THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 0CTOBER 2016

Gearing up for change

The field of engineering has grown exponentially in the
last decade, creating new areas for professionals to
explore as they progress in their careers.

2 Postgraduate

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Going beyond
the norm
By IAN JEROME LEONG
ECONOMIES around the world
have taken a dip in recent times
with many analysts and
observers expecting the
recession to continue or
even worsen in the years
ahead.
What is interesting is
how some economies have
actually dealt with this
situation through
horizontal expansions via
diversification and
specialisation.
From the areas
of science to
commerce,
industry
professionals
are taking
the opportunity to delve into jobs
and career paths unheard of a
decade or two ago.
Such positions include data
scientists, social media managers,
search engine optimisation
specialists and sustainability
experts.
Though many are bracing the
economic storm, there are
companies that are bold enough
to not only acquire new talent
but have action plans in place
that will allow them to thrive in a
slumping economy.
Recognising the knowledge gap
created as a consequence of these
new positions, top universities
are quick to hop on the
bandwagon and offer students a
wider option of niche courses
especially at the postgraduate
level.
On top of familiarising
themselves with the
fundamentals of various
disciplines, these postgraduate
students attain expert insight
into specialised segments of the
industry.
Engineering is one such
industry that has been separated
into various
sub-disciplines. Besides
automotive, electrical,
mechanical, chemical and
civil engineering that have
long been typical career
choices for university students,
the industry is now exploring
areas such as mining and
mineral, polymer, maritime,
geoscience, material science and
nuclear engineering, among
others.

Need for application

Employers are always on the
lookout for individuals who can
lead their companies to new
heights and identify untapped
markets.
According to Dr Arshad
Salema, lecturer at the School
of Engineering in Monash
University Malaysia, the current
demand for tertiary-qualified
employees with niche skills has
increased and will continue to
rise for a considerable number
of years.
Using a niche postgraduate
engineering course in energy and
sustainability as an example,
Dr Arshad says, Job prospectus
in renewable energy such as

solar, wind and biomass has

increased tremendously and
companies need engineers with
qualified and niche experiences.
There is constant demand in
sustainable energy development
and such a course will guide
engineers to greater applicable
knowledge in this area of
specialisation, allowing them to
solve specific problems for
humanity.
Looking at the wider picture, this
trend extends across industries as
while advancements in technology
have definitely redefined the way
people lead their lives, they also
create new challenges and
obstacles.
Consequently, people are
continuously developing new
products and services as there are
always new issues to be addressed.

Spearheading careers
Among the myriad of reasons
niche engineering courses are
gaining popularity among
professionals is because many of
them recognise that the industry as
a whole lacks specific expertise
and skills, resulting in a shortage of
skilled resource to fill the dynamic
positions of the modern workplace.
By enrolling in such courses,
postgraduates with niche skills
become an elite group of
individuals.
Their unique skill set
provides them with an advantage
over the majority of engineering
candidates with mainstream
qualifications and the subsequent
lower competition equals better
chances of securing their dream
job.
Being in a better position to
demand higher remuneration
packages is another reason
individuals perceive the return on
investment from balancing a tiring
job and pursuing a demanding
niche postgraduate programme to
be entirely worth it.

On knifes edge
Despite the advantages of niche
engineering programmes, many
professionals are staying true to
the traditional areas of
engineering.
Dr Arshad explains, Niche
engineering courses can be very
focused in specific subjects or
areas.

Engineering is
one such industry
that has separated
into various subdisciplines. The
industry is now
exploring areas
such as mining
and mineral,
polymer, maritime,
geoscience, material
science and nuclear
engineering, among
others.
Many students are attracted to
more general courses and gain
wide knowledge from the various
subjects as they can market and fit
themselves in any engineering job.
They do not want to confine or
limit themselves to a specific area
or job sector.
Furthermore, he believes there
may be a limited number of jobs
available for niche engineering
postgraduates due to the small
number of niche sectors.
Adding to the fact that these
emerging sectors are highly market
and economy dependent,
postgraduates may opt to avoid
enrolling in niche courses as there
is much uncertainty to the
longevity or sustainability in the
sectors growth.
Job security, therefore, can work
both ways. Should professionals
secure niche engineering positions,
they will play important roles for
their organisations and make
worthy contributions.
On the other hand, as these
sectors are far from being the cash
cows for an industry, these
positions may be among the first to
be eliminated when engineering
firms find themselves in a position
where they need to retrench or
downsize their workforce to stay
afloat.
The job market plays a very
important role in defining the
choices students make in their

career. However, if the industry

is leaning towards niche
products or markets, students
and engineers enrol in specific
engineering courses, says Dr
Arshad.

Increasing prominence
Once more using the area of
sustainability in engineering as
an example, Dr Arshad says,
Sustainability is becoming the
core business for all types of
industries.
At present, firms, the
Government, consumers and
retailers are slowly focusing on
sustainability and related
products. This will require skilled
engineers and professionals.
Dr Arshad shares that
although the current enrolment
for such courses is not as high
compared to traditional
programmes, he believes these
courses will pick up in popularity
in the future.
However, he is quick to point
out that niche engineering
courses exist to complement the
wider understanding of
engineering instead of opposing
it.
From my perspective, niche
engineering courses will not
eclipse traditional courses. This is
because the industry and market
need a variety of engineers and
not just professionals or
engineers who are focused on
niche engineering sectors.
Considering the everlasting
relevance of traditional
engineering sectors, Dr Arshad
adds that it will be the norm for
universities to offer hybrid
postgraduate programmes in the
future that will allow students to
acquire a good balance between
traditional engineering
fundamentals and enhanced
niche knowledge.

Elevating national
standards
Dr Arshad says, There is a
tremendous boom in renewable
energy technology, which has
established a bioeconomy with
new businesses in the country.
As the expansion of any sector
or business will depend on
highly qualified and skilled
engineers,

the presence of niche engineering

courses will help to produce
the human capital demanded
of the industries.
For a country moving towards
having a hi-tech and value-added
bioeconomy, there is a great
emphasis on high-quality tertiary
education.
Universities need to up their
game in their research and
education standards to ensure
they equip the next generation of
engineers with advanced skills
and transformational knowledge
of future technologies.
Given that firms and
businesses are already
implementing new operational
structures and focusing on niche
products for customers, it is
crucial that the Government, too,
works together with firms and
universities to strengthen the
countrys niche engineering
capabilities.
For it is only when there
is a stable partnership between
all parties can the country
become a recognised leader
in a niche engineering sector,
just as how countries such as
Germany, Spain, the United States
and the United Kingdom have
done and benefited from
producing a skilled engineering
workforce.

Niche engineering
courses in Malaysia
Here are some examples:

Master of Science in
Environmental
Engineering
Master of Science in
Electronic
Communications and
Computer Engineering
Master of Advanced
Engineering (Energy
and Sustainability)
PhD (Environmental
Sciences) by Research
Master of Science
Engineering
Management
Master of Engineering
Science

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

4 Postgraduate

REGISTRATION is now open for

the MBA (Master of Business
Administration) programme for
students who want to join the
Edinburgh Business School MBA
programme at Heriot-Watt
Universitys Putrajaya campus in
January next year.
The programme has been
delivered by the top United
Kingdom and Asian faculties in
Putrajaya since 2013.
It is approved by the Higher
Education Ministry, fully
accredited by the MQA (Malaysian
Qualifications Agency) and
delivered by Heriot-Watt
University, which is accredited by
Royal Charter in the UK.
The Edinburgh Business School
MBA is one of the most popular
and flexible programmes in the
world.
In Malaysia, the part-time
programme is delivered via
weekend seminars so students can
continue to earn while they learn.
To date, 34 students have

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Earn while learning

completed the programme with 93
currently studying.
Students join a global learning
network of more than 11,400 active
students and 19,800 graduates
worldwide.
This network of global graduates
was one of the reasons that
Sreetharan Thiruchelvam chose
the Edinburgh Business School
MBA when he began his studies in
January this year.
Edinburgh Business School
delivers top-notch business and
entrepreneurial education with the
combined knowledge and
experience of professionals locally
and from Edinburgh.
In addition, the school has a
large alumni pool from all around
the world, which makes it world
renowned, he says.
Sreetharan is a mechanical
development engineer for Seagate
Systems (M) Sdn Bhd. As an
engineer, he had no background in
economics and finance
something he wanted to
rectify through his
MBA studies.

