UNIVERSITI Malaysia Pahang (UMP), one of the newest universities in the country, wants to emerge as a leading technical institute of higher learning in the region, says Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Daing Mohd Nasir Daing Ibrahim.

He is confident the university will be among the best in technical education as the foundation has already been laid.

"It is just a matter of strategising and putting it all together," says Daing Mohd Nasir, 53.

The former Universiti Sains Malaysia Advance Management Centre Director acknowledged that UMP has a lot of catching up to do in terms of building a reputation as a leading university in its own right.

He said the challenge facing UMP as a technical university is to use this specialisation to its advantage in its bid to excel.
UMP, formerly known as Kolej Universiti Kejuruteraan dan Teknologi Malaysia, was established on Feb 16, 2002. It was set up as a competency-based technical university specialising in Engineering and Technology. UMP focuses on these areas: Chemical, Petrochemical and Natural Resources Industry Manufacturing and Process Industry.

It currently operates from a temporary campus in the industrial estate of Gambang, 30km west of Kuantan. Connected by the East Coast Expressway, it is only a 21/2-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur.

The campus can accommodate about 5,000 students.

Its main campus in Pekan is under construction.

The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion next year. When completed, the 737ha campus will be able to cater for 10,000 students and 2,000 employees.

Daing Mohd Nasir says UMP will be performance driven based on a culture of excellence.

Despite being located in Pahang, he says its approach will be global rather than insular.

He adds that if UMP is to be a world-class educational institution it has to take on the global market and make a name for itself.

In the next three years UMP will concentrate on capacity building in teaching and research.

"By 2020 we want UMP to be highly competitive and sought after by Malaysian and international students."