Some guidelines and information for new BASS members

New Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Students 2011

Assalamualaikum and Hello

Foremost, we would like to say Congratulations to those who are on the verge of coming to Sydney. We are so happy to announce that our BASS family is growing bigger yearly and this July, Insya Allah another 24 new students are coming to UNSW for Petroleum and Chemical Engineering courses.

Here are some guidelines and information prepared for the new BASS members.

What to bring to Sydney?

Basically Sydney offers and is able to provide most of our needed items at an affordable price. Therefore, it is not necessary to bring a year of such supply to Sydney.  Just bring some necessary things such as few thick clothes, Indomie (you will miss them very soon :) ) and most importantly photocopies of your Visa, passports, IC, Sponsorship letters and etc which will be needed for house application. Not to forget your Hari Raya clothes.

What NOT to bring to Sydney?

Since Australia is one of the largest food suppliers, therefore in order to control the quality of foods as well as to prevent any food/animals diseases in the country, the Australian Government has taken a step to control the entrance of several foods, animals and plants products from outside Australia. Therefore you are required to declare on arrival to AQIS of any dairy, animals or plants products to the country. This includes some Kueh, Teas, dried or fresh fruits and etc. The full list of the foods that are required to be declared are available at http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/entering-australia/cant-take. If you are not really sure if the items you are bringing along are under quarantine or not, just declared it. This also includes any used foot wears (soil/sands/plant might sticks on it)

Calculator

In UNSW specifically, there are only several types of calculator that can be used during the exam. So make sure you bring the right calculator with you. The full list of the approved calculator can be found at https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/academiclife/assessment/examinations/Calculator.html

Halal Foods / Asian Foods

Alhamdulilah, It is not that difficult to find halal foods and restaurants in Sydney. So you don’t have to worry much on this. List of halal butchery can be found at http://www.msda.org.au/web_images/halal%20helpline%20butcher.pdf.

There are oriental shops selling Asian foods (Jasmine white rice, rendang paste, satay powder, fried rice paste and etc ) are easily available at Kingsford and Randwick.

Accomodation

The current bass members will provide you with the temporary accommodation while you are still looking for your accommodation. Besides that your humble seniors :) will help and guide you how to apply and inspect a unit/property.  List of the top 3 famous websites are as follows

http://www.domain.com.au

http://www.realestate.com.au

http://www.homehound.com.au

There are several information that are important  for you to know  such as bonds, advanced payment, bills, and etc  before applying for any of the property. This information can be access at http://www.housing.unsw.edu.au/housing/private_rental/private_rental.php?p=tenancy_advice

Last, but not least, Welcome to Sydney Peeps!. The fresh air blows while sitting on the long sandy beach with the multifaceted geological formations of the cliff, together with the array of flora in the vicinity are waiting for you guys besides the huge shopping complex, entertainments, foods, chocolates and assignments :)

Any question? Feel free to leave your question at Bass FB group wall which can be access at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_41671005738

Photo taken from http://www.freestockphotography.com.au/Images-Clipart/Sydney-City__116

BASS Video 2011 for BAA annual dinner

Video Editor : Zarif

Engineering Students Seek Bright Future At UNSW

Bandar Seri Begawan - The career opportunities for petroleum engineering graduates are bright. Many students are taking advantage of the strong partnership between the Institut Teknologi Brunei and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia.

UNSW is located in Sydney's eastern suburbs and is the destination of choice for international students, looking to combine a top quality education with lifestyle advantages.

The UNSW Bachelor of Engineering (Petroleum Engineering) degree is internationally recognised and enjoys strong support from the global petroleum industry.

In fact, the key to the UNSW School of Petroleum Engineering's ongoing success is its close industry links.

UNSW is one of Australia's top ranked universities that offer a vibrant campus life.

Over 120 countries are represented amongst the student body, with one in every four students from overseas.

Currently, there are 43 students studying at UNSW from Brunei, many holding sponsorships from Brunei Shell Petroleum and the Brunei Ministry of Education.

