ask in class because they were too shy. (Note: look into auto-censor filters for Moodle forums)

And in the Final Phase, Phase Four, the use of online assessments, quizzes and grading will come into play. It is a markedly more complicated affair because the one-shoe-fits-all approach does not work here, due to the varied assessment methods employed by the different programmes. This phase will also see the introduction of a unified gradebook spanning all subjects so that we can track grade points, averages of those grade points, and the cumulative sum of the averages of those grade points for each student throughout their fun-filled academic life, which will involve a lot of mathematics and be pretty cool.

If we're really, really brave, we'll slap Phase Four together with Phase Three and run it concurrently. Here at Vision College we think optimistically.

Well, that's really about all there is to say about the Moodle VLE at the moment. No pictures are around because all the really, really cool stuff isn't up yet and unfortunately, no one I know wants to look at rows upon rows of lecture slides.

Oh well.

Western Job Opportunity in Medical Ultrasonography - Myanmar

Yangon City, Myanmar is our first target country for foreign student recruitment. I am glad to be chosen as Vision College’s representative for this very first international recruitment trip.

When I touched down at Myanmar International Airport at 8pm, I was thrilled and excited at the same time as this is my first time landing at a foreign land by myself! Immediately my heart was comforted when I saw Uncle Donald and Aunty Jenny waving at me at the arrival hall with a big smile. Uncle Donald and Aunty Jenny are the representatives from Jenko-Rexpo, Vision College’s official partner representatives in Myanmar. They brought me to a local restaurant for my late dinner before sending me to hotel.

Beautiful lobby in Park Royal Hotel @ Yangon City

Billboard: Western Job Opportunity in Medical Ultrasonography are found at prominent spots

In the next morning, when I was about to take my breakfast in the Hotel Café, Uncle Donald came and brought me to a local hotspot for breakfast. It was a very simple coffee shop name Morning Star. They serve mainly local traditional food.

Morning Star coffee shop was already packed at 7.30am

I have tasted many types of local cuisines here and my favourite was the “Salad Mee”. It was a cold noodle with some fired bean curd mixed with sweet and sour sauce. It’s really an appetizing breakfast worth trying.

My favourite “Salad Mee”. Yummz~

After breakfast, I went back to hotel and prepare for my seminar in the afternoon.

The attendance and response from local doctors and students was overwhelming. The hall was 90% filled-up before the seminar began.

This presentation will not be successful without Aunty Jenny’s help in translating my presentation into Burmese throughout my whole presentation due to language barrier.

Jenko-Rexpo even manages to get a Leading Radiologist in Myanmar, Dr. Sanda Tin (currently the director in south East Asia of Euro-Continent) as guest to this seminar. She gave a influential and powerful speech during my presentation; she told the audience that the Pg.DMU (Asia) is a very good programme and it is very beneficiary for the student.

Jenko-Rexpo also invited various journalists and even the only local English TV channel, Myanmar International TV reporter to this seminar.

overwhelming responses from the local students and doctors for the seminar

Thanks to Uncle Donald and Aunty Jenny who have been a great help to me

My first TV interview :)

Fantastic Jenko-Rexpo team 

I would like to extend my appreciation to Jenko-Rexpo who has done a good job in marketing this seminar. They have sent out invitation card to Doctors and students, 2 big billboards advertisement (1 in-front of the general hospital and the other 1 is near Jenko-Rexpo office), 1 big banner in-front of Park Royal Hotel and the advertisements in the local newspaper and the IT newsletter.

During my presentation

I am glad that I managed to go for some sightseeing after the seminars. How can I miss visiting the oldest Buddhist Pagoda in the world? Just like people says, if you haven't been to this pagoda, you have not been to Myanmar!

Me @ Shwedagon Pagoda

Can you believe it, this pagoda is over 2,500 years!

This is an excellent experience for me and I would love to travel to others countries to broaden my horizons and helps me understand other people and their cultures better.