KUANTAN: The sky is the limit for Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). Ranked among the top 800 best universities in the world based on the QS World University Rankings (WUR) 2020, UMP is aiming to become a leader in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country.
Last year, it emerged as the first local technical and non-research university to receive the prestigious QS 5-star overall rating award.
UMP Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff said the university had become a platform to produce a well-trained technical workforce with skills that catered to the future.
This was attributed to the varsity being part of the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) alongside Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka and Universiti Malaysia Perlis.
“UMP is strengthening its high-end TVET and moving forward to emerge as the pinnacle for TVET education. We are moving towards producing a home-grown workforce that caters to the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.
“One is not required to be smart, but skilful and multitalented. It is about learning specific skills through repetitive practice on different equipment, machines or systems.
“We want the public, especially parents, to give importance to TVET as some view it as a back-up option for their children. MTUN helps graduates to become more capable at sophisticated tasks, which will be required for the future job market.”
Wan Azhar said UMP would be offering a Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Railway Maintenance) programme to cater to the burgeoning sector.
“As long as there are trains in the country, we will require railway maintenance technologists. We cannot remove these railway infrastructures, so we have to produce a skilled workforce for this sector.”
In a move to bring out the best of TVET, UMP will carry out a minor restructuring exercise in its campuses in Gambang and Pekan next year.
Wan Azhar said the Gambang campus would be renamed the UMP College of Engineering and College of Management and Humanities, while the Pekan campus would be renamed the College of Engineering Technology and College of Computing and Science.
“We have equipment and facilities in Pekan, and this allows our students to be hands-on when it comes to TVET. UMP Pekan will serve as a technology campus and this is part of our efforts to achieve our goals in TVET.”
Wan Azhar said UMP’s Graduate Employability was ranked at 96 per cent, which was well above the 80 per cent benchmark set by the Education Ministry.
UMP graduates are able to secure employment with companies that have business links with Germany following an academic collaboration for a postgraduate degree in mechanical engineering and automotive engineering with the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA).
UMP Chancellor Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah will be presenting the scrolls to graduates at the 14th UMP convocation today.
A total of 3,778 graduates will receive their scrolls during the two-day ceremony.
The event will be historic as Tan Sri Dr Abi Musa Asaari Mohamed Nor will be proclaimed as UMP’s pro-chancellor, while HeiTech Padu Bhd executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Hilmey Mohd Taib will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Information Technology.