KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry today announced the appointment of Prof Datuk Dr Husaini Omar as the new vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) from Jan 1.
Husaini is the former Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) deputy vice-chancellor (research and innovation).
He will succeed current UMK vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mortaza Mohamed.
The ministry said Husaini’s appointment was based on his expertise, knowledge, experience and achievements while holding senior administrative positions as UPM deputy vice-chancellor and previous other positions locally and internationally.
“We hope that this appointment will continue UMK's achievements and contributions in achieving its vision and mission as an entrepreneurship-focused university,” it said in a statement.
The ministry said it had faith in his expertise in the fields of academic, corporate governance and the ability to ensure financial sustainability of UMK.
It said he had shown this when he promoted research results for commercialisation purposes while successfully driving UPM Holdings to become one of the best subsidiaries for a local public university.
Husaini, who will be UMK vice-chancellor until Dec 31, 2020, started his career as a lecturer at UPM in 1996, where he had held several positions such as the dean of the engineering faculty.
Husaini holds a doctorate in philosophy in the field of systems engineering from UPM and a master’s degree in geology from University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom.
He has received numerous international awards such as the WIPO Gold Medal, National Youth Award, National Young Scientist Award, and the Marquis Who's in Science and Engineering for his knowledge and experience.
The ministry expressed gratitude to Mortaza for his service and leadership during his term from Jan 1, 2015 to Dec 31 2017.