eyes on ukm kkl (edited and updated 19/07/11)

Varsiti Kita

Lihat kampusku yang tenang

Damainya alam ciptaan Tuhan

Panduan ilmu dan keimanan

Amal dan jernih digabungkan

Lautan ilmu kita harumkan

Sumber ilmu berkembangan

Inilah varsiti kita

Ditengahkan hasrat rakyat kita

Dari mula untuk semua

Bagai tanda perjuangan kita

Bangun berbakti membela

Memupuk insan jiwa bertakwa

Memimpin manusia semua

Kenal akan adat unggulnya

Membina negara senantiasa

Maju berilmu dan bahagia

Inilah varsiti kita

Ditengahkan hasrat rakyat kita

Dari mula untuk semua

Bagai tanda perjuangan kita

Composer: Nazri Ahmad

****EDITED*****


Few of my juniors recently made a video about UKM KKL. Take a look if you want to know more. The video is in Mandarin, btw =)

******EDITED*******

When one hears about Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), one will probably think it is in Bangi. But the fact is, UKM has 3 campuses. The main one is in Bangi, and another one in good ol' KL and the 3rd one is in Cheras, near HUKM.

When I first found out that I got UKM, I thought my campus is in Bangi as well until they send the letter and booklet stating that my faculty is in the KL campus and that is the place that I will be studying for my 4-year degree programme. So here is some little info about my campus, as many often confuse my campus with the main campus in Bangi.

~THE CAMPUS~

To differentiate our campus, we usually call our campus as UKM KKL whilst the Bangi campus is known as the UKM campus. The UKM KKL is located at Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz Shah, in close proximity of the KL General Hospital (HKL). We have the Chow Kit monorail station right in front, which is great, as that means we have transport to go to Times Square, Sungei Wang,etc.

A new chapter in my book...

UKM KKL houses 3 faculties. The Faculty of Pharmacy which started in 2008 (mine)Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FSKB) and the Faculty of Dentistry. However, UKM KKL also takes in Medicine first-years and second-years. After studying for 2 years in the KL campus, the medic students will then transfer to the Cheras campus, located near HUKM. The Faculty of Medicine is in the Cheras campus.

Our UKM KKL library

This is called the Bilik Karel for private time to study. I personally think it looks like a prison. Lol;)

The KL campus is definitely smaller than the Bangi campus as it does not have as many faculties and facilities as the Bangi campus. UKM KKL does not have any main hall, unlike the Dewan Gemilang in UKM Bangi. We do have a hall that we use for important events, but it is located in our hostel, which I will talk about shortly...

Initially, I studied at Department of Pharmacy under Faculty of Allied Heath Sciences (FSKB) but in my 2nd-year (2008), our department became a faculty of its own. So now we have Faculty of Pharmacy with our own dean, Prof Dr. Ibrahim Jantan.

The Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (Fakulti Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu) consists of 11 different courses, all dealing with health. They are:

1. Biomedical Science (Suz M's)
2. Nutrition (BB's)
3. Dietetics (Both Nutrition and Dietetics are under one department - JPD)
4. Audiology
5. Speech Therapy
6. Environmental Health Science
7. Occupational Therapy
8. Physiotherapy (Both OT and PT have to take some classes outside the faculty due to lack of space)
9. Diagnostic Imaging and Radiotherapy (PDR)
10. Optometry
11. Forensic Science
12. Emergency Medicine Science (this course was canceled after my 1st year)

The Dept of Biomedical Science is the largest department in UKM KKL and it also has the most students. This is followed by the Dept of Pharmacy, which has 90 first-year students for the 2007/2008 intake. Emergency Medicine Science (aka E-Med) was recently introduced in this latest intake, therefore not many people know much about this course.

Faculty of Pharmacy in my year, we had 88 students with an almost equal ratio races since 41 of us were Chinese, 3 Indians and others are Malays / Bumiputeras. I think we are the only course that has an equal ratio as most of the other courses have more Malays.

The largest lecture hall in UKM KKL, known as Dewan Kuliah 1 (DK1)

Unlike the Bangi campus, UKM KKL is located right in the heart of the city. Traffic jam has become a thing of the norm here. Within walking distance are the Chow Kit market, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and the Titiwangsa LRT station.

