Carpenter's Son Overcomes Odds To Win UniMAP Royal Education Award

ARAU, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Driven by his aspiration to give his family a better future through education, Luqmanul Hakim Hidayat, 24, the son of a carpenter, persevered in his studies and eventually received the Royal Education Award at the 21st Convocation Ceremony of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

The Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering with Honours graduate said he was the fifth of six siblings, and witnessing the sacrifices made by his father, Hidayat Hilham, who is in his 60s and the family’s sole breadwinner, had inspired him to work hard academically to achieve success.

“My father works as a carpenter, while my mother, Noriza Basir, who is also in her 60s, is a housewife. My father has worked hard to support all six of us, with just one motorcycle serving as the family’s only mode of transport.

“My father’s struggles to provide for the family have motivated me to strive to change our lives through education,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the first session of the convocation ceremony at Dewan Tuanku Canselor, UniMAP’s Pauh Putra Main Campus, here today.

At the first session, the Raja Muda of Perlis, who is also UniMAP Chancellor, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, presented the Royal Education Award to Luqmanul Hakim.

Luqmanul Hakim said one of the biggest challenges during his studies was balancing academic demands with his commitment to undergoing training with the Reserve Officers Training Unit (PALAPES).

He said time-management discipline was crucial to ensuring that he could fulfil both responsibilities effectively without affecting his academic performance.

Luqmanul Hakim, who began his Diploma in Mechatronic Engineering studies at UniMAP in 2020, when the country was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, said receiving the award was particularly meaningful after a long academic journey at the university.

He said that during his diploma studies, he achieved a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.94 and received the Vice-Chancellor’s Gold Medal at UniMAP's 18th Convocation Ceremony in recognition of his academic excellence and active participation in co-curricular activities.

“This recognition was one of the factors that motivated me to pursue a bachelor's degree in the same field. I remain interested in this field and therefore decided to continue my studies at the bachelor's degree level,” he said.

Apart from his academic achievements, he also had the opportunity to undergo a one-month industrial training programme at Turkish Aerospace in Ankara, Turkiye, in 2025, through the Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (COEUAS).

He said the opportunity was particularly meaningful as only two UniMAP students were selected for the programme, which also marked his first trip abroad.

“During my time there, I had the opportunity to meet fellow students from various universities in Malaysia and gain first-hand experience of working in a multinational company environment,” he said.

He was also commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army PALAPES in September last year by Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra, making him part of the first group of Army PALAPES officers to be commissioned at UniMAP.

“I am very proud to be part of the first group of Army PALAPES officers commissioned at UniMAP. This commissioning is a very meaningful achievement after overcoming various challenges throughout the training,” he said.

Luqmanul Hakim said he is currently working as a Junior Engineer BIM Modeller at a company in Singapore and plans to pursue his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) after completing his two-year employment contract.

He aspires to pursue a PhD, either through the fast-track route or another suitable pathway, in mechatronics, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), as he is interested in becoming a lecturer.

-- BERNAMA