STUDENT Cheng Zhang Yi, 22, from Malaysia has become the first YouTuber in the world to clinch the highest award in a university's convocation in recognition of his achievements as a successful Content Creator on YouTube, as well as his academic excellence in the university.
Cheng Zhang Yi receiving his award from MMU’s Chancellor, Tun Dato’ Seri Zaki Tun Azmi at MMU Convocation Ceremony at Cyberjaya, Selangor on 21 September 2019.
Zhang Yi from the Faculty of Cinematic Arts (FCA) was awarded The President Award - the highest accolade for a graduate - in the 20th Convocation Ceremony of Multimedia University (MMU) in Cyberjaya, Malaysia on 21 September 2019.
Awarding the awards and scrolls were MMU’s Chancellor, Tun Dato’ Seri Zaki Tun Azmi, as well as the Pro-Chancellor, Professor Tan Sri Dr. Zakri Abdul Hamid.
While most fresh graduates face the arduous task of job-hunting, Zhang Yi has a full career awaiting, which he has been developing as a full-time YouTuber with over 110,000 subscribers.
“I am very glad that my time in MMU has enabled me to meet a very encouraging lecturers and friends who constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone. Had I stayed in my comfort zone, I wouldn’t have built one of Malaysia’s largest tech YouTube Channel today, and collaborate with a major international camera manufacturer,” Zhang Yi said.
As the saying goes 'Content is King', Zhang Yi as a full-time YouTuber explained, he runs the ZY Productions YouTube channel with over 46 million minutes of his content being watched worldwide. This achievement has put Zhang Yi on the international radar, and he is recognised as an authority on the subject.
His in-depth yet concise product reviews are honest, and are helpful for consumers looking to make good investments in photography equipment.
Although he is graduating along with thousands of other graduands, Zhang Yi has already made a place for himself in the professional world.
His ZY Digital Productions, is actively making traction, and he is well on his way of collaborating with numerous major mainstream brands to bring quality content to the world.
Graduating with CGPA 3.86, Zhang Yi was tasked with numerous in-house productions during his studies at MMU.
Often as the cinematographer, due to his keen eye on visual storytelling, such as his short film Limbo, which was nominated as a semi-finalist at the Los Angeles Film Festival, recently.
His extensive knowledge in camera technology has made him a preferred consultant by his colleagues on production equipment and filming advice.
He has also written, produced, directed and shot “+30s”, a short film that was nominated as a finalist for Best Horror in the My Rode Reel 2017 film competition.
In addition, he has also shot and edited “GG: Gamer Girl”, a documentary that talks about the stereotyping of females in the gaming industry.
Cheng Zhang Yi (second from right) celebrating his success with parent, Cheng Mau Chee (second from left), Ngoi Siew Hong (left) and brother, Cheng Zhang Xuan (right) at MMU Convocation Ceremony at Cyberjaya.
Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Rafi Mohamed Eshaq, the President of MMU said, in acknowledgement of Zhang Yi achievements in both curricular and extracurricular endeavours and achievements, the Senate of Multimedia University has agreed to confer the President Award of 2019 to Zhang Yi.
"If we look at his success, he actually has gone beyond the normal track of university student whereby he has already ventured into his own successful online business. On top of that, as a content creator, he has extensively built his own influence in his field," Prof. Datuk Ts. Dr. Ahmad Rafi said.
With the award, historically, Zhang Yi emerged as the first YouTuber in the world who honoured the highest award in university convocation, while MMU as a Trendsetter University, is the first university has conferred it to its graduates.
Meanwhile, the MMU’s 20th convocation also honours the First Batch of Strategic Communication Graduates together with its 3,509 graduates over a two-day period.
Despite the hazy weather, the ceremony proceeded smoothly, with scrolls being handed over to 34 doctoral recipients, followed by 114 Master’s degrees, 2,732 Bachelor’s degrees, and 629 Diplomas.
Tun Zaki, in his speech, described MMU graduates as valuable additions to society, naming Dr. Kevin Koay Jun Yi – a member of the team that captured the first-ever image of a black hole – and Nizam Razak – founder of Animonsta Studios which produced the RM27.7 million-grossing BoboiBoy 2 movie – as examples.
The Chancellor also called upon the graduands to be aware of their responsibilities not just for themselves in for-profit situations, but also for the public, namely in circumstances calling for charity and philanthropy.
He emphasised that regardless of what challenges they might face, MMU graduates have been trained to seek for solutions, and should leverage on the MMU Alumni network, a family more than 60,000-strong across the globe in various enterprises and roles.
Graduands in later sessions were led by a recipient of MMU’s Alumni Award.
From the Faculty of Management, earning a Bachelor of Accounting (Hons.), was Fan Yin Yan, who is passionate enough about social entrepreneurship that she had co-founded an enterprise which aimed to increase healthcare accessibility for indigenous peoples.
This year’s Convocation also saw the graduation of fifteen graduands from the first batch of the Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) (Hons.) programme.
This programme is a unique offering by MMU, as it produces graduates who are able to wield their understanding of the intricacies of communication for the benefit of corporations seeking to leverage mainstream as well as social media.
Nurul Farha Mohd. Shafiee, the recipient of Liz Kamaruddin Communication Excellence Award said, the first graduating batch is a testament for the prowess of the Faculty of Applied Communication (FAC) lecturers in producing excellence graduates via world-class quality education.
Another Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) (Hons.) graduate, Muhammad Fairus Naiman Mohd. Fuzi said:
"I am glad that I am able to hone my communication skills into a greater height. MMU has exposed me with many experiences and activities that helped me to improve my skills."
Nurul Farha Mohd. Shafiee
Muhammad Fairus Naiman Mohd. Fuzi
