Academic and International

MTUN offers Bachelor of Technology 

Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) members comprising four public universities - Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) made history with the introduction of the bachelor’s degree programme in technology (Bachelor of Technology – B. Tech.) that would have its first batch of students in September.
 
Launched on June 25, 2019 by Minister of Education, Dr. Maszlee Malik, it was a very important milestone that complemented the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) eco-system in Malaysia.

It reflected the government’s commitment in promoting and acknowledging TVET as the driving force in the country’s development and that it helped to revive TVET by including it in the country’s main stream education and not as a second class alternative, the negative perception viewed by some previously.

According to Dr. Maszlee, the collaboration of many parties involved to develop the curriculum had made the programme more practical and flexible, fine-tuned to meet the needs of the country in meeting the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).

He expressed his gratitude to the industrial partners and experts from the Higher Education Department, Skill Development Department, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Technic and Vocational Education Division, MTUN and MBOT who had worked hard to come up with the curriculum.

“The programme is also benchmarked with the Meister programme in Germany and that the Malaysia-German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MGCCI) has conveyed their willingness to be MTUN partner to ensure that all B.Tech graduates will receive the Meister Germany that is recognised by more than 400 companies affiliated with MGCCI,” he said.

He said this in his speech at the launching of the programme that was held at Astaka Hall, UMP Gambang Campus.

Also present were Higher Education Director General, Datin Paduka Ir. Dr. Siti Hamisah Tapsir, Chairman of UMP Board of Directors, Dato’ Sri Ibrahim Ahmad and UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff.

Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff said the programme was an articulation for students of DVM/DKM/DLKM to pursue their studies at the bachelor’s degree level that emphasised on hands-on skill component.

“The programme will be offered to eligible candidates in September and will include 10 fields of technology – automotive, oil and gas facility maintenance, industrial machining, welding, electrical system maintenance, building construction, industrial cooling and air-conditioning, industrial electronic automation, occupational safety and health and hospitality.

“The programme will be offered according to the focus of each MTUN university members,” he said.

There was also a talk held, ‘Distinguished Scholar Discourse Series’, the first of its series and was initiated by UMP Academic Staff Association (PAKAD). It would serve as a prestigious platform for intellectuals to speak on their subject matters.

Prominent personalities spoke on a topic titled, ‘Challenges in Strengthening of TVET: Where Are We’. 

They were Malaysia Board of Technologist (MBOT) President, Tan Sri Dato’ Ir. (Dr.) Ts. Ahmad Zaidee Laidin, UTHM Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic & International), Professor Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman, MBOT Registrar, Ts. Mohd. Nazrul Marzuke and UMP Centre for Academic Innovation and Competitiveness (CAIC), Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Rusllim Mohamed who acted as the moderator.

Academic and International

STEM education – the driving force towards human capital development

Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) worked together with the Education Ministry’s Education Policy Planning and Research Division (BPPDP) and Pahang State Education Department to organise a Colloquium on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.

It was aimed at enhancing the level of competency, knowledge and skill among teachers and armed with the latest information on STEM education, they would be equipped in teaching the subjects to students.

It would also help to create a networking among policy makers, academicians, educators, counsellors, government agencies and non-government organisations on STEM education, its implementation and adopting the best practices to ensure that STEM was a successful agenda.

The objective was to make students think logically, create, use technology and solve problem creatively and innovatively.

These were measures taken to produce a competitive workforce who would be the driving force to spur the country’s economic progress.

The colloquium was held at UMP Gambang Campus on June 25, 2019 and was officially opened by Minister of Education, Dr. Maszlee Malik .

Also present were Higher Education Director General, Datin Paduka Ir. Dr. Siti Hamisah Tapsir, UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff, Education Deputy Director General, Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim and BPPDP Director, Dr. Haji Ahmad Rafee Che Kassim.

In his speech, Dr. Maszlee said in facing challenges, there should be some changes in the education sector’s focus.

“It is hoped that with the evolution happening in the field of STEM, we are able to provide the kind of education that meets the basis of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and those that meet the requirements of jobs of the future,” he added.

He noted that STEM was seen as subjects that were difficult and demanding and that interest and percentage of students taking the science stream had declined from year to year.

“Being too preoccupied to wanting to score excellent results during examinations contributed to the decline in students choosing the science stream because they were not confident in getting good grades although they are interested in STEM.

“Based on observations made, there were also students who changed to other courses when they entered universities although they were from the science stream when in schools and that they did so despite knowing areas such as biotechnology, nano technology, mechanical engineering, robotic and big data were critical fields of the future,” he added.

“As such, we need to make changes now to feed to the future’s need by instilling the interest in STEM. We can introduce a multi-stream education system as implemented in many other countries.

