3 UniKL’s centres of excellence receive TCH appointment letter

A total of three centres of excellence (CoE) from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) have been officially appointed as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Collaboration Hubs.

It involves the areas of railways within UniKL Asia Rail Centre; satellites and avionics at UniKL Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT); and robotics at UniKL Malaysia France Institute (UniKL MFI).

The letter of appointment was handed over by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) Deputy Secretary-General (Policy), YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Haji Megat Sany Megat Ahmad Supian to the Dean of UniKL MIAT, Dr. Mohd Hafizi Shamsudin; the Dean of UniKL Malaysia Italy Design Institute (UniKL MIDI) and Director of UniKL Asia Rail Centre, Prof Madya Ir. Dr. Azman Senin; and Head of Research & Innovation at UniKL MFI, Prof Madya Dr. Mohamad Asmidzam Ahamat during the closing ceremony of ‘Minggu TVET Negara 2022’, which took place at Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam, today.

The handover was also witnessed by the President/Chief Executive Officer of UniKL, Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar.

Upon the appointment, Dr. Mohd Hafizi saw that the endeavour would pave the way for a wide-ranging collaboration involving industry partners, higher education institutions, and government entities.

“This appointment will undoubtedly have a significant impact on UniKL MIAT, which will serve as the central hub for all aerospace-related research, as mandated and desired by the ministries involved.

“Our next mission is to implement activities and projects within the avionics section of UniKL MIAT, namely Satellite Communication and Avionics System Integration (SCASI) to realise more strategic collaborations,” he said.

Also present at the closing ceremony were the Director-General of Polytechnic and Community College Education Department, YBhg. Ts. Zainab Ahmad; Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) Vice-Chancellor, YBhg. Lt. Kol. Prof. Ts. Dr. Zaliman Sauli; Director of Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, YBhg. Dr. Hj. Mohd. Zahari Ismail; ministry representatives and industry partners. 

The three CoE’s representatives were also accompanied by the President/Chief Executive Officer of UniKL, Datuk Dr. Roziah Omar

The appointment, meanwhile, according to Associate Prof Ir. Dr. Azman, acknowledges UniKL Asia Rail Center as a rail centre of excellence recognised by both government and industry.

“UniKL Asia Rail Center outlines the structure of programmes that are tailored to meet industry demand, which ensures the marketability of students,” he said.

A key component of the country’s sustainable economic development, the TVET programme is given the emphasis on empowerment, as well as on improving its ecosystem under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

On February 3, the National TVET Council (MTVET) meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, approved the establishment of the TVET Collaboration Hub, which involves 11 ministries and is coordinated under MoHE.

In response to this development, the Minister of Rural Development, Dato’ Seri Mahdzir Khalid expressed his confidence that UniKL is ready to play its mandated role in empowering TVET by sharing resources, expertise and equipment.

In fact, during his opening remarks of ‘Ekspo Institusi Pendidikan TVET@KPLB 2022’ on Thursday (23 June 2022), he mentioned that there is viable potential for students’ skills in the field to be further enriched, capitalising on more collaborations established with global industry players and institutions of higher learning.

“TVET is not a fantasy; it is a real field and must be disseminated to the community as I believe, many are ‘stranded’ in the villages due to unsatisfactory results in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Even so, they can still enrol in TVET institutions of learning.

“TVET has the potential to raise the standard of living of individuals, but it also empowers a family institution for the better,” he said.

He further added, KPLB-supervised TVET institutions saw a marketability rate of 87.53 per cent last year, which is greater than the target rate of 86.7 per cent for graduates of higher learning institutes and public TVET institutions.