The Heriot-Watt
Malaysia Campus is
located in Putrajaya.

As a team
leader, I am now
equipped with
the knowledge
required to more
effectively lead a
team consisting of
members from
different job
scopes.
Sreetharan Thiruchelvam

Edinburgh Business School MBA student Sreetharan Thiruchelvam at Jeram

Toi recreation park in Malaysia.
He wanted to improve his
leadership skills to take on a
broader role within his company.
The MBA has provided me with
the necessary tools to interact at a
higher level and understand the
general workings of a large
organisation.
As a team leader, I am now
equipped with the knowledge
required to more effectively lead
a team consisting of members
from different job scopes, says
Sreetharan.
Doing the MBA has given me a

deeper insight into the various

dimensions of running a project. At
the same time it has allowed me to
understand how a company works
and how my role fits into the
organisation as a whole.
It has definitely opened more
doors to new career opportunities
and allowed me to develop a more
dynamic role in the company and
not just to remain on the technical
path, he adds.
Combining full-time work with
part-time study is hard but for
those considering the programme,

Sreetharan advises, Commitment

to proper time management is
critical but go for it you will not
regret it. You will only appreciate
the value of the course once you
have completed it.
Registration is open for the
January intake next year and the
school is holding three MBA
preview events in October and
November for prospective
students.
The first preview event is
tomorrow (Oct 19) at 6.30pm at
Le Meridien Hotel Kuala Lumpur.
The second will be on Nov 3 at
6.30pm at the Hilton Kuala
Lumpur.

n For more information, e-mail

MalaysiaMBA@ebs.hw.ac.uk.

Powering growth
KNOWLEDGE is constantly
evolving when it comes to
science and technology.
Especially in the field of
engineering, there are constant
developments in technology as
well as theories and applications
in various fields.
Hence, it is important for
engineers and technicians to
keep themselves up to date with
the latest developments and
skills. One such way is through
continuing professional
development (CPD) courses.
According to the Board of
Engineers Malaysia (BEM), CPD
is the systemic maintenance,
improvement and broadening
of knowledge, skills and
development of personal
qualities for execution of
professional and
technical duties
throughout an
engineers
working life.
Professional
engineers
under BEM will

be subjected to an average of 50
hours of CPD in a span of three
years, which include formal
education and training activities,
informal learning activities,
conferences, presentations and
service activities.
From a non-professional
perspective, CPDs or skill
development activities are crucial
for individuals who work in the
technical line and are looking to
enhance their knowledge further
through certifications or skill
development.
These courses and activities will
benefit them in further advancing
their careers or helping
academicians who are involved in
education, research and
development.
Here are some CPD and
skill-based development courses
offered in Malaysia in the coming
weeks.

> TURN TO PAGE 7

Continuing professional development (CPD) courses or skill-development activities are essential for those in the
technical line.

Globalisation and challenges faced by future

graduates/engineers
The world is constantly
changing and, no doubt,
engineers and future
engineering graduates will not
only be facing challenges in
their career pathway but also
in their job scope. Emerging
trends such as wealth
distribution, food distribution,
energy management, climate
change and security, and how
they affect the engineering
fraternity will be covered in
this talk. Other than that, the
speakers will talk about
challenges faced by Malaysian

engineers in relation to
globalisation and mobility of
engineers in the Asean, AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation
and Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement economies.
Venue: Auditorium, Universiti
Sains Malaysia Engineering
Campus, Penang
Date and time: Oct 19 from
2pm to 4.30pm

n For more information, visit

www.myiem.org.my/news/
newsdetails.aspx?id=382.

World Research and Innovation Convention on Engineering

and Technology (WRICET) 2016
Organised by the Malaysian
Society for Engineering and
Technology (MySET), WRICET
2016 is a two-day event that
aims to feature findings from
leading industries, academic
experts, researchers, and
engineering or graduate
students in their field through
exhibitions, lectures and
posters. In addition, the
conference will provide insight
and an exchange of ideas,
research innovations and
knowledge as well as

encourage future collaborations.

The event is also supported by
the Federation of Engineering
Institutions of Islamic Countries
(FEIIC), Universiti Putra
Malaysia and Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia.
Venue: Adya Hotel, Langkawi,
Kedah
Date: Oct 22 to 26

n For more information, visit

www.myset.org.my/
WRICET2016.

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

6 Postgraduate

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Ace at your own pace

Working adults who want to pursue their

studies now have a choice to select the
mode of study that suits them best.

SINCE its early days as the nations premier

provider of business education, SEGi
University and Colleges offers a wide range
of programmes under its Faculty of Business
and Accounting, including the Master of
Business Administration (MBA).
For high-level business decision-makers
or aspirants who want to climb the career
ladder, SEGi offers a new breakthrough
method to enable them to pursue a
postgraduate programme at their own
convenience, anywhere and anytime.
PACE (Professional and Continuing
Education) is a consortium of global
universities that enables adult learners to
advance at their own pace and complete
their studies with the assurance that they
can attend to other obligations and have a
fulfilling work-life balance.
Students have a choice to select the mode
of study that is best for them. The weekend
or evening classes option consists of students
attending classes either on weekends or in
the evenings.
Another option is supported learning,
where instead of attending scheduled classes

at a physical venue, students can log on to

their online classes any time of the day.
However, they are required to attend
workshops at their nearest authorised
SEGi location twice a month.
The other mode is independent learning,
where students study mostly online and
need to attend intensive revisions at their
nearest authorised SEGi location once a
month.
With these choices, students have the
opportunity to network with their
coursemates, meet their lecturers and gain
additional support they may need while
they complete their studies.
Students also have the independence to
complete their studies as fast as they want
to. The number of subjects to pursue in a
semester is entirely up to the students.
SEGi provides a guided learning plan
to ensure students get the best from the
lessons, including study guides and
strategies for coping with coursework
and examinations.
There is a wide range of postgraduate
business programmes to pursue under
PACE and students graduate with paper
qualifications from either SEGi University
or University of Southern Queensland
(Australia), University of Sunderland
(United Kingdom), University of Greenwich
(UK) or York St John University (UK).

Master of Business
Administration
This course offers majors in either
general management or global business. It
also offers a specialisation in either
strategic human resource management,
project management, strategic marketing,
finance or digital transformation.

Graduates of this programme are

equipped with the various aspects of sales,
finance and economics while learning the
latest theories and best practices in business.
Graduates earn recognition by majoring or
specialising in one particular field of
business.
The Master of Business Administration
in International Business and the Master of
Arts in International Business focus on
responsible leadership, from the starting
points of creativity, practicality and social
resourcefulness.
They feature integrative disciplines of
business strategy and the management of
change in an increasingly global business
environment.

Master in Financial Planning

The Master in Financial Planning is for
professionals who would like to acquire a
broad range of financial planning skills.
This programme provides students with
essential background materials to conduct
business and financial planning alignment.
Graduates are equipped with all the skills
and knowledge needed to support financial
planning analysis for business and be wealth
planners.
The programme incorporates modules
from the CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
certification programme.

n For more information, call SEGi University

(03-6145 1777/1800 887 344), SEGi College
Subang Jaya (03-8600 1888/1800 888 622),
SEGi College Kuala Lumpur (03-2070
2078/1800 888 028), SEGi College Penang
(04-2633 888) or SEGi College Sarawak
(1300 887 344) or e-mail askme@segi.edu.my
or visit www.segi.edu.my or
www.pace.edu.my.

The United
States Medical
Licensing
Examination
offers medical
students
worldwide the
opportunity to
pursue a
specialist
career in the
US.

