51Âþ»­

When Novie Tajuddin enrolled onto in September 1992, Leicester Polytechnic became 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­).

Novie main image

Novie said: “To me it was unique and special to be the first students who received our offer letter with Leicester Polytechnic and then enrolled as 51Âþ»­.”

Now 26 years on, Novie is the CEO of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and has been named 51Âþ»­ Alumnus of the Month in September.

When Novie received the award he said: “I felt honoured and hope my story will be a good example to inspire new generations, especially to those who want to pursue their studies at 51Âþ»­. I am a proud Alumnus of 51Âþ»­!

“I also wear the 51Âþ»­ collar pin on my jacket!”

Novie had a few fond memories of studying at 51Âþ»­. He said: “Playing with snow. This was the first time I played with snow in my life...how can I forget that! We played all day long, at Kenneth Holmes Hall (Rawson St), then moved to the city and lastly ended up at Victoria Park building a Snowman, a wonderful memory!

“I also joined the Archery Club. The skills I learnt were very useful as I would say I'm quite a good archer today.”

He went on to say his favourite place at 51Âþ»­ was the James Went building “with the unique elevators. Another favourite place in Leicester was ’Devil’s Kitchen’ where we used to go for food and coffee in our breaks!”

james went main

Leicester Polytechnic - The James Went Building

Novie believes 51Âþ»­ helped him immensely in his career.

He said: “Being thousands of miles away from home made me more independent. It was a new environment which was fresh and I got to learn about other people's cultures which made me more mature.

“The course I pursued is relevant to any industry. “I became the President of Malaysian Students' Society for one term and this definitely gave merit to my leadership skills. It enabled me to represent Malaysia in the International Students Association (ISA).”

Novie stepped back onto campus in November 2017 for the first time since graduating in 1994 on his way back from a business trip from Berlin.

He explained: “I took the opportunity to travel to 51Âþ»­. “I had a walk around campus which was very impressive. I felt the facilities in 1992 were good, but not as good as today's.”

Novie gave a message to students at 51Âþ»­. He said: “51Âþ»­ is a good business school as quite a number of graduates are holding good positions in Malaysia.

“For other international students, especially to the Muslim students, the university itself and the city are accommodating to Muslims' needs. An example includes, 51Âþ»­ providing a very conducive prayers' place in the university itself and ’halal’ options nowadays.”