UMPSA and Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College (LRVTC) collaboration empowers Advanced TVET

GUANGXI, CHINA, 24 June 2024 - Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA) is leading the way in the implementation of student mobility programmes that have major implications in improving students’ global skills while enriching learning with overseas experiences.

UMPSA students have the opportunity to participate in the Malaysia-China Advanced TVET Mobility Program (MYCHAT) in line with the needs of the national TVET industry to meet industry demands.

They also have the opportunity to contribute to economic growth in line with globalisation, the knowledge-based economy, technological advances and global workforce mobility. 

According to the UMPSA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Ts.  Dr. Yuserrie Zainuddin, this international mobility programme is also one of the student internationalisation agendas in Strategic Objective 6 under UMPSA Strategic Plan which is Student Internationalisation and Entrepreneurship in line with the key performance indicators (KPIs) under the Critical Agenda Program (CAPS) for internationalisation in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (PSTPN). 
“UMPSA collaborates with Beifang Automotive Education Group (BAEG) and TVET’s National Organisation of Skilled Workers (PKPB) to undergo upskilling training in producing industry-available skilled professional workforce for career development and graduate employability (GE) in Malaysia. 
“The collaboration with BAEG also exploits the sharing of expertise and training equipment, staff and student exchange, work-based learning (WBL), TVET seminars and training, cultural and mobility programmes, research and publication.
“This strategic collaboration also involves PKPB and TANG International Education (China) under the efforts of Malaysia-China Institute (MCI) through China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) on the implementation of the Malaysia-China Advanced TVET Mobility Programme (MYCHAT) in China,” he said. 
The 50th Anniversary Celebration of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia and China is also more meaningful in the implementation of the MYCHAT24 Phase 3 Programme at Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College, Guangxi, China which is also a career development initiative towards graduate employability. 

Professor Dato’ Ts. Dr. Yuserrie said, at present, a total of 32 UMPSA students (third cohort) are attending MyCHAT24 @Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College which focuses on rail engineering and technology. 

Recently, the exchange of memorandum of understanding (MoU) documents with Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College (LRVTC) was completed and also participated by several higher education institutions and other government agencies from Malaysia. 

The programme which took place at LRVTC was attended by Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology (FTKA), Associate Professor Dr. Doh Shu Ing representing UMPSA and witnessed by the Consul General of Malaysia in Nanning, Ahmad Phadil Ismail and Vice-Mayor of Liuzhou City, Tang Zheng Guo and Deputy of Education of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yan Bing Chen. 

The exchange of MoU documents and letters of intent was also participated by the Malaysian Rail Development Corporation (MRDC), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Community College, Masjid Tanah Melaka, Industrial Training Institute (ILP) Kuantan, Yayasan Pahang Advanced Skills, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL). 

Professor Dato’ Ts. Dr, Yuserrie said that the strategic collaboration between UMPSA and LRVTC will involve the programme and development of workers in the field of rail through the establishment of a Rail Training Centre at UMPSA named the China-Malaysia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of Railway. 

“The programme will benefit from the implementation of staff and student mobility activities, research grant sharing and research projects related to the field of rail. 

“It is in line with the university’s desire to empower the field of engineering and rail technology that supports the current National TVET Empowerment Agenda,” he said.

LRVTC collaborates with China Communications Construction Ltd (CCC) and Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) Sdn. Bhd. for the development of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project connecting the east coast and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia starting from Kota Bharu, Kelantan to Port Klang, Selangor. 

LRVTC is a higher education institution located in Guangxi, China that produces graduates focused on rail engineering and technology and becomes a reference centre for the rail industry in southern China. 

Through the collaboration with LRVTC, UMPSA has received grants for the development of rail-related educational programmes involving programme software, training modules, and others for the benefit and development of student competencies. 

To date, a total of 20 participants of the first cohort successfully obtained professional certification under the MYCHAT Programme by receiving certificates of competence in the field of artificial intelligence at Beijing Polytechnic. 

Meanwhile, a total of 30 participants from the second cohort of UMPSA students including students from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)  successfully attended training at the Beifang Automotive Training Center, Beijing, China with specialisation training in automotive engineering focusing on electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen vehicle (HV) technology.

By: Azrizulazmi Bustan, Academic and International Affairs Department and Mimi Rabita Haji Abd Wahit, Centre For Corporate Communications

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