Achieve medical
specialisation
EVERY year, countless number of students
graduate from medical schools all around
the world in search of the next step in their
postgraduate studies.
Unfortunately, many find themselves
trapped in a grey zone after they graduate.
In Malaysia, after completing their
housemanship, young medical graduates
often try to work their way to the top of
their field with hard work but do not
succeed because they use the same pathway
as their peers.
Most medical graduates pursue their
postgraduate studies in Australia and the
United Kingdom, forgetting that there is an
alternative pathway to achieve their
specialist career, which is in the United
States.
The United States Medical Licensing
Examination (USMLE) is an alternative
pathway that Malaysian medical students
can opt for to achieve their specialist career.
Kaplan Medical is the premier
test-prepping centre in the US that prepares
medical students worldwide for the USMLE.
Hareen Theivasigamany, programme
coordinator at Kaplan Medical in Malaysia,
provides free seminars and university talks
on the declining number of medical

physicians in the US and the lack of

specialists in Malaysia, urging medical
students to pursue their specialisation.
Students can sit for the first part of the
USMLE in Malaysia. Upon completing the
USMLE examinations and residency (paid
specialist training in the US), students can
practise in medical fields such as surgery,
cardiology, orthopaedics and dermatology.
Students can sit for USMLEs first
professional examination while in
medical school, allowing them to become
a specialist by the age of 30.
The structure of the USMLE allows
medical students to use the knowledge
from the USMLE study materials provided
by Kaplan for their own medical degree.
Nugrahan is the national representative
of Kaplan Medical in Malaysia, assisting
many medical students in achieving their
specialist career in the US.
Interested individuals can attend
Kaplan Open Day on Oct 22 from
9am to 1pm.

n To receive one-on-one consultation

about the USMLE and specialist training
in the US, call Hareen at 016-377 2853 or
e-mail hareen.kaplan@gmail.com.

Postgraduate 7

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Stay updated
> FROM PAGE 4

Torsion In Building Structures Subject to Earthquake

and Wind Loads
This is a new course
designed for practising
engineers who are involved in
the design of high-rise
buildings. The fundamentals
of torsion will be explained in
this course through the
principle of virtual
displacement with
key highlights in planar and
non-planar torsion elements.
In addition, manual
computing and computer

modelling techniques are

used to provide a
comprehensive understanding
of torsion implementation.
Venue: Armada Hotel,
Petaling Jaya
Date and time: Nov 1 and
2 from 9am to 5pm

n For more information,

call 03-5634 7905 or e-mail
admin@apptechgroups.net.

Basic Project Management for Engineers

Project management is a
crucial skill set that is
important in the field of
engineering. Over the years,
methodologies and knowledge
in project management have
evolved and improved
through the success and
failures of past modules.
This project management
course is suitable for those
who intend to gain
elementary training in
project management. Among
the skill sets that will be
taught are structured and

integrated approaches,
processes, tools and
techniques that are pertinent
to engineering project
management.
Venue: 01-Auditorium
Tan Sri Prof Chin Fung Kee,
third floor, Wisma IEM
Date and time: Nov 7 and
8 from 9am to 5.30pm

n For more information,

visit www.myiem.org.my/
events/eventregistration.
aspx?id=7664.

Fluid Mechanics: Impacts on Line, Pump & Compressor Sizing

This course will be an
overview on the effects of
fluid mechanics while
executing line, pump and
compressor sizing by
considering design, operation
and maintenance.
Knowledge in this is crucial
in reducing unnecessary
costs due to damages to piping
pumps and compressors
during operation if it is not
designed properly.
Codes and standards
pertaining to sizing of line,

pump and compressor to

avoid damage on upstream
and downstream equipment
in a system will be discussed
during the course.
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Petaling
Jaya
Date and time: Nov 28 and
29 from 9am to 5.30pm

n For more information, visit

www.myiem.org.my/events/
eventregistration.
aspx?id=7853.

IEM Standards Malaysia Electrotechnical Symposium &

Exhibition 2016
This symposium aims to
create awareness among the
fraternity of electrical
engineers on the usage of
relevant electrotechnical
standards in plants and
professional settings.
This is in light of recent
safety concerns that have
been raised regarding the
installation of electrical
equipment as organisers
hope to establish the

importance of safety
standards in the local
electrical engineering field.
Venue: One City, USJ, Subang
Jaya
Date and time: Dec 5 and 6
from 8.30am to 5.30pm

n For more information, visit

www.myiem.org.my/events/
eventregistration.
aspx?id=7849.

8 Postgraduate

TECHNOLOGY does not just make

our lives more convenient today's
technology is changing every
aspect of the lives of human beings
by allowing us to perform tasks
above our natural ability, says
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahmans
(UTAR) dean of Faculty of
Information and Communication
Technology (FICT) Assoc Prof Dr
Liew Soung Yue.
UTAR, with its vision to be a
global university of educational
excellence with transformative
societal impact, believes in the role
of technological innovation in
serving the betterment of society.
Bolstering that belief, FICT takes
pride in being a paragon of ICT
instruction, producing visionary
innovators through its quality
programmes and instilling in them
UTARs philosophy of giving back to
society.
Ensuring its programmes
relevance, FICT takes part in
extensive collaborations with
industry experts such as IBM
(International Business Machines)
and Microsoft.
The Industry Centre of

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Studies with societal impact

The Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) at UTAR

Kampar Campus.
Excellence (ICoE) ICT clusters
collaboration with IBM has
groomed students with
professional and soft skills to
develop their growth. Currently,
FICT graduates enjoy a 97%
employability rate within six
months of graduation.

Workshops and seminars from

Microsoft have provided students
with insight and training from
Microsoft information technology
professionals with the added
opportunity to be selected as a
Microsoft Student Partner or an
in-campus Microsoft ambassador.

Testifying the success of FICT

programmes are the achievements
of staff and students. For instance,
the novel Basketball Net A
Flexible and Resilient Topology for
Wireless Sensor Networks project
addressed the disadvantages of the
mesh, tree and clustering
configuration for wireless sensor
networks and earned six FICT
researchers a silver prize in the
27th International Invention &
Innovation Exhibition 2016.
Four FICT students equally
proved their mettle with their
third-place winning mobile app,
FindMate, in the Big Data Analytics
Challenge at AngelHack Kuala
Lumpur 2016. The app assists
individuals in finding potential
housemates.
Another four students earned
the third prize in the Innovation
Category at the Microsoft Imagine
Cup Malaysia with their

Smartphone Discovering
Application, which aids search and
rescue teams in areas lacking
connectivity.
These achievements were
rewarded with employment in
reputable companies such as
Huawei to contribute to their pool
of skills in telecommunications,
computer technology, information
technology, wireless
communications and automation.
In conjunction with the October
intake this year, UTAR is extending
counselling hours at the Sungai
Long and Kampar campuses daily
from 9am to 5pm (excluding public
holidays).

n For more information, call

03-9086 0288/016-2233 559
(Sungai Long campus),
05-468 8888/016-2233 557 (Kampar
campus), e-mail enquiry@utar.edu.
my or visit www.utar.edu.my.

Dr Jens
Zinke from
Freie
Universitt
Berlin
collecting a
coral core.

A new phase
THE Curtin Baram Project is an
integrated study that spans the
highlands and sea. Curtin
Universitys Perth and Sarawak
researchers are currently
conducting studies in an area of
approximately 24,000sq km of
land and sea.
In the Upper Baram
catchment, Assoc Prof
Dominique Dodge-Wan and her
team from the Department of
Applied Geology at Curtin
Sarawak are mapping land use
via information from satellite
imagery.
It is important to know
the types of land use in the
9,000sq km Baram catchment
because the change in land use
can impact soil erosion, says
Assoc Prof Dodge-Wan.
Soil erosion can impact not
only the sediment load carried
by the Baram River but where
this load eventually deposits.
From the Upper Baram
catchment to the sea off Miri,
another team from Curtin
Sarawaks Department of
Applied Geology led by
Assoc Prof Ramasamy Nagarajan
is studying the distribution of
heavy metals and their
geochemistry.
Water, river sediments and
plant materials are regularly
sampled at various points along
the Baram River to build a
baseline data set on the presence
of heavy metals.
The baseline established for
heavy metals will be an
important reference point for
assessing the impact of any
developments in the Baram
catchment in the future.
After processing, heavy metal
content of sediment and other

samples is determined using

precision instrumentation at
Curtin University, which can
measure concentrations down
to parts per billion.
Sarawak Energy Bhd is
providing the main funding of
RM2mil for Assoc Prof
Dodge-Wan and Assoc Prof
Ramasamys studies in the
Upper Baram.
The Curtin Baram Project
enters a new phase this month
when research begins on the
Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National
Park.
The economic value of the
park has been estimated at
RM1.93mil. Living and old corals
will be cored to reveal sediment
and sea temperature histories. A
record of historical sea
temperatures will enable this
place in the world to contribute
to global climate change data.
The marine biologists who will
work on the Miri-Sibuti Coral
Reefs National Park are Dr Mick
OLeary, Dr Nicola Browne,
Dr Jennifer McIlwain and Dr Iain
Parnum of Curtin Universitys
Department of Environment and
Agriculture as well as Dr Jens
Zinke and Christina Brown are
from the Department of Earth
Sciences, Institute of Geological
Sciences, Palaeontology, Freie
Universitt Berlin.
The Curtin Baram Project will
have lasting value and provide
reference points for researchinformed management of the
ecosystem of the people in the
region. By Prof Clem Kuek,
director of the Curtin Sarawak
Research Institute (CSRI)

n For more information, visit

www.curtin.edu.my.

