GEORGE TOWN: Seven officers from the Fire and Rescue Department received their Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering during Universiti Sains Malaysia's 60th convocation ceremony here today.
The Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering is the first of its kind programme in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
The seven were Azrul Khairi Abu Bakar, Mohamad Amir Ahmad Tarmizi, Mohd Rosmaidi Baharuddin, Aidil Adlee Che Mat, Mohd Suhaimi Husain, Mohd Rozairi Abdul Rahim and Mohd Ridzuan Ramli.
They were part of 16 graduates who received their masters' degree for the course.
Azrul Khairi, who is the Bayan Baru fire station chief, said he was grateful to be able to complete the course despite being an active duty fire officer and station chief.
"I managed to complete the course in 18 months. Although I am considered to be a full-time student, I still carried out my actual job as a fire officer.
"Of course there was difficulty in terms of dividing my time as a student, a station chief and the head of my family.
"However, all that paid off when I finally graduated today," he said.
According to Azrul Khairi, in addition to the challenge of dividing his time, his friends and he also faced the challenge of being a student during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Most of the time, we studied online because we were at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, it was quite difficult because we were not used to studying online.
"Over time, I was able to get used to it and felt comfortable continuing my studies online until the end of the course," he said.
He added that the Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering programme was relevant and suitable for officers and firefighters to increase their knowledge.
"In the public service, we always need to improve our existing knowledge. So I believe this programme is very suitable for every firefighter who wants to increase his or her knowledge," he said.
The 60th USM convocation ceremony began last Saturday until Dec 14 (a total of 12 sessions) at the Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra (DTSP) here.
A total of 7,282 graduates will receive their respective degrees including Professor Emeritus (two), doctorates in Philosophy and master's degrees (2,225), bachelor degrees (4,984) and Diploma in Nursing (69).