First City University College (First City UC) alumni, Wong Kwan Theng, emerged as the champion in the inaugural IJM Land Designer Award organized by IJM Land. The 2014 BA (Hons) in Interior Architecture and Design alumni of the Faculty of Design and Built Environment bagged the gold prize as well as the Media Vote Award. The aim of the competition is to provide aspiring interior designers the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge that they acquired in their studies at the university.

The whole process of the competition took about 6 months to complete during which more than 100 entries were received. After careful deliberation by a panel of 6 judges, two contestants were shortlisted and required to take part in a workshop with collaborating sponsors such as Signature Kitchen Sdn Bhd, Jotun Paints (M) Sdn Bhd and Philips Malaysia Sdn Bhd to design and fully furnish a Penduline showroom in IJM Land’s Bandar Rimbayu township based on the theme “Reliving Nostalgic Memories”. A budget of

RM150, 000 was provided for each of the contestants to use for the interior design of the showroom. At the final round of judging, Wong Kwan Theng won the Gold Winner award for his showroom design.

In sharing his experience, Wong Kwan Theng attributes his success to the training he received as a student of First City UC. “In my years as a student of First City UC, strong emphasis was placed on training to develop ideas and concepts. This is a huge advantage to me in the competition as I was able to develop the concept and ideas with ease and confidence,” he said. “I have learnt that in order to excel as a designer in the industry, the ability to develop concepts and ideas is just as important as possessing practical skills,” he added.

He mentioned that the time management skills he acquired as a student of First City UC trained him to increase his competitive edge and productivity. He also stressed on the importance of reading and how it has contributed to his success.  “Many ideas and concepts are inspired from reading books and newspapers,” he said.

His winning project was conceptualised based on the Rhythm of Life theme which was inspired by the song Rhythm of the Rain. “The song reminds me of the ups and downs in one’s life and how it is filled with many facets of happiness, sadness, successes and failures. Batik and a range of colours are used to portray life’s multiple facets and moments,” he said.

The success of our alumni is a true testament that First City UC is indeed capable of producing young talented and outstanding designers. The programmes offered by the Faculty of Design and Built Environment equip students with practical training as well as the ability to produce great concepts and ideas. This coupled with strong industry linkages are the main contributing factors to our alumni’s success in the industry.

The Faculty of Design and Built Environment is fully equipped with everything a design student needs. A spacious studio, advanced computer hardware and software, a printing studio, 3D printers are just some in a range of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment provided for the students. The strong industry linkages also make it the best place to acquire an education in the field of design. The Faculty conducts many annual activities under the Interior Architecture and Design degree programme to strengthen its industry linkages. Some of which include collaborating with the Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID) and FIABCI Malaysia to organize seminars, workshops, conferences as well as competitions for the students.

The Faculty also holds an excellent track record of clinching numerous accolades such as winning the 1st Prize in the Maybank #MakeityourM2U competition, IAI Design Award and the MIFF Design Award and MIID Reka Awards, among others.  The Faculty swept all the awards under the interior design category in Nippon Paint Young Designer Award in the year 2012 and 2014.

The  Faculty Design & Built Environment currently offers courses such as Diploma in Interactive Design, Diploma in Interior Design, Foundation in Art & Design, BA(Hons)Graphic Design（3+0), BA(Hons) Interior Architecture & Design (3+0）and  BA(Hons) Furniture & Product Design (3+0). More home-grown programmes from the Faculty of Design and Built Environment are planned for 2017 to meet the demands and needs of both local and international students. Future courses which will be offered include, BA (Hons) in Fashion Marketing and Branding and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Design and Furniture & Product Design.

For further details, please contact First City University College, Bandar Utama at 03-77273200, via fax at 03-77272733, email at enquiry@firstcity.edu.my or visit the website at www.firstcity.edu.my. You can also connect with the institution via facebook.com/firstcityUC.