Tag: Universiti Teknologi MARA

The Malaysian Education Philosophy envisions education as a means of fostering students’ holistic development. The introduction of SDG-based learning in education was formulated as a result of this goal. UNESCO introduced SDG-based learning at the school level to empower the children, and they can participate to find solutions based on their point of view and cognitive level. It is known as education for sustainable development (ESD). Some schools have benefited from increased awareness
and have seized the chance to foster creativity and environmental responsibility in their students. Nonetheless, some schools continue to struggle with its comprehension and application. The online exchange program has created a new space for comprehending and raising awareness of the SDGs
among the students and teachers.

To increase the understanding of SDGs and its importance, collaborative learning is considered to provide effective knowledge transfer. An international online exchange program involving collaborative learning with an ESD approach has been implemented between Japan and Malaysia since 2021. Due to the positive feedback from both parties, the program has continued until now. The program received good feedback from the teachers and students involved. In this program, the students from both countries shared their activities. The students exchange the information and questions to inquire more knowledge. The program is facilitated by Faculty of Education , University of Toyama and School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, UiTM Malaysia.

The impact of this program led to the schools participating in sustainability programs, which promote environmental management and education, science, and design technology. The program helps
schools implement green practices and educate students about sustainability. Programs like this encourage students to involve with innovation development. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their work by participating in various competitions at the school, state, national, and international levels. The students feel happy because they can share their activities and achievement
with their partner schools in Japan.

The school takes the opportunity with SDG-based learning to provide space for students to engage in various activities that can foster their awareness and improve their thinking skills. They also have the opportunity to showcase their talents in designing and share their innovations with others.

The school’s teacher used SDG as a theme in teaching and learning activities, Activities such as growing the fish in support of SDGs 1 and 2 teach the students about the importance of generating
income from their own efforts and the importance of getting nutritious food every day. In addition, these SDG-related activities have made the school a sustainable space by creating a comfortable ambient for them to learn every day. Students also take care of the school environment and make it a shared responsibility. Indirect education through SDG-based education has improved soft skills among
students.

The exciting thing achieved through this program for teachers is the improvement of professionalism of teachers and their understanding of the SDGs. With the opportunity to communicate with teachers from Toyama, Japan, the teachers involved in Malaysia have been able to develop their knowledge and skills in the field of global education and the SDGs. This gives them a new perspective and is a useful tool for teaching. The exchange of shared experiences and indirect learning of different teaching methods from their counterparts in Japan has enriched their teaching practices. The teachers involved have opened up the scope of their thinking of SDG with collaboration with the teachers in Japan in practicing ESD among students. This opportunity is to form an international with counterparts that can lead to future collaboration opportunities and a more constructive exchange of ideas.

It can be concluded that, international exchange programmes through collaborative learning on the SDGs not only enhance knowledge and skills but also build better relationships globally. More important is the students understand and aware about SDGs and can participate to take action for the solutions.

The Green Campus Committee of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perak Branch with strategic partner Urbanice Malaysia has recently launched the dockless e-scooter via Micro@Mobility program towards low carbon campus initiatives. UiTM Perak Branch is the first UiTM campus that has initiated and launched the utilization of e-scooter, where this program is part of the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UiTM Perak and Urbanice Malaysia. The program is also in collaboration with strategic partners of Perak Tengah District Council, Malaysian Green Technology Society, Beam Scooter Malaysia, Green Safe Cities (Gresafe), Sustainable Campus Club, HEP UiTM Perak Branch, and UiTM Green Centre (UGC). The initiative helps to accelerate the concept of “Green Lifestyles”, “Green Transportation” and “Low Carbon Initiatives” by reducing the number of utilized vehicles, thus reducing carbon emissions and environmental pollution. This project also supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) No 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities.

The program was launched by the Rector of UiTM Perak Branch, Associate Professor Dr. Nur Hisham Ibrahim, together with the head of the Green Campus Committee, Associate Professor Sr Dr. Nur Azfahani Ahmad, the project director, Gs. Norhazlan Haron and all strategic partners’ representatives. According to Associate Professor Sr Dr. Nur Azfahani, 100 e-scooters are provided to 13 stations in the UiTM Perak campus, and plan to increase the number of e-scooters in the future. The users can use it with a scanned QR code via the BEAM application, and the app can be downloaded via the Apple store (for IOS users) or Google Play Store (for Android users). UiTM Perak hopes that this project shall spark the movement of low-carbon neighbourhoods and foster green, healthy, and quality lifestyles among campus users.

The Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, Puncak Alam Campus, hosted a summer program for 11 non-business students from the National Institute of Technology, Ube College (NITUC), Japan. The main objective of the summer program was for the students to embark on a linguistic journey to acquire English while learning the fundamentals of business. To attend to this, customised business modules were created for this group of students.  Several senior faculty members of FBM participated as facilitators and speakers for this one-month summer program, which ran from August 25th to September 24th of 2022. They shared their business experience, expertise and knowledge with the students.

The NITUC students found this summer program to be eye-opening as it enriched their business knowledge and experience while improving their English skills. The program offers a variety of activities with several buddy sessions and provide opportunities for cultural immersion. In addition to learning about business matters, the program added more colour into the students’ lives as it allowed them to experiment with different learning styles, foster connections with their peers, facilitators, and lecturers from Malaysia as well as discover Malaysian history, cultures and traditions. As students were encouraged to talk, ask questions, and contribute throughout the program, it boosted the students’ English proficiency.

