Assalamualaikum and peace be upon you,
We are thrilled you are all here.
In the coming days and weeks, you will start building lifelong friendships; you will begin classes and you will start to explore ways to fill out your days and evenings – the less tangible part of your education here – the student experience.
Your journey will sometimes be difficult, confusing and uncomfortable, and that’s to be expected. You need to travel outside of your comfort zone and explore different opinions, new foods, unusual surroundings, and people different than you.
It is very important that you become competent in your work. We can teach you to be competent to a certain extent. A large extent depends solely on you and you alone. So don’t waste your time from day one. Work hard diligently and consistently throughout. Take every opportunity to learn and discover by yourself, from your teachers and friends, from your seniors, from the books and internet, in the classroom, in the library, in the field and in the community.
Finally, I know life is busy and there is a lot of work to be done, people to see and places to be, but remember to take time for yourself and take care of yourself.
There are many supports and services available if you ever need them. We want you to thrive and succeed here, academically, socially and personally.
I want to thank you for choosing Faculty of Islamic Civilization. We are happy and privileged you are here.
I wish you all the best for an exciting and rewarding, challenging and stimulating four years on this campus, which will be the start of what I hope will be a lifelong experience as members of the FIC’s family.