NIBONG TEBAL, PENANG, 5 April 2015 - The International Cultural Fiesta 2015 (ICF 2015), themed “Mystique Rhythm” was an initiative by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to promote the diverse cultures from various nations to impart a better understanding on internationalisation to the campus community.

In his speech, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Professor Dato' Dr. Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal said, this was part of the commitment towards raising the understanding of various cultures with the involvement of international students in the university.

“From this programme, there is a healthy interaction between the local and international students which displayed the sense of enthusiasm among the students on the internationalisation process,” said Ahmad Shukri.

He added, this is essential in establishing an integrative network among the countries in the world, which needs to be strengthened regularly especially among the students.

Director of International Office USM, Dr. Anees Janee Ali meanwhile said that the programme, aimed at introducing the unique cultures of each country to the local students, has been a success, and has fulfilled the aspiration of USM in raising the number of international students.

“A programme such as this need to be organised more often, broadened and continued in the future to further promote the sense of unity and integration among the local and international students,” said Anees.

ICF 2015, held at the Dewan Utama, USM Engineering campus here, saw the involvement of 18 countries and with more than 100 participants showing off captivating performances to the audience.

The countries involved in the performances are China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Korea, Nigeria, Malaysia, Iran and Germany.  In the previous year, the event was held at the USM Health campus in Kelantan.

Project Director, Muhamad Naim Mohd. Isa, 22 explained that this programme provided the USM international exchange students the chance to share the various arts and cultures with the local students while providing them the understanding and enhancing the existing partnership.

“There are other activities to be held in the future under the exchange students’ programmes, among which are 'Coffee Our Day' and 'Colour One Malaysia'.”

The third-year School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering undergraduate further said that, the programme was planned to portray the various languages and cultures and at the same time, provide new exposure and experiences to the students for them to acquire better understanding on what is unique and special about the culture from a foreign country.

The Gala Night also had a competition for two categories, namely Best Exhibition Booth category with the awards given to Japan, Indonesia and Iraq, while the Best Performance category belonged to South Korea, performing the concept of “Boy K-Pop”.

The audience was also entertained with the special appearance of a popular local artiste, Arja Lee and USM Cultural Officer, Andy Siti Nurhidayah Rahim.

Others who attended the event include the spouse of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Datin Dr. Aishah Knight Abdul Shatar and Director of USM Engineering campus Professor Dr. Zainal Arifin Mohd. Ishak. - Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin/Text: Siti Naquiah Binti Abdillah/Edited: Mohamad Abdullah/Photos: Shafizan Bin Zoolkiffli, Office of Campus Director, Engineering Campus.