ICoN explores strategic networking for industry-community benefits

By: SITI NURFARMY IBRAHIM, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION

Acting as the liaison between academicians and the industries and communities, the Department of Industry Partnership and Community Relations (ICoN) at University Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has, this week, expanded its strategic networking to include a number of agencies in Sabah on March 19, 2019.

Through this strategic networking exploration, ICoN is seen capable of strengthening the collaboration process with and between the industries and communities, in a more effective and directed roles, paralleled to the Industry Revolution 4.0.
  
According to the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Industry Partnership & Community Relations), Professor Dr. Jamil Ismail, the expansion is strategic as it involves the collaboration and sharing of experience between the country’s Village Development Cooperative (KPD) and the International Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) – which was established some four decades ago.

“UMP has been selected to be a member of the Malaysian chapter of OISCA, and on that note, this collaboration will produce a variety of benefits, including skills-building programmes in agriculture, forestry and researches in the related fields,” said Professor Dr Jamil.

“Furthermore, the earlier collaboration and sharing of experience with Petrosains Sabah has helped boost the challenging implementation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programmes in the rural areas of the State,” he added. 

Professor Dr. Jamil also highlighted that ICoN has conducted a field trip to University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to collaborate with the latter’s Centre Industry Community Network (CICN) on best practices in the management of industry-community networking.

During the field trip, ICoN and CICN jointly held a team-building programme to inculcate and instill a culture team-work among staff by understanding the different personalities that make up the departments, with a variety of activities like water confident and fear factor, among others.
 
Professor Dr. Jamil believes these programmes can certainly help imbue a professional working culture in the universities’ collaborative efforts to transform departments and fortify organizations.