An Insight into Editorial Board
Mission
To serve as a bridge that connects all students of FPER via stories and creative writings.
| Our Story
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Editorial Board is a new project under PERSIAP which has been initiated in 2021. To provide a better understanding on what editorial board is and how editorial board plays its role, an interview has been conducted with Chief Convener of editorial board, Ang Zheng Jiet, a third-year medical student, and Editor-in-chief of editorial board, Syahidatul Syafinaz binti Tajul Arif, also a third-year medical student.
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Chief Convener explained about the editorial board by first introducing the background of the editorial board. “It all started when I got elected as the vice president of PERSIAP. I noticed that the Faculty of Medicine (FPER) is a very diverse faculty with medical, nursing and emergency medical students. But before this, there wasn’t a platform for students from these three courses to get to know one another. This is the reason why we want to establish the editorial board that functions as a platform for all students under FPER to get to know about one another.” Zheng Jiet also mentioned how the editorial board connects all the students under FPER.
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According to Syahidatul, the editorial board contributes to FPER and the students by serving as a big place that gathers information about everything happening in this medical school where students can read on the information again and again. It also serves as a memory bank where students can look back ontheir lives while studying in UKM.
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Zheng Jiet said that he believes the editorial board unites the students of FPER as sharing stories creates more common topics among the FPER students. He added, “I think it’s to encourage the creativity of students, the editorial board has various ‘Minisodes’ which some of those actually require students to contribute their creative ideas.” He also mentioned that one of the objectives of the editorial board is to acknowledge students who are active in participating extracurricular activities as there are students representing FPER in competitions of all levels. “It is vital to acknowledge those who make us proud!” Zheng Jiet said in the interview. In terms of contribution to the editorial board, Zheng Jiet also said that the editorial board will be organizing a pictorial session in which students from different batches and courses will be gathered to take a photo, just like the class photo that all of us used to have in the primary and secondary school. He said, “It might not seem very significant at this stage, but after you graduate, it reminds you of how wonderful your life was as a medical student in UKM.”
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In the interview, Zheng Jiet and Syahidatul were also asked about current expectations on the editorial board. Zheng Jiet emphasized that the editorial board should be able to unite everyone under FPER and provide a platform for students to show their talents like writing and photography. His expectations on the editorial board also include compiling important events involving the students like extracurricular activities, competitions, conferences and events held by MEP or PERSIAP. He added, “This editorial board is still a baby project, it’s more like a process for us to explore and experiment things. There are still a lot of uncertainties and possibilities.” Syahidatul claimed that her expectations mainly revolve around the members of the editorial board. She wants all the editorial members to be comfortable with one another, “I really want to see a fun family bond among the members.” According to her, it would be easier to align members’ goals and build natural teamwork. “It is a lot easier to share the stories of other people if we, ourselves, are very bonded,” Syahidatul said.
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Syahidatul hopes that in the future, FPER can have its own yearbook with the establishment of this editorial board. Besides, she also visualized a professional website managed by the editorial board, which caters for not only the FPER students but also students from other universities and colleges, including those who are preparing for medical school and those who are interested to know about UKM. She added, “I also hope hard copies of the editorial board such as magazines can also be produced and can be stored in our university library in the future.” Whereas for Zheng Jiet, his expectation is that the editorial board can be made into a formal department under PERSIAP in tenure 2022/2023.
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Towards the end of the interview session, Zheng Jiet and Syahidatul also gave some advice on maintaining a balance between studies and extracurricular activities. Zheng Jiet summarized his advice into four main points: passion, set expectations, sacrifices, and resilience.
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“It all started when I got elected as the vice president of PERSIAP"
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Coffee/Tea - $1
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How do we do this?
"By telling stories of different people under people. We aim not to just connect all the students but also connecting FPER students with the professors, doctors, and staff. Sharing stories would allow students to learn more about what’s going on around them, and by knowing more, it’s easier to build a good rapport among all the students.”
“I personally see it as a platform where we can use it for our expressions ,creativity and a safe space for us to present our uniqueness and thoughts.”
~Syahidatul Syafinaz
“I think it’s to encourage the creativity of students, the editorial board has various ‘Minisodes’ which some of those actually require students to contribute their creative ideas.”
Zheng Jiet
Passion
When you are struggling with maintaining a balance, think back on why you chose to join the activity when you already knew that being a medical student is definitely not easy. It is important to work for something you are passionate about because your passion will prepare you for uncertainties and difficulties in the future.
Expectations
You might have a different schedule and study pace compared to your peers, but you should not be pressured by the differences. You must learn to adjust expectations and stop comparing yourself with the others.
Sacrifices
Sacrifices must be made. You might have a distorted schedule, like I tend to study during midnight when others all go to sleep because I usually use time after classes to settle things for my extracurricular activities or programs. You might need to cut down some time spent with your friends to prioritize and equally distribute time for things.
resilience
He thought it is important to learn to switch roles and adapt to different scenarios as plans may be interrupted and priorities are always changing along the course. As for Syahidatul, she believed prioritising is the most significant element in maintaining a balance. “Studies and extracurricular are both important, what you can do is to figure out which is more important to finish at that time."
