Tania Wee Tien Ning
"Our lecturers were flexible enough to allow Malaysian case studies in our discussions."
Master of Communications and Media Studies (2013)
1. Full name / age / nationality.
Tania Wee Tien Ning, 26, Malaysian
2. Where are you working / studying presently, and describe your general work scope.
Currently, I am working as the Editorial and Social Media Senior Executive for Rantau PR. My job includes writing up client press, news releases and overseeing and managing the social media area for the company.
3. Why did you choose to study at Monash Malaysia?
Not many universities in Malaysia offer Masters in Communications that is conducted in English and has a good reputation as well. Monash Malaysia met my criterias without me having to travel all the way to Australia.
4. What/who influenced your decision?
I have always wanted to pursue my Masters even upon completing my degree and after two and a half years of working, I found out that Monash was bringing this course to the Sunway campus. It felt right to go into it.
5. Were there any obstacles faced while studying here, and how did you overcome them?
The only few obstacles would be the course materials as they are sourced from Australia and certain case studies were hard to relate to. However, our lecturers were flexible enough to allow Malaysian case studies in our discussions.
6. What qualities did you acquire during your studies at Monash Malaysia that were beneficial / helpful to you in the working world?
A wider understanding of the social media influence versus the traditional media and how it can affect and influence society’s perception and thinking.
7. What advice would you offer to the current students on how to succeed in university?
Having work experience in the related field will help greatly as you would be able to see things from the practical POV and relate it to the theoretical part of the course. But if you are a fresh grad going into this course, then I recommend immersing yourself in online/offline news and try applying the course to that.
8. What single experience from your time at Monash Malaysia stands out?
I was invited to the MUISS Welcome Back Party to interview and photograph the event for the Monash website. The theme was Holi, an Indian festival that involved throwing coloured water and powders at each other and during the event, I got to see how international students from different nations left their differences at the doors and simply had fun.
9. Now that you have entered the working world, how does Monash education help define your career?
It has helped me understand how digital media plays a role in getting messages out to the mass and can influence perception. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube – they are not just social media, but are looked upon as a mean to change and affect campaigns.