UniKL among 15 local universities seals MoU, MoC with PETRONAS

Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and 14 other local universities have signed the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Cooperation (MoCs) with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS).

Under the effort called ‘Collaboration with Higher Education Strategic InitiativeS (CHESS)’, the collaboration aims at catalysing industrial-academic knowledge sharing for talent development and continuous progress which is in line with the company’s sustainability goals. 

The other involved universities are Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Melaka (UTeM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). 

The MoUs and MoCs signing will see the launch of a spectrum of programmes to facilitate learning and coaching in a wider range of technical areas related to the energy industry. 

UniKL President and Chief Executive Officer, YBHG Datuk Dr Roziah Omar said, the collaborative research and development activities between PETRONAS and UniKL researchers in the Environmental & Sustainable Energy, Chemical & Advanced Materials Engineering; and prospective consultancy projects are relevant to Green Technology & Renewable Energy as it is in line with the varsity’s strategic direction.

“Recognising this, UniKL will continue to pursue continuous strategic renewal, innovation, and venturing initiatives whenever possible while fostering strategic collaborations on key promising areas with PETRONAS and other university collaborators within CHESS to build on the engineering, technical and entrepreneurial orientation postures.

“On the same note, we can once again hail the start of this collaboration and hope that it will progress from within the years to come. Teamwork and alliances are fundamental to a sustainable success within all collaborators,” said YBHG Datuk Dr Roziah.

YBHG Datuk Dr Roziah expressed her confidence that such agreements and collaborations will open up more opportunities to strengthen the university programme offerings in Malaysia, thus guaranteeing continuous improvement in building human capitals who are professionals.

For the record, PETRONAS Project Delivery and Technology Senior Vice President, Bacho Pilong and representatives from the universities exchanged the MoU/MoCs in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), today. UniKL was represented by YBHG Datuk Dr Roziah and Director of Centre for Research & Innovation, Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd Khairil Rahmat.

Meantime, Bacho Pilong in a statement said that the state-owned oil firm always strives to create a positive social impact which is guided by its sustainability agenda.

“Talent development through education-related initiatives is among the channels we humbly contribute to nation-building and bring betterment to those we cross paths with. It is also hoped that the efforts will help build a sustainable talent pipeline for the industry amid a global energy transition. 

“With the signing of MoUs/MoCs with 15 reputable institutions, we look forward to accelerating our momentum in creating positive social impact while supporting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) namely Quality Education,” he further noted.