KOTA BARU: Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) is one of the nation's youngest public universities. With its tagline 'Entrepreneurship is Our Thrust', UMK aims to be a leading entrepreneurship university in the region.
In a recent interview, UMK vice-chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Noor Azizi Ismail discussed UMK's achievements and its way forward.
"UMK embeds a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurial qualities such as innovation and resilience in its programmes, using Science and Technology as the enablers," explained Professor Azizi.
Currently, UMK offers various programmes in the areas of Entrepreneurship and Business; Tourism, Hospitality and Wellness; Creative Technology and Heritage; Architecture and Ekistics; Bio-Engineering; Agro-Tech; Earth Sciences; and Veterinary Science.
"These programmes are enriched by technology, language learning and soft skills and enrol more than 10,000 students across three campuses in Bachok, Jeli and Pengkalan Chepa."
Professor Azizi is frank about the challenges affecting UMK, and this includes reputational risk compounded by risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures.
As the new VC, Prof Azizi is tasked to instil a positive new culture to uplift UMK's performance and reputation.
"People often ask me how UMK has changed since I took the helm. Improving communication and getting buy-in is crucial in bringing UMK forward. Therefore, I chose teamwork as the theme for my first official engagement with UMK staff in January 2019."
After almost two years in the hot seat, Professor Azizi is keen to share UMK's achievements, delivered through its culture of teamwork. "The previous management has set up a solid foundation for the university. I only tweaked here and there. UMK now has a new work culture, better governance, new strategies and a new set of KPIs, stronger teamwork and a new belief that nothing is impossible. We also place integrity at the highest level."
The team's hard work has paid off in spades, recounts Professor Azizi proudly. Firstly, the Ministry of Finance approved RM130 million for a new hostel project that can accommodate up to 3,000 students. "It was the highest development fund approved for a public university in 2019. It wasn't easy. I had to persuade the Higher Education Minister and the Secretary-General as well as senior officers from the MoF to visit the campus to convince them of the importance of the project," said Professor Azizi.
Secondly, based on the data of a tracer study released by MoHE, UMK's Graduate Employability (GE) improved from 70 per cent in 2018 to 92 per cent in 2019. Key to increasing graduates' work readiness is UMK's employability initiatives and growing brand recognition in the market.
"We introduced a finishing school programme for our graduating students to boost their confidence and prepare them for job interviews. This year we improved the programme to include starting and pre-finishing schools. We also stepped up our visibility among the employers. We introduced Ministerial Talks, Ambassadorial Talks and CEO Talks. Last year, the Education and Economic Affairs ministers spoke on campus, four ambassadors shared their global views, and several CEOs also shared their industry experience with our staff and students. That helps increase UMK's visibility."
Thirdly, as an entrepreneurial university, Professor Azizi has implemented a diversified strategy to improve graduate entrepreneurship. "Our Graduate Entrepreneurs increased from 2.8 per cent in 2018 to 12.9 per cent in 2019, the highest in Malaysia. We provide seed funding for students to do business on campus. Our dedicated lecturers coach and mentor our students for entrepreneurial activities. We also work closely with successful entrepreneurs and relevant agencies such as Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation and Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia for support."
"The increase in GE isn't just beneficial for students, but also helps improve UMK's market recognition and the visibility of its programmes. Based on data from 'UPU Prajaya', demand for our programmes for the October 2020 intake shot up to 94 per cent, compared to 67 per cent in 2018 and 2019. This is a new record for UMK. Some of our programmes are now oversubscribed."
Always intent on the big picture, UMK has designed new programmes to support its entrepreneurship thrust. MoHE recently approved Bachelor of Accounting and Bachelor of Information Technology, that will drive financial management and digital transformation to better support business. UMK co-designed the Bachelor of Accounting with Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and the Bachelor of IT with tech giants Huawei, Alibaba and Microsoft.
Professor Azizi also plans for UMK to earn global recognition as Malaysia's entrepreneurship university.
"Key to this is to be involved in international conferences. I represented Malaysia in AACSB Asia Pacific Annual Accreditation Conference and the Beijing International Think Tank Forum. To be invited in a global forum and sitting next to the Presidents of world-renowned universities like Cornell University, Yale University, and Peking University was significant recognition for a young university like UMK. We are currently working hard to become the first public university in Malaysia to gain accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU)."
Backed by his own entrepreneurial mindset and his accounting training which emphasises the bottomline, Professor Azizi also leads efforts to enhance UMK's financial sustainability. This is especially important in the COVID-19 era.
"Nowadays, we spend more prudently to enable our business continuity. Our expenses are linked with KPIs and desired outcomes. We assessed our budgets and made substantial savings which were reinvested in other critical projects such as e-learning and smart campus."
The university also wants to play a role in the socio-economic development of Kelantan. Its team of researchers prepared a comprehensive proposal called 'Lembah Barakah', which contains 38 programmes that complement the state's strategic plan, which was well-received by the state government."
Prof. Azizi believes that with hard work and teamwork from all, UMK can collectively soar to greater heights.
Concluding on an inspirational note, he says: "I am a positive person who believes passionately in teamwork. None of us are superhuman, but we can each be a candle that illuminates our own space. By working together to combine the light from all our candles, we can illuminate a tremendous space and transform the lives of many. This is what UMK proposes to achieve. Together, we can shine bright like a diamond and collectively soar to greater heights, InshaAllah."