It’s a long, cold way from sunny Sarawak, but the 2009 Pat Addison scholars enjoyed spending a week in Perth despite the unfamiliar chilly weather.
Yong Hu Li and Yi Ling were surprised to win the scholarships that each year sponsor two students from Curtin’s Sarawak campus in Miri to visit the Bentley campus for one week.
‘I didn’t know I was even up for it, and I also thought maybe it was a certificate or something like that, but I told my friend and they said, “hey, you’re going to Perth for a week,”‘ said Hu Li.
Third-year commerce student Yi Ling said she also hadn’t known much about the scholarships which are awarded each year to two top students – one each from the School of Business and the School of Engineering and Science.
‘I went to Student Services and asked what it was, and then I was all surprised because, wow, I get to go to Perth for one week,’ she said.
Hu Li, who spent a year in Perth when she was young, said she liked the Bentley campus and had enjoyed seeing more of Perth.
The two women visited Fremantle and Mundaring and had been to South Perth to view the Perth skyline.
‘We like the food – we’ve been eating out a lot,’ said Hu Li.
In her third year of a four -year chemical engineering course, Hu Li said she had noticed some differences in teaching and learning styles between the Bentley and Sarawak campuses.
‘The classes are bigger definitely, and the students answer the questions more and ask more questions compared to Miri, where we mostly just listen and accept what the lecturers are saying to us,’ she said.
Yi Ling agrees tutorials in Bentley were very different from those she was used to.
‘The lectures are more or less the same as in Miri but the tutorials here are quite interesting – the way they’re presented – I love it so much,’ Yi Ling said.
Hu Li said she had decided to study chemical engineering because the main industry in Miri was oil and gas.
‘I’ll definitely apply for some jobs in other places, like Brunei, but I’d be happy to stay in Miri actually, because that’s where my family is,’ she said.
Yi Ling said she was in her final year of commerce and was considering whether to undertake further studies.