Yamashita Kao, 16, a student from the Department of Chemistry and Materials Technology, said that the program was “a good experience for me because I learned a lot about Malaysian traditions and was able to communicate in English with the buddies and teachers in a fun and easy way.  I look forward to meet everyone again in the future”. Similarly, Sasamoto Keita, 17, a student from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering stated that “the summer program is fun and exciting. I wish to visit Malaysia again”.

Kamimura Tsukino, 18, from the Department of Control and Information Engineering explained the summer program was “exciting since I can communicate in English with my buddies and teachers. They were all very kind”.

Not only did the students give the program great reviews, NITUC’s Sensei, Ms. Siti Aisyah Mokhtar concurred.  She said, “During this program, the students gained so much knowledge and experience that they could not have learned anywhere else.  They enjoyed their time at UiTM and found that after a month, they could communicate more effectively in English. Their improvement has impressed us.”

With the enormous success and accomplishment of this 2022’s summer program, NITUC, Japan eagerly anticipating the Linguistic Journey @ FBM, UiTM 2.0, which is set to begin in September 2023. For both FBM, UiTM and NITUC, Japan, they are committed to making the summer program a yearly event. This summer program is part of FBM’s international mobility drive in supporting UiTM’s aspiration to become a globally renowned university (GRU) in 2025.

For the program’s video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3yxT96p1zw.

Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA and Rhazes Consultancy Services Sdn. Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in pharmaceutical healthcare focusing on collaboration to develop and enhance quality education and expertise in tele-pharmacy and digital health. The signing ceremony was held on the 24 December 2021 at UiTM Puncak Alam Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.

The MoU was signed by the Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM, Associate Professor Dr Shariza Sahudin, and Chief Executive Officer, Rhazes Consultancy Services Sdn. Bhd., Mr Munaver Ahmad b Nazir Ahmad. The signing ceremony was also attended by the Chief Operating Officer of Rhazes Consultancy Services, Pn. Noorasmah bt Mohamed Noordin and UiTM’s Faculty of Pharmacy’s Deputy Dean (Industry, Community, Alumni & Network), Dr Muhamad Faiz Othman, and the Head of Department (Pharmacy Practice), Dr Mahmathi Karuppannan.

According to Associate Professor Dr Shariza Sahudin, the collaborative partnership with Rhazes Consultancy Services, a leading organization providing tele-pharmacy services, aligns with the Faculty of Pharmacy’s objective to pioneer tele-pharmacy development in Malaysia. “I believe through this collaboration, the tele-pharmacy expertise led by Rhazes Consultancy Services can be further developed”, she said. Associate Professor Dr Shariza Sahudin added that future collaborative work between Rhazes Consultancy Services and the Faculty of Pharmacy UiTM is expected to address the pressing demand to develop and enhance the skills and knowledge in digital pharmaceutical healthcare among pharmacy graduates given the shift to online platforms mainly due to IR4.0 and the Covid19 pandemic.

Rhazes Consultancy Services is a digital pharmacy technology service provider that connects the public with consultants, specialists, and subject matter experts in pharmaceutical healthcare. Coming from various fields of pharmaceutical practice, experts from Rhazers can provide unbiased, accurate, reliable, and quality advice and guidance on health, diseases, medication, and current health issues to future practitioners. Currently, the organisation provides digital pharmaceutical healthcare services such as medication management, quit-smoking programme, asthma disease management, and diabetic medication therapy adherence clinic.

The collaborative effort between both parties following the MoU signing is anticipated to produce substantial engagement initiatives towards providing high-quality and up-to-date pharmacy educational programmes and ensuring excellence in the profession of pharmacy.

Dr Nadzriah Ahmad, the child justice and diversion expert from the Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA, (UiTMLaw), has been entrusted to lead the national team of Malaysia to embark on the evaluation study entitled Country Led Evaluation of Child Justice Reform: The Diversion Pilot. Other team members comprise Assoc Prof Dr Sheela Jayabalan and Assoc Prof Dr Normawati Hashim. The study is funded by an international grant which is part of the consultancy work undertaken by international researchers led by Child Frontiers Limited. It is pertinent to highlight that this study is carried out to support the Government of Malaysia, led by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, in reforming the child justice reforms, by introducing the diversion pilot in Malaysia.

The purpose of introducing the diversion pilot is to prevent children in conflict with the law from coming into contact with the formal child justice system in Malaysia, thus preventing the adversarial system’s adverse effects on children. This evaluation study is in line with the Strategic Planning 2021-2025, developed by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysia, to afford better protection for children in conflict with the law in Malaysia. One of the essential objectives of this evaluation study is to shed light on how the diversion pilot is currently functioning in the three pilot sites, located in Sepang, Seremban, and Port Dickson. Therefore, this study will considerably impact the diversion pilot, particularly in providing evidence-based findings of the desirability and feasibility of continuing or scaling up the diversion pilot in 2022 in Malaysia. Furthermore, this research is also in tandem with the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC) provision that promotes the use of alternative measures, such as diversion to protect children in conflict with the law from the adverse effects of the formal justice system in Malaysia. UiTMLaw is optimistic that this international collaboration will achieve the prescribed objectives, which will ultimately protect the children’s interest as the future generation.