UiTMLaw looks to alumni to return as mentors for the new generation of legal practitioners

The legal industry in Malaysia is ever-growing, adapting to society’s legal developments and demands. The Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTMLaw), endeavours to equip students not only with legal academics but also to ensure students are prepared to meet the demands of the industry.

To achieve this, UiTMLaw initiated the UiTMLaw Industry – Alumni Mentorship Programme “Inspiring Future Leaders” for the final semester students. A closing ceremony was held on 4 September 2021 to mark the conclusion of the programme.

Despite being forced to seclusion during these unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, this programme offers students exposure to the legal industry’s real world in the safe confines of their homes.

The programme enlisted esteemed alumni of UiTMLaw viewed to be captains of industry to be mentors, which include the former Chief Justice of Malaysia and Adjunct Professor of UiTMLaw, the Honourable Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum, legal managers, advocates & solicitors, prosecutors, federal counsels and legal executives.

Each mentor was assigned to a class, where they conducted sharing and guidance sessions. Instead of academic lectures, the mentors shared their working experiences and observations, from common mistakes in filing court documents to faux pas often made by young practitioners during court trials. These pearls of wisdom will allow students to be a few steps ahead of the curve and to hit the ground running once accepted for pupillage.

Through these sessions, it is hoped that UiTMLaw students would be able to look beyond their classroom walls and quickly adapt to the fast-paced demands of the legal industry in Malaysia. Positive feedback from the students illustrated the success of the programmes in providing the necessary exposure to the students before they leave the university.

This event aligns with UiTM’s aspiration as a higher learning institution that is constantly committed to ensuring students’ employability upon graduation. Through this initiative, the faculty can work hand-in-hand with Alumni from diverse backgrounds. UiTMLaw hopes that the experiences and knowledge shared by the mentors will ease the students’ transition from that of students to prospective pupils in chambers.

UiTM and UPI foster more research collaboration

As its internationalization drive, the Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia had been in discussion and working closely with the Faculty of Economics and Business Education (FPEB), Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), Indonesia on fostering more research collaboration between them.

In March 2021, both parties successfully signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) via the Research Matching Grant Scheme (RMGS) to strengthen their research networking as well as to expand collaboration between two universities.

The RMGS focuses on contemporary research areas pertinent to logistics and entrepreneurship. Among the topics to cover are issues on Halal Logistics, Risk Analysis in the Halal Foods Delivery Services and the Womanpreneurs’ Empowerment in leading the Way Against Covid-19.

The MOA ceremony was held virtually with the witnesses by the Dean of FBM, Prof. Dr. Noryati Ahmad, Deputy Dean of Research, Dr Amirul Afif Muhamat, Deputy Dean of Academic, Dr Zarina Denan, and all researchers involved in the project. The research contributors from FBM are, Dr Ismah Osman, Assoc. Prof. Dr Rohana Ngah, Assoc. Prof. Dr Lennora Putit, and Dr Emi Normalina Omar. Meanwhile, the representatives from FPEB are Prof. Dr H.Eeng Ahman, Dr Heny Hendrayanti, Prof. Dr Suryana, Prof. Dr Hari Mulyadi, Dr Chairul Furqan, and Dr Mukh. Adib Sultan.

This research collaboration is an epitome of a professional and strong relationship between both institutions that are consistently pursuing ways to develop collaborative activities beneficial for their stakeholders. More other collaborations are in the pipeline for both institutions in their bid to move forward and stay relevant in the new norm.

UiTM receives grant for students’ career advancement

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia was recently awarded Marketability Grant worth RM1,135,000. The funding is granted to the researchers from the College of Engineering headed by Assoc. Prof. Ir Ts Dr Azita Laily Yusof with team members; Assoc. Prof. Ir Ts Dr Juliana Johari, Assoc. Prof. Ir Ts Dr Norsuzila Ya’acob, Ir Ts Dr Nani Fadzlina Naim and Ir Ts Dr Suhaila Subahir.

The Marketability Grant is explicitly for the Telecommunications Engineering Competency Certification Course Program under the KPT Career Advancement Program (Penjana KPT-CAP). The grant is intended to enhance the added value of graduates in terms of professional qualifications, personal skills and personality of graduates.

This accredited Telecommunications Engineering Competency Certification Course Program is a certification awarded to those who have successfully gone through comprehensive training covering telecommunication networks, data communications, wireless communications and microwave devices. With this certification, they are recognized to have achieved competency skills levels from the Telco, DOSH and CIDB industries.

Those who receive this certification are recognized as highly skilled, quality and a source of reference for the department as they have obtained complete accreditation and no longer need to take outside certification to start new jobs. This is part of UiTM’s efforts to help increase the marketability of graduates in achieving the status of a developed country in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

FBM, UiTM organized a Green Initiatives for Sustainable Campus seminar

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has been accepted as a member of MySUN (Malaysia Sustainable University Campus) Network. MySUN, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of European Union under the Capacity Building Funding, aims to support Malaysia to address the challenges facing Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the area of the system, management and operations of sustainable university campuses in promoting people to people contacts, intercultural awareness and understanding, and supporting the national-level collaboration.

MySUN focuses on the three main activities of sustainability: curriculum development activities, modernisation of governance, management and system of HEIs and strengthening of the relations between higher education and the wider economic and social environment. With the support from 8 Malaysian HEIs, University of Alicante, University of Geneva and FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences; and funds in a duration of 3 years (January 2020 to January 2023), activities as such can be well conducted.

