UTS Foundation Studies Outstanding Graduate Prize winner, Kaung Myat Thu, is from Kachin State in the northernmost part of Myanmar. He says he decided to leave his home country to study in Australia for a very simple reason. “The schools aren’t open where I live. Especially the universities. That’s why I came here. I didn’t want to waste my time.”
Having always been interested in building, Kaung’s now studying for his Diploma of Engineering at UTS College. “Currently, I’m thinking about civil engineering in the future,” he says. “Some people have suggested I should do mechanical engineering and maybe I’ll think about that. Doing the diploma gives you some time to think.”
Starting his diploma with good news
It was only when he started his diploma this semester that Kaung learnt about his award, a $5000 prize for achieving the highest grade-point average (GPA) in his Foundation Studies course. “I don’t normally look at my grades. I usually only want to know whether I passed on not. That’s what I care about. But when I got the news, it felt good. I kept it to myself, but I was happy,” he says.
Being back at UTS College
After completing UTS Foundation Studies, a program that prepares international students to succeed in Australia, Kaung is happy to be back at UTS College. He says, “The teachers are great, and I enjoy their way of learning. We don’t have lectures any more, just tutorials, and I have some control. In my home country it was rote learning, so we didn’t need to think about it a lot. But here, even if I’m doing research the teacher doesn’t give us the question – we have to come up with it ourselves. That’s helped me a lot, learning about the critical thinking aspect. When I have a project, I can think about the problem and solve it critically. I have to think, ‘what are the factors limiting my progress?’ and do some research on what I can do. For example, I’ve learnt coding even though I’ve chosen civil engineering.”
Making time to recharge
Kaung’s top tip for new students is to set up a study timetable. “I set one or two hours a day. It’s not that much but having a set time to study will help you a lot. I also use a timer,” he says. “I know this isn’t for everyone, but I meditate a little bit, maybe five minutes, before I study. That works for me.”
When he’s not studying, Kaung likes to go out and explore Sydney. He says, “Before I left Myanmar, I’d only been to Thailand and China. I don’t have a lot of free time, but I like the Sydney beaches. I also want to go hiking in the Blue Mountains, but I haven’t had a chance to go there yet. To recharge myself, I watch movies. And I like teaching myself new things, like graphic design and coding.”
Moving on to UTS
Once he completes his diploma, Kaung looks forward to joining Bachelor of Engineering at UTS. He says, “I’m looking forward to making new friends, and it will be great to do more practical, discipline-specific stuff. What I’m doing now is related to civil engineering, but not so specific. But at UTS it will be more focused on civil engineering. I guess finishing my degree is still a long time away, but I hope to find a job before I finish and continue to pursue my career in engineering.”