UMPSA staff participates in global staff mobility attachment programme at Central Queensland University (CQU), Australia to strengthen governance in industry and community networks

ROCKHAMPTON, AUSTRALIA, 15 June 2026 – Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA)’s commitment to strengthening international strategic collaboration networks continues to be reinforced through the participation of its officer in the Staff Mobility Programme: Work Attachment for Competency Enhancement at Central Queensland University (CQU), Australia, for the duration of five days from 15 to 19 June 2026 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

The programme was attended by Manager of Industry and Community Linkages, Emma Melati Burhanuddin  under the Research and Innovation Department, UMPSA. 

The primary objective of the attachment programme was to benchmark and examine international best practices in institutional governance, industry and community collaboration management, as well as strategic partnership data monitoring systems implemented by global universities.

This attachment programme forms part of UMPSA’s broader strategic initiative under the UMPSA30 Strategic Plan, aimed at strengthening the university’s internationalisation agenda while enhancing industry relationship management mechanisms, which have become an increasingly important component within the national higher education ecosystem.

Throughout the programme, Emma Melati was directly exposed to the governance framework adopted by CQU in managing strategic partnerships with industry stakeholders. 

This included understanding the entire collaboration lifecycle, beginning from partnership initiation, programme implementation, performance monitoring, and long-term impact evaluation through knowledge-sharing sessions and discussions with focal officers from various departments within CQU.

Among the key focus areas of the attachment programme were CQU’s approaches towards sustainable industry collaboration models, partnership data management systems, and the integration of digital systems for monitoring strategic relationship performance involving all relevant stakeholders.

On the first day of the programme, Emma visited CQU’s branch campus in Gladstone, located approximately 116 kilometres from the Rockhampton campus, before attending a discussion session with Manager of Research Partnerships, Josh Ariens, who is responsible for connecting university research expertise with local industry needs.

The session provided valuable insights into CQU’s approach in establishing strategic partnerships with industry sectors and how university research is translated into high-impact solutions that benefit both communities and industry players.

To further strengthen her understanding of data management systems and industry collaboration monitoring, Emma also met with members of the Digital Services Directorate, led by David Rotondo and Tanner Burke, to observe how the university leverages digital technologies in managing its strategic collaboration databases involving industry partners.

On the second day, the programme continued with a session involving Associate Vice-President for the Rockhampton and Central Highlands Regions, Kim Harrington focusing on university administration, internal institutional management, and governance structures used to ensure smooth operational management within higher education institutions, particularly in the context of strategic university management involving extensive external partnerships.

In an effort to broaden her understanding of regional university networks, Emma also participated in an online session with Director of the Northern Australia Universities Alliance (NAUA), Brook Orr a strategic alliance comprising several major Australian universities dedicated to strengthening higher education development collaboration, particularly in Northern Australia.

To gain further understanding of industry collaboration in academic programmes,  Emma had the opportunity to engage in discussions with Natalie Giles and Tamara Rohde, both serving as Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Coordinators.

From the third until the fifth day, Emma attended several engagement sessions with senior officers and members of the university’s top management team, including Veronica Campbell, Director - Strategic Planning, Risk & Insurance; Francoise Gallais, Deputy Director dan Rob Fabiny, Philanthropy, Grants and Social Impact Officer; Matt Mansfield, Political Relations Advisor; Mel Misztal, Chief of Staff, Office of the Vice-Chancellor; Professor Grant Stanley, Vice-President Research; Professor Delwar Akbar, Director Centre for Regional Economies and Supply Chains (CRESC); Professor Andy Stewart, Dean of  School of Health, Medical and Applied Science; Jess Suna, Director Office for Research dan Professor Rabin Tuladhar, Dean of School Engineering and Technology and Professor Hurriyet Babacan, Director, International Research.

These sessions highlighted the university’s approaches in developing external funding networks, grant management systems, and community development programmes that generate significant social impact for society.

Through the various discussion sessions and industry visits arranged throughout the programme,  Emma gained comprehensive exposure to international best practices in university management, particularly in areas involving industry relationship management, strategic partnership monitoring systems, institutional financial management, and the development of more systematic and high-impact university-industry collaboration frameworks.

According to Emma, participating in this attachment programme provided her with a new perspective on strengthening more strategic and structured industry relationship management systems.

“This programme provided an invaluable opportunity to directly observe how international universities develop systematic governance models for industry collaboration while leveraging digital technology to enhance programme monitoring and reporting effectiveness.

“The various best practices gained throughout this visit have strong potential to be adapted to UMPSA’s needs, particularly in strengthening the university’s industry and community engagement ecosystem in the future,” she said.

By: Emma Melati Burhanuddin, Industry and Community Linkages