Nadiah Haji Mohd Ya'ani, 20, and Azimah Jofri, 20, are both second year UNSW petroleum engineering students, sponsored by Brunei Shell Petroleum.

Arriving at UNSW can be a rollercoaster ride for students. Many students are excited to be a part of their new surroundings, however for many; it is their first experience living away from home.

Azimah says, "I am very family oriented - I was very homesick in the beginning."

UNSW offers many mentoring and peer support schemes to help with the transition. Azimah and Naidah are personally guided by Dr Yildiray Cinar, Senior Lecturer in Petroleum Engineering.

Additional support is offered through UNSW Student Development International (SDI). SDI assists international students with services from airport pick up to assistance with housing.

Shell-sponsored student, Ak Muhd Amal Nur Qasman Metussin, 22, was part of the first group of ITB Petroleum Engineering students to join the ranks at UNSW.

Qasman lives in the recently completed UNSW Village with six other students, mostly fellow compatriots from Brunei.

In addition to the convenience of living on campus and the proximity to his classes, Qasman also enjoys the "good facilities (including) study rooms and fast Internet connection".
There are plenty of facilities for students at UNSW.

Naidah says, "For me, everything is here. Even if I'm not on campus, everything is online." Naidah is referring to the My UNSW portal, where students can access their notes, assignments and even interact with other students.

The extended opening hours of UNSW's world class library are a definite advantage for Azimah, as studying without the distractions of home increases her concentration.

Azimah and Naidah live in Randwick, just five minutes from the university.

Azimah says, "It's a good place to stay. It's safe and quiet."

The beachside suburb Coogee is also just minutes away, and the girls like to visit the beach when they are not busy studying.

Yusri Efandi Ibrahim, 23, lives in the nearby suburb of Kingsford.

He says living in an area as diverse as Kingsford has definite advantages, one of which is the availability of good quality, Halal food in the area.

"I wasn't expecting to find that in Sydney!" Yusri says.

Yusni began his career in Bruneian bank before assessing his future prospects and deciding to instead study petroleum engineering. Indeed, UNSW alumni enjoy challenging and successful careers around the globe.

Petroleum engineering graduates command excellent starting salaries between A$60,000 and A$110,000, and it is common for graduates to progress quickly through company ranks.

With so many opportunities awaiting hard-working UNSW graduates, Naidah offers some sage advice: "Always remember what your priorities are, study hard, but once in a while, remember to do something fun for you."

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin dated 09th June 2011

(Some of the information in the above article were incorrectly stated)

BAA - Annual dinner

Hello to all, 

Greetings from the Brunei Australia Association! For and on behalf of BAA I would like to inform you that we will be hosting an Annual Dinner on 25th June 2011 at the i-Lotus restaurant. The highlight of dinner would be on the Recognition of Top Bruneian Graduates and Scholars in Australia by the local Australian university
representatives. 

In this regard, we would like to invite The Bruneians Around Sydney Society to become part of this dinner program by providing us a short video clip (5 minutes) of Bruneian students saying "Gudday Brunei!" from Sydney . You may creatively add-on to the clip. Perhaps shoot a short video on what it's like to be a Bruneian student in Sydney. Existing video clips or slide shows featuring your student activities in Sydney will be good as well.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.


Kind Regards,
Mayra T. Robles
*Tel: +673 2236922 Fax: +673 2221215 *

New Bass President and Committee 2011/2012 announcement

Salam/Hello to all:

Congratulations to Azimah Jofri for being selected as the BASS president 2011/2012. Quickly following her is Adrian Boon who was selected as the vice president. Both were out of words but did manage to express on how thankful they are to be selected and they were looking forward to how this year will pan out with of course the help of the new BASS committee and the BASS society itself. Speaking of the new BASS committee, there are the five new focal points whom will work together with both the president and the vice president in matters concerning the well being of the students here in Sydney and the activities that will be held from this day onwards.

