The UTM Muslim Students’ Association, in conjunction with UTM’s Islamic Relief, brought their first-ever Continuing the Legacy conference last Friday as part of Islam Awareness Week.
MSA’s treasurer Ali Kala stated to The Medium prior to the conference that they anticipated 100 people to attend the event. The conference offered case competitions and workshops for students from different programs.
“When we came up with the idea for a case competition, we wanted the case studies to revolve around topics that are pertinent, especially in the Muslim community, and obstacles no one really discusses, just so it would force the competitors to really think critically about their solutions,” wrote MSA’s secretary, Maryam Faisal in an email to The Medium.
“The conference is designed as platforms for the creative minds in our community to showcase their ideas in front a crowd and organizations, and get the chance to help others by helping the organization with their issue,” added Kala. “Our Islamic approach is to strive for excellence and help the society we live in. The main goal of the conference is to inspire students to showcase their ideas and plant the seed for others to participate in such events and help the community in the future.”
Ten teams of four people took place in the case competitions. Each was given two hours before holding a presentation in front of a judges committee, who then decided on the top two groups who got to present in a final show.
The audience were given the chance to vote for the final winner based on their presentation and most creativity. The top teams would get to volunteer at one of the organizations who presented the case studies for them to get real experience of putting their vision into action. The ultimate winner would also receive $500, second and third place would receive gift bags, and the others would be given a certificate of participation.
Aside from the case competition, one of the two workshops held at the conference was “Pursuing Excellence,” which had the goal to teach students different methods and skills to reach their goals.
“I believe the diverse abilities of humans can affect our society to a great deal. However, students might lack the experience to reach their full potential,” explained Kala. “Thus, our goal is to provide methods for students to be the best they can be and support the community.”
“The workshops are designed to help students learn various skills that will help them participate in the case competition and will help them in future projects,” he also added.
The second workshop at the conference was “Public Speaking.” According to MSA’s representatives, it aims to tackle the worries students might have about public speaking, and is designed to help motivate and encourage by giving them methods to be a good public speaker.
“I believe the great ideas of students get lost behind the fear of presenting, and if we provide training these ideas, it might be heard in the future,” said Kala. “The aim of the workshop is to teach students different skills that are needed to reach their potential and explore different opportunities.”
Future conferences are expected to follow this year’s path and be held annually.