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Postgraduate 9

msu
management &
science university

Depending on their course,

students at UNMC have the option
of completing part of their degree
at the UK or China campus.

Advancing
the generation
SIMILAR to other foreign branch campuses
operating in Malaysia, the advantages of
studying at The University of Nottingham
Malaysia Campus (UNMC) are the lower
tuition fees and living costs compared to the
campus in the United Kingdom.
Apart from that, you graduate with a
globally recognised UK qualification and that
is a strong reason for studying at UNMC.
Students who enrol at UNMC, depending
on their course, are also able to complete
part of their degree at the UK or China
campus.
UNMC provost and chief executive officer
Prof Graham Kendall says, Running a
private university in Malaysia is different
from running a university in the UK or a
public university in Malaysia.
The underlying business models are
entirely different. For example, Malaysian
public universities receive government
support with the staff being government
employees. Private universities are
companies with their main income stream
coming from student fees.
We have brought skills, expertise, new
ideas and perspectives to operate sustainably
without government funding and as we have
been in Malaysia for 16 years, we must be
doing something right.
He adds, We also have given Malaysian
students the opportunity to experience a
British-style education, soft skills
development, study options in the UK and
China and these, as a result, have helped
them become confident global students.
You will get an education that is much
more student-centred, where you will learn
to take more responsibility for your
learning.

Necessary progression
Since coming to Malaysia in August 2011,
Prof Kendall has witnessed the country make
great strides in tertiary education, but like
any growing and evolving entity, he believes
there is still much room for improvement.
UNMCs graduate employability rate is
92%, against the national statistic where up
to one out of four graduates remain
unemployed six months after graduation.
In relation to the countrys aspirations to
become an educational hub, Prof Kendall
believes Malaysia is on track to achieve this
goal but universities need to have greater

autonomy in how they are managed and

how the quality of courses are to be
maintained.
In many respects, Malaysia is more
bureaucratic than it is in the UK. For
example, UK universities can decide what
degree programmes they run without having
to refer to a government agency. This is not
the case in Malaysia and it would be great to
see a move towards, at least for some
universities, having the ability to operate
more like the UK.
Without a doubt, tertiary education in
Malaysia has improved in the last 10 years
but I believe it could improve a lot more if
branch campuses and public universities
were not stifled by numerous rules and
regulations, which make it more difficult to
attract students. I hope that the imminent
change to Act 555 will start this process, he
says.
Ultimately, universities and the Higher
Education Ministry work to produce a
generation of skilled and knowledgeable
professionals to lead the country into
becoming fully developed and prosperous.
This, however, can only happen if there is
greater transparency between both parties
and an agreement to learn and help one
another in overcoming the challenges of this
dynamic sector.
Prof Kendall hopes that universities,
especially the 10 universities that have
self-accrediting status in Malaysia, will have
better independence in introducing new
degree programmes in the future.
Prof Kendall concludes that the only way
forward is for universities to constantly
engage with the Education Ministry, saying,
Everything is great when dealing with the
ministry at the higher level but there are
sometimes problems, from both sides, when
it comes to operationalising those visions. In
this day and age of a technology-enabled
society, I hope that this can help with the
processes that are fundamental to having an
efficient, flexible sector, which easily reacts
to changes to meet the needs of the nation.
The Higher Education sector in Malaysia
is strong and we have the potential to be
even stronger. This needs hard work and
commitment from all stakeholders but I
know that everybody is prepared to do that.

n For more information, visit

www.nottingham.edu.my.

@ Global
University of Choice
PhD :
Management / Business
KPT/ JPS ((R2/345/8/0510) 11/19

Computer Science
KPT/ JPS (R2/481/8/0135) 10/20

Accounting / Finance
KPT/ JPS (R2/344/8/0276) 10/20

Information and
Communication Technology
KPT/ JPS (R2/481/8/0134) 10/20

Food Service Technology

KPT/ JPS (R2/541/8/0024) 10/20

Biomedicine
KPT/ JPS (R2/545/8/0030) 11/20

Engineering
KPT/ JPS (N/520/8/0050) 11/18

Master :
Accounting / Finance

(by Research)

KPT/ JPS (R2/344/7/0277) 10/20

Computer Science
KPT/ JPS (R/481/7/0255) 10/20

Food Service Technology

(by Research)

KPT/ JPS (R2/541/7/0025) 10/20

Biomedicine
(by Research)

KPT/ JPS (R2/545/7/0031) 11/20

Biomedical Sciences
KPT/ JPS (KA10166) 03/16

Information Technology
KPT/ JPS (R/481/7/0370) 10/18

Clinical Pharmacy
KPT/ JPS (N/727/7/0039) 10/18

Science Engineering
KPT/ JPS (N/520/7/0051) 11/18

Pharmacy
KPT/ JPS (N/727/7/0054) 05/19

Management
KPT/ JPS (N/345/7/0611) 09/19

Educational Management
and Leadership
KPT/ JPS (N/141/7/0039) 05/20

Management & Science University

Counselling & Communication department,
University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga,
Section 13, 40100 Shah Alam,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
(KPT/JPS/DFT/US/B08)

Tel : 03 5521 6868 / 03-5521 6590

Fax : 03 5511 2848
Email : enquiry@msu.edu.my
Web : www.msu.edu.my

10 Postgraduate

ESTABLISHED in 2007, Asia e

University (AeU) has grown to
become one of the leading
providers of open and distance
learning (ODL) in Asia.
The students are drawn from
more than 100 countries spread
across Asia, the Middle East,
Africa and Europe.
As an ODL institution, AeUs
focus is to harness the boundless
potential of technology to
increase higher education
accessibility for all.
This new approach to higher
education gives rise to greater
flexibility in learning to meet the
needs of the 21st century society.
Prof Datuk Dr Ansary Ahmed
is an educational entrepreneur,
founder and president of AeU
with about 40 years of
experience in education.
In 2010, Asia Pacific
Entrepreneurship Awards named
him the Most Promising
Entrepreneur. Before founding
AeU, Prof Ansary helped establish
Open University Malaysia (OUM).
Here is an interview with Prof
Ansary about AeU, ODL and the
disruptive innovation in higher
education.

Expanding learning
accessibility
How did the idea for AeU
come about?
As an educationist from a
traditional university who was
later involved in establishing an
open university, I saw the
difference that access to
education can make in a persons
life.
Travelling within Malaysia and
in the Asian region and meeting
potential students especially in
smaller towns, rural areas and
remote areas made me realise
that the traditional approach to
higher education that is,
through a brick-and-mortar
campus is only good for a small
segment of society.
With more access to
technologies, we have seen an
increasing trend towards online
learning, especially in developed
countries.
We knew the time had come to
shift higher education towards
an infrastructure for mature
students, be they 30 or 70 years
old.
We knew our target
clients were busy individuals
who yearned to improve
their qualifications but needed
the learning to be wrapped
around their hectic lives, where
they should be able to pursue
their studies at a pace that suits
them.
We needed to reach out to
them wherever they may be and
empower them to manage their
own learning, which was only
possible by embracing the
philosophy of learning anytime
and anywhere.
By putting together
appropriate technologies and
new pedagogies, I started on a
journey of creating a new
business model for providing
access to higher education at
an affordable price to people in
Asia without compromising
quality.
We deliberately did some
unbundling that was never done
by traditional providers,
including the unbundling of
content, academic facilitators and
assessments.
We were the first movers and
shakers that use open source and
technologies across borders.

