UMP25 Strategic Plan targets 6 objectives to improve national technical capabilities

PEKAN, 26 August 2021 - Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) set six strategic objectives in the UMP Strategic Plan 2021-2025 (UMP25) to achieve the university’s targets to improve the country’s technical skills capabilities.

The establishment of high level technical and vocational education and training (TVET) excellence, innovation with industry collaboration and high impact technology exploration are the cores of the UMP25 Strategic Plan.

Financial sustainability, university ecosystem excellence, and the internationalisation and entrepreneurship of graduates are also observed.

According to the UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusof, the establishment of the UMP25 Strategic Plan is in line with the final phase of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education).

“Efforts towards university excellence involve excellence outlined through the offering of academic programmes, leveraging the latest technology, exploring new technologies, financial and administrative management as well as internationalisation and entrepreneurship.

“It also focuses on excellence in providing high level education, research and technology services that are driven by the community through the social entrepreneurship ecosystem by focusing on excellence in community service.

“UMP is committed to producing holistic graduates with entrepreneurial characteristics by providing a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said.

He added that in an effort to achieve the objectives of internationalisation and entrepreneurship of graduates, UMP focuses on the aspiration to produce skilled and competitive graduates who are always ahead at the local and international levels.

“Therefore, the Graduate Development Department was established with the hope of moving this new agenda forward.

“We want students to be able to work at the international level and to be able to increase entrepreneurial capabilities among them, and volunteer work should also be at the international level,” he said.

He was present at the online UMP25 Talk broadcast through UMPMalaysia’s Facebook and UMPTV.

Also present was the Director of the Centre for Corporate and Quality Affairs, Associate Professor Dr. Kwok Feng Chong. The session was moderated by the Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Management, Dr. Mohd. Hanafiah Ahmad.

Despite facing challenges,, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the internationalisation initiative was successfully implemented involving six programmes through international collaboration that contributed to the country’s technical development.

It involves three programmes with Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) China in the UMP-BJTU dual degree programmes and three dual degree programmes with Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA), which spans ten years of collaboration in producing internationally competent engineering graduates.  

“In the research field, ‘Made in UMP’ tagline can be translated as technical capabilities for solutions at the international level.

“For example, the opportunities for commercialisation of organic fertiliser with prebiotics called Pre-Pecto on a large scale produced by UMP lecturers gained the trust of Agrico For Agricultural Development Company, Qatar (Agrico), which is a supplier of systems and crops using greenhouse approach in Doha, Qatar.

“Similarly, the success of UMP lecturers who have commercialised their intellectual property, where two patents were sold to an international company, Eastern Unity Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd. with a selling price of RM1.3 million,” he said.

It is in line with the concept of business, commercialisation and entrepreneurship towards internationalisation.

He further explained that every university associate should also focus on solving the world’s problems with new ideas.

He also hoped to build the university’s ecosystem with a spirit of unity, solve community problems, inculcate reading culture and always share knowledge and practice teamwork.

Themed ‘Achieving Glory’, the UMP25 Strategic Plan will be the strategic framework for UMP to continue to excel towards realising UMP’s vision as the Leading Technological University by 2050.

By: Mimi Rabita Abdul Wahit, Corporate Communications Unit, The Office of The Vice-Chancellor

Translation by: Dr. Rozaimi Abu Samah, Engineering College/Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology