Deputy Head of Academic Division

Before trusted as deputy head of academic division, I was joining academic division as intern and staff in 2023/2024 management period, as you can see in previous experience in HMIF. After the previous management period is dismissed, the next management period will be formed. The chairman will be elected by all student board members, the department chair will be elected by the chairman, and the division chair will be elected by the department chair.

Initially, I had no expectations or thoughts of being part of the next management period However, Justin, one of my friends who was also on the academic division staff during the previous management period, offered me the position of deputy head of the HMIF academic division. Justin himself had been selected by the head of our department, the Welfare and Academics Department, to be the head of academic division.

It turned out that Justin and I were chosen to be the head of academic division and deputy head based on our active work in the academic division during our time as staff, as well as a recommendation from the previous deputy head of the HMIF academic division 2023/2024, Kak Chi.

I then considered the matter carefully before deciding whether to become vice-president. After careful consideration, I ultimately agreed to become deputy-head of the academic division. My reasoning was that I wanted to utilize my experience and knowledge in managing academic resources and conducting academic activities, while also expanding my skills and experience. I also realize that the academic division is one of the most important divisions in HMIF and directly related to the academic activities of its approximately 1,000 members. Therefore, serving on the board here is a significant responsibility. However, this division also allows me to contribute to the association, enhance my skills and experience, without disrupting my academic activities, as the areas I manage are also related.

After being inaugurated, we began coordinating with the new academic division staff to divide tasks and develop a timeline for academic activities. We conducted onboarding session and welcomed all the new academic staff, and also played together.

In addition to coordinating with the academic staff, we also frequently coordinated with another division within our department, namely the welfare division. Our department head and the entire welfare division are very close to us, and we enjoyed every process, activity, and program we implemented together.

Just like in the previous period, our duties remained the same: handling the assistant recruitment process, disseminating academic information such as scholarships, fast-track programs and alumni talks, as well as managing and notifying assignment schedules, exams, quizzes, and projects. However, as deputy division heads, our job also includes ensuring that all programs run smoothly, ensuring coordination between staff and the distribution of tasks remains even, and that communication is well-established.

However, there will always be challenges along the way. One of the biggest challenges for us was when our academic resources, containing all materials, questions, and resources from the classes of 2008 to 2023, were to be deleted by the campus because the data was already owned by alumni who were no longer active students. Nearly 90GB worth of data was at risk of being lost, and all student association members would no longer be able to access it.

To make matters worse, the announcement of the deletion only came at 11:00 PM that night, with the data deletion scheduled to take place at 7:00 AM the following morning. To save all assets, the entire academic division, especially Justin, me, and Bang Shidqi, worked overnight to back up and download the data. Fortunately, Justin managed to back up all the data offline, and we were able to restore it.

My experience in the academic division and coordinating academic activities was one I will never forget. How enjoyable and rewarding the experience was, it encouraged me to be more organized, eager to help others, and also pushed my leadership skills even further.