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Asia e Universitys
president and
chief executive
officer Prof Datuk
Dr Ansary Ahmed.

Embracing innovation and

change in higher education
Innovation through
technology
How was AeUs education
model formed?
In making education accessible
to all, I looked at the barriers that
surrounded the higher education
landscape and researched the best
practices of ODL institutions
worldwide.
We knew that the onlinelearning and blended-learning
model would become the new
norm.
Within the first five years of
operating AeU, I realised that the
necessary components that made
higher education expensive were
now readily available and for free:
open source technology, open
educational resources (OERs)
and, most importantly, the
predominance and use of social
networks.
We opted to adopt open source
more aggressively as this allowed
our education partners to easily
incorporate and use the AeU online
learning platform.
Next, we incorporated OERs in
developing our content, thus
reducing time and cost for content
development.
Unesco acknowledged us as one
of the early adopters of OERs at its
World Education Meeting.
What makes AeU different
from other academic
institutions?
AeU is unique in many ways. At
the international level, AeU is
instituted under the auspices of the
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
and supported by 34 ACD member
countries in Asia.
This university was
conceptualised based on inputs
gathered from the ACD member
countries to complement their
respective higher education
landscapes.
At the national level, AeU is

We needed to
reach out to them
wherever they may
be and empower
them to manage their
own learning, which
was only possible
by embracing the
philosophy of
learning anytime and
anywhere.
Prof Datuk Dr Ansary Ahmed
under the purview of the Higher
Education Ministry, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Ministry of
Finance.
AeU was established to create
and widen access to opportunities
for learning by promoting
cooperation between educational
institutions throughout the ACD.
As an institution that propagates
lifelong learning, AeU strives to
harness appropriate technologies
and improve the quality of our
teaching and learning to ensure
that learners have the skills
needed to succeed in the 21st
century.
Describe the technologies
used in AeUs model.
The use of technology is at the
heart of AeU. It is only through the
appropriate use of technology that
AeU is able to provide flexibility
for learners.
For example, with an invisible
group of dispersed learners, it is
easy to lose touch and sight of each
of them.
A key contributor to learning
success in the ODL mode is

connectedness, which we have

worked hard to create with all
our learners.
With learners from more than
100 countries worldwide, AeU
has established virtual learning
spaces to ensure learners are
connected not only to their
academic facilitators but also the
university administrators,
knowledge centre and their
peers.
The lowest complexity of
technology and open source is
applied to ensure the greatest
level of connectivity and easy
access across the borders.
Most importantly, we always
strive to inject a human touch to
this virtual classroom.
The goal is to develop a
transformational model of
education that is learner-centred
and personalised.
To enhance our ability to
virtually connect with our
learners, AeU has a learning
management system platform
called myPLS to place all
learners, professors, lecturers,
academic facilitators and
administrators in one shared
space. We built a platform
whereby all the data is associated
and wrapped around the learner.
AeU uses myPLS to plan,
implement, facilitate, assess and
monitor student learning.
The platform centralises
course preparation, educational
content and resources; the
delivery and tracking of student
activities such as discussions and
forums; the administration of
assessment activities; and the
accumulation and presentation
of marks and grades.
It has the ability to create a
persistent, progressive profile
that accurately captures the
learners journey from
enrolment to the day they
become alumni.
AeU has also established AeU

Knowledge Centre one of the

most comprehensive online
libraries in the country.
There are thousands of online
resources available, including
academic books, journals, theses,
magazine articles, newspapers,
encyclopaedias and dictionaries.
Learners can tap into these
quality-assured and trusted
resources 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, wherever they are.
The AeU administration
maintains a virtual help desk
through our customer
relationship management system
to respond to our learners
questions.
It directs queries to the right
parties, connects people and
seeks networked help whenever
such a need is requested.
The well-rounded support
ensures every learner has a
strong encouraging team behind
him or her throughout the
learning journey.
What are your greatest
challenges?
One of the major problems in
online studies in general is how
to keep busy learners motivated
to complete their studies.
As regulatory requirements
for online learning differ
between countries, we have to
patiently educate the regulators
and demolish the notion that
the best higher education can
only be obtained through
the traditional mode of
campus-based learning.
Language barriers are another
challenge. Obviously, it is better
to provide education in native
languages if one wants to reach
out to the majority, but then
again, operating in a regulated
framework is difficult for a
borderless university such as
AeU.

> SEE NEXT PAGE

Postgraduate 11

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

> FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

As the technology and what
we can do with edutech have
far outstripped prevailing
pedagogic paradigm, we have to
develop new pedagogies for the
new breed of learners.
This is a major challenge as
technology is proving to be a
major disruptor. In this context,
we should also be mindful of
keeping technology as simple as
possible if we want to attain
education for all.
AeU has consciously taken
steps to overcome these
challenges.
How has online
learning opened,
widened and
formalised access to quality
higher education?
Online distance learning is
going through the next stage
of evolution. We have seen in
the past what began as a
paper-based-correspondence
mode of education evolve into
ICT-enabled learning.
Technology is reshaping the
structure and form of higher
education institutions. We are
increasingly seeing traditional
brick-and-mortar universities
also embracing online
education.
Courses and subsequent
lecturer-student interactions
are increasingly taking place
online.
I strongly believe ODL
providers such as ourselves
have helped change the
mindsets and higher education
landscape in Malaysia, making
ODL mainstream.
Developments such as
massive open online courses
(MOOCs), OERs and increased
mobility provide greater
opportunities and channels to
meet the educational needs of
citizens in every nation.
These developments, which
leverage heavily on technology,
provide high-quality learning

opportunities that are either

free or at reduced costs.
The outcome is a greater
global equity and access to
learning.
Universities have a unique
opportunity to reengineer higher
education to make it ubiquitous.
Technology offers many ways to
improve teaching, increase
independent learning by students
and enrich the learning
experience.
Perhaps, most important of all, it
offers a means for real-world
problems to be worked on by
creative young minds with
guidance coming from a borderless
academic fraternity.
Partnerships with the industry,
governments, non-governmental
organisations and other bodies to
better understand the needs of
society and industry will lead to
better designed curricula and
learning.
I believe that AeU is well placed
to seize these opportunities and be
a leader in reengineering higher
education.

Staying ahead
There are potential
disrupters in the higher
education space. How
does AeU stay at the forefront of
this technological change?
I think we are at an important
juxtaposition. I have been in the
higher education industry for
around 40 years, during which
time we have seen great changes
locally and globally. Right now,
technology is and will become
more destructive.
Universities will have to
transform to meet the challenges of
not only new learning demands
but also the spaces that new
edutech startups are creating and
occupying.
New disruptors such as
Cousera, Udacity and edX are the
well-known leaders in MOOCs.
They are edutech startups that
are impacting the higher education
landscape.

What inspires you?

I AM most inspired by our learners
from all over the world, many of
whom have overcome tremendous
challenges and barriers in their
path to obtaining higher education.
AeU has changed many lives.
The impact is felt not only by
graduating learners but also the
people around them, including the
immediate families, communities
and industries.
Interacting with our
amazing, inspiring learners
from all over the world and
hearing their great stories
of overcoming barriers
to obtain a degree truly
inspire me.
Learners who have
had various hardships
and challenges
thrown their way
deserve the
opportunities to

get ahead in life through

education.
Our learners and their
stories humble and
inspire me to continue
what Im doing to open
up access to higher
education. I am a
strong believer in
education for all.

As in the case of Fintech, which

is impacting the financial sector,
these new edutech companies pose
challenges to higher education.
Technology disruption is
inevitable. Therefore, it is
important to understand how to
turn this edutech challenges into
educational opportunities.
To remain at the forefront of
technological innovation, we must
learn from the MOOCs effect and
constantly analyse learners
responses to better understand
what works and what does not.
We must also be able to provide
a combination of high-touch
service with personalised
self-service.
What are your immediate
goals for expanding and
improving AeU?
The new paradigm that is
emerging would require AeU to do
four things.
Firstly, programmes need to be
based on quality OERs that can be
adopted and adapted to suit our
specific contexts.
Next, the regional and learning
centres will have to be redesigned
to support learners in smaller
numbers in their neighbourhoods
or workplaces.
These spaces must promote
peer-to-peer interactions and
provide both face-to-face and
online social learning
opportunities.
Thirdly, we have to harness
technologies such as mobile
devices and learning analytics to
personalise learning and improve
learning outcomes.
Lastly, we need to remain the
answer to ever-changing needs of
the learning community.
We want to bring new energy
to our longstanding effort to
educate thousands of learners
across the nation and around
the world.