Not forgetting the freshly retired president and his vice president, Abu Zahrin and Zarif, we asked from them on how they feel about the new reign. They responded well by saying that the new committee will do just fine, with God’s willing.

 It was a night filled with food, laughter, and more food. We would like to thank Ms. Idariani Damit for attending our humble gathering, to Abu for organizing the Solat Hajat in correspondence to the ever-impending (for some, it had already impended) exams and to the society itself for responding positively to this event. On behalf of the committee, we wish you all to eat well, sleep well, study smart and ace those exams! Salam

 By Nadine and Yusri

Duas for studies and exams

Assalamualaikum and Hello.

On behalf of Bass Committee, we would like to wish everyone ALL THE BEST for your exams.

Please practice a healthy lifestyle during the exam period. Make sure you have enough sleep especially the night before your exam and don't take too much caffeine or energy drinks! :)

I believe by now everyone has started doing revision for the upcoming exams. Last Sunday, we performed Sunnat Hajat Prayer and hopefully Allah will bless us and grant us success in our exams and life, Amin.  Insya Allah.

In preparing for our exams, here are some Duas to be recited by Muslims/Muslimah in hoping  for help and guidance from Allah, Insya Allah.

1.       Doa sebelum belajar : (supaya dimudahkan memahami dan hafalan):

“ Ya Allah, bukakanlah pintu hati kami sebagaimana orang-orang yang arif , Kurniakanlah kepada kami kefahaman Nabi-Nabi dan ilham para Malaikat yang hampir dengan-Mu, dengan Rahmat-Mu Wahai Tuhan Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Penyayang. ”

2.       Doa Selepas Belajar : (supaya apa yang dipelajari tidak lupa)

“ Ya Allah, aku pertaruhkan kepada-Mu apa yang telah Engkau ajarkan kepadaku, maka kembalikanlah semula kepadaku jika aku memerlukannya dan janganlah Engkau buat aku melupainya, Wahai Tuhan Yang Sekalian Alam. ”

3.      Doa supaya Dijauhkan Dari Sifat Sedih,Malas, Bakhil, Pengecut & dikelilingi hutang:

“ Ya Allah, sesungguhnya aku berlindung pada-Mu dari rasa sedih gelisah dan aku berlindung pada-Mu dari sifat lemah dan malas, dan aku berlindung pada-Mu dari sikap pengecut dan bakhil, dan aku berlindung pada-Mu dari cengkaman hutang dan penindasan orang (aniaya). ”

4.     Doa ketika menghadapi kesusahan dalam peperiksaan atau kehidupan:

Ertinya : “Ya Allah, tiada yang mudah kecuali sesuatu yang Engkau mudahkan dan Engkau lah yang menjadikan yang susah itu mudah”

 Tata tertib seorang Islam dalam menuntut Ilmu

 Niat menuntut ilmu hendaklah semata-mata kerana Allah, Rasulullah bersabda 

“ Sesiapa yang menuntut ilmu kerana selain daripada Allah SWT ataupun menghendaki menuntut ilmu (sebaliknya) selain daripada Allah SWT, maka disediakan tempat duduknya daripada neraka." [Hadis Riwayat Tarmizi]

·         Dari mula pembelajaran sehingga tamat peperiksaan hingga ketika menunggu keputusan, pergantunggan (Tawakkal kepada Allah) perlu ada, kerana semua Ilmu itu adalah kepunyaan Allah yang boleh ditarik bila-bila masa sahaja.

·         Redha dengan apa pun jua keputusan selepas peperiksaan, kerana semuanya itu adalah takdir dan ketetapan Allah. Allah melihat pada kesungguhan usaha hambaNya, tidak semestinya pada Keputusan akhirnya.

**All the best, bittaufiq wannajah ~ semoga perjuangan kita semua diberkati dan mendapat redha Allah. 

“Siapa yang keluar untuk menuntut ilmu maka ia berjuang di jalan Allah sehingga ia kembali” (Hadis Riwayat At-Tarmizi dan Ad-Darimi)

By:  Nurul Ain Abu Bakar