‘Sustainability leads to a better life,’ says Farqhan, first graduate of IIUM’s PLANETIIUM

By, Amni Azizan

GOMBAK, 18 November 2024: Recently, the IIUM’s Institute of Planetary Survival for Sustainable Well-being (PLANETIIUM) reached a major milestone as it celebrated its second anniversary. It was a proud moment for the institute as it produced its first ever graduate for the Master of Health Science in planetary health program, Mohamad Farqhan bin Kelana. Farqhan. Farqhan received his scroll in the second session of the 40th IIUM Convocation Ceremony at IIUM Gombak, on 17 November.

“The IIUM was my first choice for my undergraduate degree but I didn’t get accepted by the university so I enrolled at University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) instead. After that I applied again to the IIUM to be a master’s student and got accepted,” Farqhan said to IIUMToday in an exclusive interview.

“It was a tough journey for me as I specialised in wildlife conservation, at the same time, I was active in conservation works that involved NGOs,” mentioned Farqhan. Naturally, the biggest challenge for him as a student was time management. This coupled by the fact that he hails from Sabah, so being away from home was challenging as he was separated from his loved ones. 

Farqhan was fortunate nonethless to have a strong support system, “My parents and PLANETIIUM staff, my supervisor, Dr. Mohd Hanif bin Jainlabdin and the Director of PLANETIIUM, Prof. TS. Dr Muhammad Lokman bin Md Isa were the biggest supporters in the pursuit of my master’s.”

As an IIUM student, he learned that sustainability is vital as humans coexist with other living things. It is important to preserve the planet to prevent the extinction of animals, for instance, in the case of the Malayan tiger. Therefore, it is imperative to find solutions in conservation to overcome the issues.

Farqhan advised future master’s students to mentally and physically prepare themselves before continuing their studies and to maintain good relationships with their surrounding community or friends as a means of support to be able to study well

PLANETIIUM was previously known as IIUM Molecular and Cellular Biology Research Cluster (iMoleC), that specialises in culture technologies, reproductive biology, microbiology, biochemical analysis, animal studies, and bioinformatics.

However, in the aftermath of COVID-19, it has since grown with the collaborative, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary research efforts put in that range from molecular to global techniques to improving significant outcomes for the community and industry.

A little while back, PLANETIIUM was a finalist of the International Green Gown Awards 2023 in the Nature Positive Category for the project, ‘First Frozen Zoo in Malaysia’ which emphasized on rescuing endangered wildlife species. All the best to Farqhan in his future endeavours.***