We have not been afraid to be

different and be a first mover in
the past.

The future
What do you think the
higher education
landscape will look
like in 10 years?
I am a strong believer in
providing choices to learners. The
higher education landscape has to
be diverse as learners today want
varieties to suit their lifestyle.
There will be learners who
prefer face-to-face while others
prefer blended or online learning.
Some universities will still be
didactic, others will focus on
work-based learning while the
rest become hybrid.
The notion of quality and fit for
purpose will also evolve and
universities will be forced to
change either their price structure
or offerings to meet these new
meanings.
I believe that alternative
credentialing pathways, especially
badging, will become mainstream
in the next few years as more and
more universities embrace MOOCs
and the like.
I would say that many students
in the future will select courses
from myriad of providers be they
universities or otherwise to obtain
badges, thus empowering them to
choose not only what they want to
study but also the provider.
This DIY (do-it-yourself) degree
formula will have far-reaching
implications.
I also see more and more
collaborative online learning
taking place as the millennials and
Generation Z join mainstream
higher education.
This new breed of students will
demand a paradigm shift in
teaching and learning.
The notion of classroom will

change and learning will be

ubiquitous.
Universities must empower
students to design and drive
their own learning.
The sharing economy and
the Internet of things will lead
to new approaches to the
business of education.
Do you see the
university (AeU) as a
disruptive force?
With the universitys
objectives squarely focused on
accessibility, affordability and
employability, AeU has
consciously taken steps to
complement the higher
education landscape of the
ACD member countries.
In certain markets, AeU is
pioneering online and
blended-learning methodology,
which inevitably makes it a
disruptive force.
However, we have always
ensured that these new
methodologies increase
options for the learning
communities.
As we move forward into
the next phase of AeUs
development AeU 2.0 we
will be introducing new
practices, learning options and
learning tools.
This will transform the
current pedagogical model into
one that is based more on a
collaborative learning
environment that uses open
source technology along with
open educational resources.
I think a new era is coming
an era that will witness the
disruption of the higher
education model as we know it
today.

n For more information,

call 1300 300 238 or visit
www.aeu.edu.my.

12 Postgraduate

ACCORDING to renowned
psychologist David Kolb,
experiential learning involves
learning from experience.
It is a process where knowledge
is created through the
transformation of experience.
This is the value that is imbued
in the premier dual-award Master
of Business Administration (MBA)
programme offered at Sunway
University.
Addressing the new intake of
MBA students during the induction,
Sunway Universitys MBA
programme chair Dr Michael Dent,
stressed the importance of
experiential learning and critical
analysis.
Noting that surface learning
may suffice in passing an
undergraduate programme, he said
things are different for an MBA
programme, as it involves critical
analysis and seeing things from a
different perspective.
Undergraduate degrees are
about memorising, completing
formulae and writing essays. An
MBA, however, is about critical
analysis, where you need to look at

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Learning through experience

Sunway
University
welcomes its
latest intake of
students for
the MBA
programme.
things from different perspectives
and see what are the other options.
So, there might not be a right
answer, he added.

If you are in a managerial

position, be it in the field of
information technology or human
resources, you tend to have a mildly

biased view about the

organisation that you are
attached to, in terms of what
customers want or what
suppliers are doing.
One of the best things to do is
to switch things up and see
things from a different
perspective, said Dr Dent.
He urged students from
diverse backgrounds to learn
from one another. He also
shared some MBA survival tips
such as time management,
speed-reading and note-taking
skills with the students.
Active and interactive
learning classroom activities
improve learning for students as
being active is the core of the
curriculum, he added.
Among the students who were
present during the orientation
was Chin Chee Leong, who found
the orientation beneficial.
Chin, who is heading a
software development team in a
multinational company based in
Cyberjaya, chose to pursue his
postgraduate studies to improve
his leadership skills.
There are two reasons why I
chose Sunway University for my
MBA. The first is because of its
dual award and triple
accreditation. Apart from this,
the programme gives me an
opportunity to harness soft skills
that are applicable to my
career, he said.
Chin, who commended the
interactive orientation session
and good of blend of people in
his class, foresaw some
challenges in juggling work and
completing his MBA.
However, it is all about

setting my priorities and making

time for what is important, he
said.
The MBA dual award
programme, one of Sunway
Universitys premier
programmes, is validated by the
University of Lancaster.
The programme is tailored to
aspiring managers with the
ambition to become strategic
leaders within increasingly
complex organisational and
business environments.
Upon completion, graduates
will receive two certificates, one
from Sunway University and one
from the University of Lancaster.
Sunway University is a
renowned business education
provider in Malaysia while the
University of Lancaster is ranked
in the top 1% of universities
globally and has been delivering
MBA programmes that are triple
accredited and globally
recognised by the Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business (AACSB), European
Quality Improvement System
(EQUIS) and the Association of
MBAs (AMBA).
Those looking to advance in
their career from an executive
level to a managerial level or
enhance their business acumen
can join the preview session on
Nov 5 at 12.30pm, held at
Sunway Universitys Graduate
Centre.

n For more information or to

reserve a place at the preview,
call 03-7491 8701 or visit
university.sunway.edu.my/
Business-School/Master-BusinessAdministration.

Chin said Sunway

University's MBA
programme gave
him an
opportunity to
harness soft
skills that are
applicable to his
career.

Postgraduate 13

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Breaking gender
stereotypes
NAMES such as Archimedes, Leonardo da
Vinci, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford
and Elon Musk are synonymous with
engineering.
However, besides sharing their knowledge
and greatly contributing to the world of
engineering, these personalities share
something else in common the male
gender.
Taking nothing away from their dedication
and intelligence, it is, however, unfortunate
that the most common names associated
with the field of engineering tend to be male.
Furthermore, in a world where gender
equality is slowly being embraced, it is
surprising to hear instances of female
engineers not being given the same work
opportunities as their male colleagues.
However, things are gradually changing
thanks to women rights groups, persistent
lobbying and social media.
As a result, companies are beginning to
learn that a diversified workforce equals to
better business outcomes. In Innovation By
Design: The Case for Investing in Women
produced by the Anita Borg Institute,
Fortune 500 companies with at least three
female directors saw return on invested
capital increase by at least 66%, return on
sales increase by 42% and return on equity
increase by at least 53%.
It was also reported that companies with
more diverse teams have a lower turnover
rate and have an easier time recruiting.

Limited resource
Among the biggest problems facing
employers in the engineering industry is the
low talent pool available. In 2013, the
American Society for Engineering Education
reported that out of all engineering
graduates in the United States, only around
20% of them were female a percentage that
has been roughly consistent since 2004.
Females, however, were more likely to
pursue an advanced degree compared to
their male counterparts.
In addition, in a study titled
Women Who Lean In Often Soon
Leave Engineering Careers,
Dr Nadya Fouad from
the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee stated

the engineering profession has the highest

turnover of women compared to other
skilled professions.
After conducting a survey of 5,300
engineering alumnae from 200 universities,
11% of women who received engineering
degrees never entered the field.
She also learnt that among the women
who took part in the survey, many had left
the field due to family responsibilities,
better opportunities in different fields and
organisations, lost interest in engineering or
lack of opportunities for advancement.

The local front

The scenario in Malaysia is very much
similar to developed nations, where though
small, the number of women in engineering
is slowly rising.
In the Institution of Engineers Malaysias
(IEM) monthly bulletin, Jurutera, a 2005
study titled Women Engineers in Malaysia
highlighted the emergence of women
engineers in the country only began in the
1970s.
The article also showed the percentage
of female engineering students rising
from 3% in 1981 to 28% in 1991.
Since then, women engineers in Malaysia
are earning due respect and recognition in
their work, contributing their expertise to
world-renowned projects such as KLCC and
KLIA.
With the growing number of female
engineering students in universities and a
larger presence in firms, there is hope then
for the Malaysian engineering industry to
balance out the male-to-female ratio,
beginning a new era that offers all engineers
a fair go at crucial projects irrespective of
gender.