Random pics taken outside my campus (Bottom is Chow Kit market)

~THE HOSTEL~



Every hostel in public unis are called Kolej Kediaman. Unlike the Bangi main campus which has several kolej (e.g. Kolej Aminuddin Baki, Kolej Keris Mas, Kolej Tun Pendeta Za'ba, etc.), UKM KKL only has one kolej, known as Kolej Tunku Syed Nasir (KTSN), which is not within the campus area but in another area. There is a regular shuttle bus service that brings students from the campus to the hostel, and vice versa.
 

The view outside my room - Nothing much to see tho'

KTSN is located at Jalan Temerloh, which is a 20mins walk from our campus. Right in front of our hostel area is Taman Tasik Titiwangsa so we can see the bright lights of the Eye On Malaysia every night. Nearby KTSN is the National Library, National Blood Bank, National Archive (Arkib Negara) and Istana Budaya.

My twin-sharing room - There are also triple-sharing rooms, quad-sharing rooms as well as the apartment block which accommodates 10 students in one apartment

KTSN has about 10 blocks, each block being accomodated for the students. Girls' dormitories blocks are more than the boys' here, in the ratio of about 2:1. Starting in the latest intake, they have decided to put the students with the same course in the same block. However, you do see exceptions sometimes (J Block houses mainly Pharm students, although not all).

We have a large hall in KTSN, known as Dewan Serbaguna (aka DSG), which is used for important and main events as well as a secondary hall for exams. The other exam hall is located at the campus, known as TIBE (or Tingkat 1 Blok E).

KTSN is 4-storeys high and usually, first-years are placed at the 4th floor (*Groans*). Just like the main campus, students here have to compete for the limited number of rooms, which depends on the merit points that you accumulate at the end of semester.

The night view from my block - Can't really see anything but the moon

Seniors who get to stayed at the hostel can choose between single or twin-sharing rooms on lower grounds. However, if you do not want to live in hostel, like me, after 1st year, I moved out to Setapak area which houses plenty of condominiums. There are pros and cons to staying outside the hostel area.

Pros

1. There are more food choices (esp Chinese food) as Setapak has many restaurants. In KTSN, you can only eat at the cafe and there are no more nearby restaurants.
2. If you want to go out anywhere, there are bus stops right in front of the condos and buses are regular here. A few bus stops away can dropped you at Chow Kit Monorail Station, Titiwangsa LRT station or Wangsa Maju LRT station or just take a bus straight to downtown KL.
3. Friends. One of the reasons I decided to stay outside is because most of my Chinese friends stayed at Setapak too. It makes it easier to have meetings or to go to each other's houses if there is anything you need or want to know. Group discussions, reports, etc.
4. Groceries. Setapak also has many grocery shops, photostating shops, bookshops, bakeries, etc. Unlike KTSN that has none at all. For those living in the hostel, the only time you can shop for sundries is near the faculty, at Chow Kit area.

Cons

1. Expenses. Rent for one condo are around RM1000 - 1500 per month. Depending on how many people living with you, you will spend up to RM200 per month on rent and bills alone.
2. Privacy. Unlike the hostel, there is no guarantee that you will have your own room. For example, I have to shared a smaller room (compared to my hostel room) with 3 people instead of 2 like I used to. Not only that, I have to moved my study desk outside in the living room with 4 people sharing. If you are not used to having so many people around while studying, I strongly warned against staying outside.
3. Transport to faculty. Unlike KTSN, there is no shuttle bus service at Setapak. You will have to take regular public buses to and fro. Usually, it only takes about 15mins as it is about 3 or 4 bus stops away. However, if you have morning classes, you will be likely to get caught in the rush hour morning traffic jam that can easily take you 30 - 45mins to reach fac.

***will add in anything else to the list once I remembered any****

~CONTACTS DETAILS~

Fakulti Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
Kampus Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz Shah,
50300 Kuala Lumpur.
E-mail: dkfskb@medic.ukm.my
For more, see here.

Here are some extra pics that I took when I went to HUKM few weeks back. I do not know much about UKM Cheras branch campus. All I know is it houses Faculty of Medicine (3rd year, 4th year and 5th year) as well as the Nursing students. They also have one kolej kediaman only, called Kolej Tun Dr Ismail.

If you are a Pharmacy student like me, starting from 3rd year 2nd semester, you will have to go to HUKM at least once a week for 7 or 8 weeks for clinical subjects. There is a morning shuttle bus leaving from faculty to HUKM but I usually drive there as it is not so jam and takes about 30 mins drive.

My guess is the Fac of Medic is somewhere inside those gates? ;p