From left: CEO of TERAJU, Husni Salleh; Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin; Prime Minister Malaysia, YAB Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak and CEO & Provost University of Nottingham Malaysia, Prof. Ian Pashby
Malaysian Government civil servants and key executives of government-linked companies are to benefit from postgraduate training on innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship (ICE) delivered by the University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNMC).
The initiative is led by Teraju (Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputra), a unit under the Prime Minister’s Office which spearheads, coordinates and drives the Bumiputera agenda — part of the Transformation Plan that aims for Malaysia to become a high-income, developed, resilient and competitive nation.
The partnership between UNMC and The Government of Malaysia was announced at a key event of the Program Transformasi Ekonomi Bumiputera presided over by the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia was announced on November 26, 2011.
“We are very privileged to be part of this initiative, especially since this is the first time the Malaysian Government has established a strategic research and knowledge-transfer partnership with a private university,” said Professor Ian Pashby, CEO & Provost of The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.
“This partnership highlights our established position in research, knowledge-transfer and education in the nation and through this partnership we will also be part in the country’s nation building,” Professor Pashby said. “Entrepreneurship is embedded throughout the University at every campus.”
The objectives of the partnership are to:
- enhance the capabilities of innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship (ICE) for the Malaysian Government, in order to fully embrace the new National Economic Plan.
- provide further education opportunities to government officials to develop capabilities on ICE.
- improve the academic levels of government officials, in adherence to the National Economic Plan.
- further assist in the development of ICE for the Malaysian Government.
The University of Nottingham Malaysia will provide scholarships for part time courses for a total of five years to civil servants and key executives in government-linked companies.
The degrees include Master of Science (MSc), Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / Master of Research (MRes) / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Degree registration will be assessed by project and academic staff in conjunction with Teraju.
The University of Nottingham was the first ever winner of the Times Higher Education Award for Entrepreneurial University of the Year in 2008-2009. Nottingham encourages staff and students to be innovative, creating new commercial ventures and spin-out companies. It has also won several UK Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, one for its campuses in Asia.
The scope of studies is in line with key-focal areas of ICE for the nation. Areas of the research will be chosen from, but not limited to, the following list, in accordance with the National Economic Plan:
- advanced materials and nanotechnology
- aerospace technologies
- economics of ICE
- environmental research and sustainable technologies
- Halal food and medicine
- industrialised building systems
- information technologies
- local food and crops
- palm oil technologies
- policy and infrastructure studies of ICE
- information and computer technologies (ICT) to underpin any of these projects (eg. operations research, optimisation, scheduling, etc)
The University of Nottingham Malaysia first opened its doors in Kuala Lumpur in 2000. Since then, our student body in Malaysia has grown to around 4,000 — including more than 70 nationalities — based at our 101-acre dedicated campus in Semenyih. It celebrates its 11th anniversary this month.
You can find out more about courses offered by The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus at: www.nottingham.edu.my. You can also email: enquiries@nottingham.edu.my (for Malaysian students) and international.enquiries@nottingham.edu.my (for International students).
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More information is available from Josephine Dionisappu, on +603 8924 8746,josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my; or Simon Butt, Stakeholder Relations and Campaign Manager, on +44 (0)115 84 67156, simon.butt@nottingham.ac.uk
Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @UoNMalaysia.
Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as “the embodiment of the modern international university”, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK’s top 10 and the world’s top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. For more details, visit: www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at: www.nottingham.edu.my
Posted on 30th November 2011