> SEE NEXT PAGE

14 Postgraduate
VC COLUMN
THERE has been a lot of press
coverage recently about the
significant advances that research
universities (RUs) in Malaysia have
made in the latest QS World
University Rankings.
The table shows that four of the
RUs improved their overall
position, with Universiti Malaya
(UM) moving up from the 146th
university in the world to the
133rd ranking.
In 2012, UM was ranked 156th in
the world, rising 23 places in the
past four years. In the same period,
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
has risen from 360th to 270th.
There is still some progress to
make before a Malaysian
university breaks into the top 100,
but the general movement is in the
right direction, even if some of the
RUs experience a drop in their
rankings as has been the case with
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
this year.
The rankings are determined
based on five criteria academic
reputation (40%), employer
reputation (10%), student-to-faculty
ratio (20%), citations per faculty
(20%), international faculty ratio

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Stay on top of the game

By PROF
GRAHAM
KENDALL
(5%) and international student
ratio (5%). The marks for the first
criterion come from a global
survey that asks academicians to
identify the best institutions.
Employer reputation is based on
a global survey that asks employers
which universities produce the
best graduates.
The other measures are
metric-based, using either data
returned from the university or
available from an independent
third party.
The top-ranked university in the
world, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, received an overall
score of 100%.
By comparison, UM received
an overall score of 57.1%, with
an impressive 92.2% in the
student-to-faculty ratio section.
In addition to looking at the
overall rankings, specific subject
rankings are also accessible. The
table shows the rankings
associated with some of the
engineering disciplines.
The engineering and
technology column shows the
overall faculty ranking. All of
the RUs are ranked higher
for engineering and
technology than their overall

World
ranking
in 2015

University

World
ranking
in 2016

Engineering
and
technology

Chemical
engineering

Civil and
structural
engineering

Electrical
engineering

Universiti Malaya

146

133

54

51-100

101-150

37

Universiti Putra Malaysia

331

270

133

101-150

151-200

101-150

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

303

288

100

51-100

101-150

51-100

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

312

302

149

51-100

151-200

101-150

Universiti Sains Malaysia

289

330

85

46

101-150

51-100

The overall university rankings and subject rankings (2016) of research universities in Malaysia according to
QS World University Rankings.
world ranking.
This suggests that engineering is
one of the strongest disciplines in
Malaysia. In particular, UM and
USM are ranked in the worlds top
100 universities for engineering.
Malaysia is well known for its
chemical engineering industries,
with Petronas being an obvious
example. Since it was formed in
1974, the company has grown to be
a global player in oil and gas.
Therefore, you might expect
universities in Malaysia to also be
world leaders in engineering,
which is supported by the rankings
in the table.
All the RUs are ranked higher
in chemical engineering than in
world ranking. Indeed, USM is one
of the worlds top 50 universities in

this discipline.
Similarly for civil and structural
engineering, all the RUs are more
highly ranked in this subject than
they are in their overall world
ranking.
This is also the case for electrical
engineering, with UM being ranked
37th in the world in this discipline,
a rise from 51st last year.
Of course, the fact that the RUs
are more highly rated in
engineering than in world rankings
means that they do not do as well
in some other disciplines.
For example, UM, UPM and
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
are not so highly rated in life
sciences and medicine as their
world ranking would suggest.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

and USM are generally above their

world ranking in all the disciplines
in which they appear but unranked
in a number of other disciplines.
Given that engineering is
important to Malaysia, it is
gratifying to see that five of
Malaysias leading public
universities perform so well in this
discipline.
The need for highly qualified
engineers has never been greater
and Malaysia is certainly rising to
the challenge to supply them.

n Prof Graham Kendall is the

chief executive officer and provost

at The University of Nottingham
Malaysia Campus and pro-vicechancellor at The University of
Nottingham.

Women in engineering
JUST because an industry is
predominantly filled by men does
not mean that a woman cannot
make waves and achieve success.
Though a minority, there are many
women holding high-powered
positions in international
engineering-related companies,
making key decisions that affect
not only the employees under them
but the wider consumer market.
Here are some inspiring women
who believed in their abilities and
chose not to succumb to the
stereotypes of the engineering
world.

l Dr Ann B. Kelleher
corporate vice president and
general manager of the
Technology and Manufacturing
Group at Intel Corporation
Dr Kelleher is responsible for
corporate quality assurance,
corporate services, customer
fulfilment and supply chain
management.
She also supervises the strategic
planning for Intels worldwide
manufacturing operations,
including fabrication, assembly
and testing.
Her previous positions include
process engineer, factory manager,
site manager and general manager
for various companies under the
Intel umbrella. She holds
bachelors, masters and PhD
degrees in electrical engineering.
l Amanda Stiles simulation
software engineer at Space
Exploration Technologies
Stiles has a bachelors degree in
aerospace, aeronautical and
astronautical engineering plus

a competition that offers prizes to

the first privately funded teams to
land a robot on the Moon that
successfully travels 500m and
transmits high-definition images
and video back to Earth.

l Deb Kilpatrick

Dr Ann B. Kelleher.
a master's in science degree
in space management.
She works as a training
and simulation engineer
for various commercial
operations under
SpaceX an American
aerospace
manufacturer and
space transport services
company.
Her experience
in engineering
includes
developing
ground
simulators,
contributing to
crew-training
documentation
and NASA
reviews, as well as
managing various
aspects of the
Google Lunar XPRIZE

chief executive officer at

Evidation Health
As a start-up company under GE
Ventures and Stanford Healthcare,
Evidation Health sets to clinically
prove that a health technology
product is helpful for patients.
Under her guidance, the
company is focused on
demonstrating better health
outcomes with digital health
solutions and new
approaches to predictive
analytics such as
fitness trackers,
smartphone apps and
mobile health
technology devices.
Kilpatrick has a
PhD in biotech
mechanical
engineering and
co-founded Medtech
Women a peer
group for
women in the
biotechnology
field.
She is also
a fellow of
the
American
Institute of
Medical
and

Tracy
Chou.

Biological Engineering and has

worked as an engineer on the F22
Raptor fighter jet at Pratt and
Whitney.

l Tracy Chou software

engineer at Pinterest
After successful internships at
Google, Facebook and Rocket Fuel
and working as an engineer at
Quora, Chou started to shake the
engineering world when she
moved to what was then an
unknown start-up company called
Pinterest.
Still below the age of 30, Chou
has signed as a consultant for the
United States Digital Service.
She is most known, however, as
an activist, raising the issue of
womens low representation in
technology companies and
pressuring firms to reveal more
statistics about the composition of
their workforce.
Last year, she co-founded the
advocacy group Project Include
with seven women from the
industry, which aims to provide
recommendations, materials and
tools to help heads of companies
embrace diversity in the
workplace.
l Erica Lockheimer senior
director of engineering growth
at LinkedIn
As the worlds largest
professional network with more
than 433 million members in
200 countries, it is hard to
imagine any other platform that
can help professionals connect
with like-minded peers at such a
large scale.
Under Lockheimers leadership,

Erica Lockheimer.
LinkedIn has doubled its member
sign-up rate and tripled its total
member count.
She is also the head of LinkedIns
Technical Women Leaders
initiative, a peer group for female
technicians at the company.

l Alba Colon NASCAR

programme manager at
General Motors
Colon joined General Motors
immediately after university with a
degree in mechanical engineering,
working her way up to become
lead engineer for Team Chevrolet
in the United States most famed
car racing series, NASCAR.
She helped the team earn
160 race wins, six drivers
championships, eight
manufacturers awards and
other accolades.
Knowing first-hand the demands
of a gruelling job in a profession
dominated by men, Colon is
passionate about speaking to
schoolchildren around the United
States, sharing her experiences and
the possibilities that are available
for anyone who is willing to work
hard for their dreams.

