2018/19 PRESIDENT’s PAGE: TRIBUTE IN HONOUR OF KHOR WEI GENE

KHOR WEI GENE

NESS PRESIDENT 2018/19

Welcome to NESS!

It is my greatest honour and privilege to serve the Nuclear Engineering Student Society (NESS) of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as the 2018/19 president. On behalf of the 2018/19 council leaders of NESS, I would like to express our unfeigned gratitude to all the past councils and board of trustees for their stewardships, contributions, and achievements during their terms in the office. Thanks to all of them, NESS is in very good shape.

The year 2018 has been a year of fantastic growth and incredible stories for NESS. We have rejuvenated all the fundamental elements in NESS as we launched the “Redefining NESS” strategic plan to rebrand NESS and benchmark it against well-established organizations outside of the university. The “Redefining NESS” strategic plan has outlined our members’ vision for the future of NESS and has set NESS apart from all its peer organizations. It has also signified and magnified our passions and commitment to demonstrate leadership, partnership, and inclusivity at the heart of everything we take pride in.

This year, we have worked with an unwavering commitment to facilitate networking and cooperation among parties who are involved in any facet of the nuclear industry. We have worked synergistically with our community members, national and international bodies, agencies, enterprises, and corporations, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, or nationality, to deliver our diverse network of strategically-planned programmes, which ultimately aims to build an unrivalled depth of trust and connection between the nuclear industry and the public in an effort to contribute to the attainment of excellence and security in science, technology, and engineering.

Throughout the year 2018, NESS has impressed everyone with whom its programmes have crossed paths. Despite being one of the youngest and smallest student organization in UTM, NESS went exceedingly and distinctly well beyond student capabilities to organize and deliver two of the grandest events in UTM in the year 2018 – the International Nuclear Science, Technology, and Engineering Conference 2018 (iNuSTEC 2018) and the Intervarsity Nuclear Debate Challenge 2018 (INDC 2018).

As a matter of fact, all our guests in iNuSTEC 2018, including politicians, corporate leaders, and industry professionals, expressed genuine astonishment upon learning that the conference was planned and delivered by a student organization. It is worth emphasizing that the iNuSTEC 2018 was the first iNuSTEC to be entirely organized by a student organization. NESS, was the first non-corporate organizer of the iNuSTEC.

We have also performed exceptionally well financially this year to deliver an end of year surplus, underpinned by our strategic partnership growth and increasing maturity in our financial practices, our financial position continues to strengthen throughout the year, and we have built the strongest financial stability in the history of NESS. Despite the changes in the government policies and increasing challenges in terms of funding, our team has not let up on its concerted efforts in evolving accordingly to achieve sustainability. Over the year, we have continued to formulate developmental programmes that are cohesive and impactful to attract sponsors and provide hands-on experience and exposure money couldn’t buy to our members. In the year ahead, I am sure that NESS will continue to evolve, innovate, and excel as it strives towards its vision.

I hold an exceptional place for NESS in my heart. I have never had a moment of doubt in believing that NESS will triumph over all its peer organizations in the university to win the UTM’s GEMA Best Student Organization Award in 2019. All our toil, blood, tears, sweat, and everything we have accomplished in the past few months have made us, undeniably, the most exceptional student organization in the university. Therefore, I am certain that we will win the GEMA Best Student Organization Award in 2019. This is not a prediction, but a spoiler.

I am eternally grateful for all NESSians who believed in us, followed us, supported us, and stood by us during our toughest time. On behalf of the 2018/19 council leaders of NESS, my heartfelt gratitude and respect go to all NESSians, who withhold the entire galaxy within their loving souls. You were an incredible team, a delight to work alongside, an honour to lead, and the reason behind the exceptionality of NESS.

Thank you for all the hard work you do day in and day out. Thank you for never giving up. And thank you for being you.

Warmest regards,

(His Retirement Speech at the 2019 NESS’s Annual Grand Dinner)

FEARs DESTRUCT GREAT MINDS.

FEAR NOTHING.

“When and where the fear has gone, there will be nothing left except you. He who fears nothing, conquers fears. When all the fears are long forgotten, he who fears nothing, stands tall.” – Khor Wei Gene

ACHIEVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH NESS.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO NESS.

Building Bridges between NESS and CNNC

Established trust and connection with CNNC, leading to CNNC sponsoring the International Nuclear Science, Technology, and Engineering Conference in 2018 (iNuSTEC 2018) as a “Uranium” level sponsor (highest corporate sponsorship level in iNuSTEC 2018).

"Redefining NESS" Strategic Plan

Pioneered the implementation of the “Redefining NESS” strategic plan in 2018 to rebrand NESS and outline its vision for the future and spearheaded the rejuvenation of all the fundamental elements in NESS – including NESS’s organizational structure, guiding philosophy, vision, mission, core values, tagline, paperwork’s formats, and the operating procedures that standardize how NESS programmes are delivered.

NESS's Strategic Partnerships

Strengthened NESS’s financial position and maximized its competitive advantages by forming and growing strategic partnerships with entities outside of the university. These entities provided NESS with the funding, resources, and connections it needed to perform its functions.

NESS's Ambassador at UTM's GEMA Awards 2019

Led a team of NESS’s representatives to compete in UTM’s GEMA Awards 2019, excelled in all stages of screenings, interviews, and presentations, and outclassed over 70 peer organizations in the university to win the GEMA Best Student Organization Award and the GEMA Best Industrial Relation Award. NESS, which was founded in 2014, was the university’s youngest student organization to win both awards.

NESS's Young Leaders Project

Initiated and implemented the NESS’s Young Leaders Project, an initiative to encourage all NESS members, from freshmen to seniors, to take on leadership roles in NESS programmes. Nurturing a sense of leadership and ownership in them while providing them with unparalleled opportunities to build networks and experience programme planning and delivering within an elite circle of experienced student leaders.

NESS's Official Website

Led the designing and launching of NESS’s official website at www.utm.my/ness.

NESS's Women in Nuclear (NWiN)

Initiated the NESS Women in Nuclear, an initiative to encourage and reward the participation of female members in NESS, establishing a solid foundation for female members to take on leading roles in NESS.

NESS's Membership Benefits

Introduced NESS’s membership benefits, notably the NESS’s subsidization scheme, which subsidizes at least 60% of all fees in NESS for all members, the NESS Young Leaders Project’s fund, which aims to financially support all programmes registered under the NESS Young Leaders Project, and the NESS’s Exceptional Awards, which were supported tremendously by the Department of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affairs) of UTM.