“To live in a super smart society or Society 5.0, the people in Japan are said to need to be more advanced in technology especially in things related to Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber physical systems and big data,” he said. 

He added that the Japanese culture and values that were deeply embedded in the people - being diligent, resilient, disciplined and trustworthy - were the very thing that shaped its country into being a developed nation.

Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar also said UMP, being a technical public university, was committed in supporting the ministry’s agenda to develop STEM education as well as the other two additional elements - reading and arts, shifting from STEM to STREAM.

“Although this university is a technical university, its philosophy and core values are affixed to firstly, a strong connection with the Creator to ensure that every activity involving exploration of knowledge carried out here is in line with benefits enjoyed by mankind globally as well as adhering to good values and ethics.   

“UMP is now in the midst of creating a plan to diversify elective courses offered to consist elements of literature, philosophy and humanities because we want future engineers and technologists produced are not only capable in matters involving their subject matters or studies but are also able to associate findings of the studies to the benefit of mankind,” he said.

In a move to strengthen STEM education, UMP joined forces with Motorola Solutions Foundation and Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDeC) and established UMP STEM Lab. 

The facility has benefitted more than 2,500 students and 200 teachers. There are various modules such as Computational Thinking, Arduino Programming, Open-Source Robotics, micro controller programming, robotic automatic system and the Internet of Things (IoT).

More than 1,000 participants comprising students, counsellors, parents and representatives from the industries took part in the colloquium.

A discussion on STEM education in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 was also held while principals and headmasters attended a forum titled ‘The Role of School Administrators in Supporting Inquiry-based Jobs Using the STEM Approach.’

There were also roundtable discussion and exhibitions on STEM.

Campus Info

UMP’s excellent Graduate Employability up a notch to 96%

Universiti Malaysia Pahang’s (UMP) annual ranking of Graduate Employability (GE) remains excellent, and in fact, rose one percent to 96 percent, compared to the 95 percent it recorded last year. 

The GE rankings attained thus far, are well above the 80 percent threshold benchmarked by the Ministry of Education (MoE), and have even surpassed those achieved by other public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) in the country.

“The outstanding accomplishment is the result of the university’s close and long-term collaboration with the industries, in producing a balanced yet holistically competent and enterprising graduates, who met industrial demands,” announced UMP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff, at a recent Aidilfitri gathering, held at the Banquet Hall of the Tun Abdul Razak Chancellery at UMP Pekan main campus on June 14, 2019.

The Vice-Chancellor expressed his gratitude to everyone in attendance for such an outstanding achievement, and hoped that the university will continue to pursue such excellence in the future.

Also present at the Aidilfitri celebration were Chairman of UMP’s Board of Directors, Dato’ Sri Ibrahim Ahmad; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Professor Dr. Kamal Zuhairi Zamli, Chief Operation Officer (COO) cum Registrar, Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Ridzuan Darun;as well as other board directors and management team of the university.

Touching on the subject of festivity, Professor Ir. Dr. Wan Azhar said it was good to note that everyone came and celebrated it in moderation.

“Certainly is heartening to see everyone at UMP, from all walks of life, can gather together in such a harmonious ambience – which also reflects our undying commitment to pursue UMP’s agenda of excellence, underscored by our slogans of “wehdah al-fikri” or united in thought, and “wehdah al-amal” or united in action.

“As we celebrate Aidilfitri festivity, today also marked the 30th day of my appointment as the university’s fourth Vice-Chancellor. 

“For the past one month, with the responsibilities I had to shoulder, I have experienced the heavy weight and the reality of an uphill challenge of ensuring UMP’s agenda of excellence momentum.
  
“On that note, I would like to take this festive opportunity to record my appreciation to my predecessor, Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Daing Nasir Ibrahim, for all his hard work in elevating UMP to where it is today,” said the Vice-Chancellor jubilantly.

The university, he continued, also wished to record its gratitude to UMP’s third Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Sri Dr. Daing Nasir, also dubbed the Father of Transformation, who had uplifted UMP to be among the best universities in Asia and internationally.

The Aidilfitri gathering saw over 2,000 guests in attendance, and was considered the rightful platform to strengthen the bond among all at UMP. 

The festivity kicked off at 10.30 in the morning, with a variety of Aidilfitri’s 'Kasih Sayang'-themed dishes – among them were Nasi Briyani UMP Kusayang, Sehati Sejiwa delicacies and pudding, Ombak Rindu refreshments, Satay Kasih UMP, Lemang and Rendang Daging Sejoli, Nasi Impit Kasih Tercipta, Lodeh and Kuah Kacang Jalinan Kasih, Apam Balik UMP Dihatiku, Kambing Golek Sesuci Lebaran as well as Cendol Manis Memikat.