Postgraduate 15

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Science Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau (centre) and Monash University The Innovation and Collaboration Day, which presented a notable display of
Malaysia's chairman of the board Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah (right) at Engage Monash 2016.
Monash Universitys research strengths, is a feature event of Engage Monash.
INDUSTRY engagement, innovative
research, entrepreneurship and
employment opportunities were
some of the core themes
surrounding Engage Monash 2016.
The week-long event provided a
platform for students and staff to
showcase their capabilities as well
as engage with the industry and
wider community.
An Engage Monash feature event
was the inaugural Innovation and
Collaboration Day, which
showcased an impressive display
of the universitys research
strengths.
The Innovation and
Collaboration Day is part of
Monash Malaysias wider
engagement strategy, which aims
to work with the community,
identify potential partnerships and
explore ways to work together to
solve key issues and problems,
shared Monash University
Malaysias president and provice-chancellor Prof Helen Bartlett.
While Monash Malaysia
currently has approximately 1,000
different industry engagements, we
are keen to deepen many of these
relationships as well as forge new
partnerships for greater strategic
and long-term impact.
In the last 17 years, Monash
Malaysia researchers have made
important breakthroughs and
discoveries in various fields such
as engineering, public health,
tropical medicine and biology,
halal ecosystems and economic
policy modelling.
Open to the public, the event
featured 19 inventions and 44
research projects by academics
and students.
The event was host to the
Science, Technology and
Innovation Minister Datuk Seri
Panglima Madius Tangau and
Monash University Malaysias
chairman of the board Tan Sri
Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, AO.
They were given a tour and
short demonstrations of each
invention. The Minister spoke to
students on Uncovering the Hidden
Gems of Entrepreneurship
Opportunities in Innovation and
STEM (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics),
where he addressed the
opportunities in connecting
entrepreneurship and the
evolution of science for youths.
Notable projects on display
included four projects, which have
been submitted for patenting.

Mask aligner system

The first invention was a UV
LED (light-emitting diode) mask
aligner system by Dr Narayanan
Ramakrishnan and PhD (Doctor of

Innovation in research

Guests were given a tour and short

demonstrations of each invention.
Philosophy) student Lee Neam
Heng from the School of
Engineering.
A mask aligner is generally used
for carrying lithography processes
and the investment of these types
of setups can be expensive.
In Malaysia, the integrated
circuit (IC) fabrication industries,
research and development
institutions, government research
centres and universities import
these machines for RM400,000 to
RM500,000 for a basic bench-top
system.
With this invention of a UV LED
lithography mask aligner system,
production cost can be reduced to
between RM15,000 and RM20,000,
with operational functions
equivalent to the state-of-the-art
bench-top mask aligner system.

pH-sensitive inorganic
nanocrystals
The second creation
was the worlds first
pH-sensitive inorganic
nanocrystals by Assoc Prof
Md Ezharul Hoque
Chowdhury from the
Jeffrey Cheah School of
Medicine and Health
Sciences.
To serve as a superefficient drug transporter,
this product is designed
based on pH-sensitive

Monash Malaysia
researchers have made
important breakthroughs and
discoveries in various fields.

In the last 17
years, Monash
Malaysia researchers
have made important
breakthroughs
and discoveries in
various fields such
as engineering,
public health, tropical
medicine and biology,
halal ecosystems
and economic policy
modelling.
and biodegradable inorganic
nanoparticles that have
properties of electrostatic
binding to DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid),
siRNA (small interfering
ribonucleic acid), proteins
and small molecule drugs.
It can deliver a capacity
across the bloodstream and cell
membrane efficiently to
exert a therapeutic effect.

Aquatic animal growth

enhancement

The third invention was

an aquatic animal growth
enhancement by Prof Ishwar
Parhar, Dr Satoshi Ogawa and
Dr Shogo Moriya of the Brain
Research Institute Monash Sunway
(BRIMS).
Aquaculture is one of the
solutions for meeting the global
demand for food. Growth-rate
enhancement is the key approach
in aquaculture.
This project develops a new
method for the growth
enhancement of aquatic animals
with a combination of two proteins
kisspeptin and ghrelin.

Engaging students through

active learning
The last project was engaging
next-generation medical students
in active learning through an
ecosystem of multi-touch tabletop
computers in an innovative
smart laboratory by Assoc Prof
Dr Arkendu Sen and Assoc Prof
Dr Lakshmi Selvaratnam of the
Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine
and Health Sciences.
Practical teaching of
foundational medical science
within a medical curriculum with

escalating student enrolments and

a shortage of medical teachers
prompted Assoc Prof Sen and
Assoc Prof Lakshmi to design and
develop a hi-tech collaborative
learning ecosystem of lecturer
and student multi-touch tabletop
computers.
This was aimed at promoting
the reinforcement of knowledge,
skills and attitude in learning
anatomy to promote the attributes
needed of medical graduates.
The array of activities within
Engage Monash 2016 included
the Malaysia Telemedicine
Conference 2016, Career and
Internships Fair 2016 as well as
the inaugural South East Asia
Community Observatory (SEACO)
Science Forum.
Themed Research for a
Healthy Community, the
event was attended by delegates
from the Health Ministry, public
and private institutions as well as
community-based nongovernmental organisations,
among others.
The forum, which featured talks
and panel discussions, provided
attendees with insights into the
successes, pitfalls and challenges
of collaborative public health
research.

n For more information, visit

www.monash.edu.my.

16 Postgraduate

POSTGRADUATE study is an
educational pathway for those who
want to improve their career
prospects, gain job satisfaction,
pursue long-standing interests or
challenge themselves intellectually.
Management & Science
University (MSU) has designed
considerable flexibility in the
graduate study environment so
that students can work out the
study mode that works best for
them.
The MSUs School of Graduate
Studies (SGS) offers advanced
degrees at MSc (Master of Science)
and PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
levels.
This covers the wide areas of
management, business, computer
science, accounting, finance,
information and communication
technology, food service
technology, biomedicine,
educational management and
leadership, biomedical sciences,
engineering, pharmacy as well as
clinical pharmacy.
The PhD education focuses
on training in original and
independent scholarships while
the masters education is in either
full research or coursework mode,
which prepares graduate students
for careers in public and private
sectors as well as professional
practice.
The graduate programmes at
MSU emphasises a number of
distinctive and desirable features,
such as the high level of
engagement between local and
international faculties and
graduates.
This is to have an environment
that fosters a global community of
scholars. All of the programmes
offered are supported and
complemented by a wide range of

THE STAR, TUESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2016

Delivering quality studies

MSU gives importance to quality education and creative teaching methodologies to produce holistic graduates.
interdisciplinary units. This results
in the promotion of intellectual
activities and research across the
university.
The SGS provides support to
graduates throughout their
learning experience at MSU. It also
provides creative and innovative
teaching and delivery, a global
leadership programme and social
facilities.

Working with all faculties,

non-academic departments,
relevant industries and other
institutions to enhance graduate
experience, SGS is committed to
delivering quality service exclusive
to its growing postgraduate
community.
The PhD and masters
programmes are research based
and the degrees will be awarded

by MSU on the successful

completion of a thesis.
A viva voce is required for the
PhD programme. The masters
degree is a taught programme and
its assessments are by assignments
and written examinations.
As Malaysias best teaching and
learning university, MSU prioritises
to quality education and creative
teaching methodologies towards

producing quality and holistic

graduates.
Besides incorporating
international exposure in students
learning experience, extensive
industrial training components and
personal enrichment competency
elements are also blended into the
programme of study to ensure the
graduates employability.
The programmes that the
university offers meet the stringent
standards set by local and
international bodies.
MSUs award-winning
homegrown programmes are
among the best in the region. These
programmes are meticulously
crafted to enhance the potential of
graduates.
The university has received
much recognition from Malaysian
and international accreditation
bodies.
Besides the Malaysian
Qualifications Agency (MQA),
MSU is also accredited by the
Accreditation Services for
International Colleges (ASIC) of
United Kingdom and the Alliance
on Business Education and
Scholarship for Tomorrow
(ABEST21) of Japan.
MSU was acknowledged twice
as Excellent Status University by
the Higher Education Ministry
through a rating system on all
universities in Malaysia.

n For more information,

call 03-5521 6868, e-mail

enquiry@msu.edu.my or
visit www.msu.edu.my.