Hence, as member of MySUN, on the 22nd July, 2021 via Google Meet platform, MySUN UiTM which led by the Faculty of Business and Management (FBM) conducted a seminar with the theme of “Green Initiatives for Sustainable City”. This seminar aimed at creating awareness on green initiatives in UiTM and bridging the initiatives among all stakeholders.

This seminar also fosters the support of MySUN as a supporting network to the current green initiatives held by the UiTM Green Centre (UGC). During the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norlida Jaafar, Manager of MySUN UiTM, expressed that MySUN intends to be part of the initiatives by UGC in developing a more sustainable green campus for tomorrow. She also highlighted the importance of identifying key target groups to ensure deliverables of green initiatives are achievable.

Meanwhile, in the “UGC & Green Initiatives in UiTM” segment, Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Arnis Asmat, the Director of UGC discloses an encouraging number of UGC green initiatives currently implemented by its clusters (infrastructure, waste, water, energy consumption, education and transportation). These initiatives are vowed to bring benefits to UiTM, for research, socio-economic and environment and to the nation, at large.

In the last segment of the seminar, TPr. Annie Syazrin Ismail, Senior Officer of Town Planning from the State Council (MBSA) acknowledged the need to extend the green initiatives to a wider economic and social environment. She also highlighted that the goal of creating a dynamic city comes with the support of local residents. Creating a smart, liveable and sustainable city is more feasible and the challenges facing the goal are minimized with residents understanding and appreciating the SDGs. To date, MBSA runs a variety of initiatives in supports of the SDGs.

Basically, the seminar yields a range of fruitful ideas and suggestions for future sustainable initiatives that UGC and MySUN could focus on. Appreciation goes to all the participants who supported and provided positive feedbacks and ideas throughout the seminar.

UiTM Pahang branch campus hosts iMIT SIC 2021

University Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pahang branch campus successfully organised the 4th International Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand Symposium on Innovation and Creativity  (iMIT SIC 2021) from 13 June to 24 August 2021.

iMIT SIC 2021 was mainly aimed to provide an avenue for local and international academics, researchers, and students to highlight their innovative and creative ideas or products from multidisciplinary fields related to Social Science, Business Administration, Engineering, and Science & Technology fields within the theme “Embracing Innovation and Creativity in Industrial Revolutions.”.

The symposium involved the participation of 3 strategic partners from Malaysia (Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang branch, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perlis branch, Universiti Teknologi MARA Johor branch, Universiti Teknologi MARA Sarawak branch), Indonesia (Universitas Islam Riau, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Tanjungpura) and Thailand (Princess Naradhiwas University, Yala Rajabhat University, Phuket Rajabhat University). To adapt to the new norm conditioned by the pandemic, the event was conducted virtually for the first time after it was first held in 2017.

The event started with a welcoming speech by UiTM Pahang Branch’s Deputy Director for Research & Industrial Linkages, Assoc. Prof. Dr Wan Mohd Nazri Wan Abdul Rahman, followed by keynote speeches from the representatives of Malaysia (Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr Noor Azurai Ahmad @ Salleh of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Thailand (Col. Asst. prof. Sarawut Jindarat of Phramongkutlao College of Medicine Bangkok) and Indonesia (Dr Evizal Abdul Kadir of Universitas Islam Riau).

Over the three months’ course of the event, 315 participants from Southeast Asia took part in this event which offered 41 Gold, 90 Silver and 18 Bronze awards for Category A (Students) and 34 Gold, 84 Silver and 48 Bronze awards for Category B (Professionals).

This event also included a product pitching session where a selected six (6) best products were presented according to the two main categories- students and professionals. Apart from the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, the 4th iMIT SIC also introduced two special awards: ‘the most liked video’ and ‘best of the best’ awards.

“It has been an honour to host iMIT SIC virtually this year after it was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. We had the first one at UiTM Perlis branch campus way in 2017 and then Riau in 2018. And I still remember myself leading our UiTM Pahang delegation for the last iMIT SIC in 2019 to Princess of Naradhiwas University, Narathiwat, Thailand. My hearty gratitude to everyone for making this event a great success. Indonesia, we will surely be there for the upcoming iMIT SIC”, said the UiTM Pahang’s Rector, Professor Ts. Dr Mohd Ilham Adenen before officiating the closing ceremony of iMIT SIC 2021.

The iMIT SIC 2021 was in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 4, No. 9 and No. 17, which emphasises the quality of education, promoting resilience and sustainability in industry, innovation and infrastructure and intensifying international cooperation and networking for holistic development.

UiTM’s Accounting student shines in ACCA exam

In the June 2021 Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) examination, Hannah Mumtazah Ahmad Murshidi, the Faculty of Accountancy of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) emerged at the top out of 21,000 students by scoring the highest marks (98 marks) for the Financial Management (FM) paper. She also went on to claim the top position for the Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) paper by coming in, first (1st) in Malaysia and second (2nd) in the world.

The Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) is acknowledged globally as a world-leading accountancy qualification for aspiring professionals. ACCA supports a global community of 233,000 members around the world in 178 countries. The exams are held four times a year at designated exam centres; however, due to the pandemic, ACCA offers students the option to sit for their exam through a remotely invigilated (RI) exam.

Sharing her key success factors, she acknowledges that the continuous exam techniques and discussion sessions on past exam questions have helped her to excel. Driven by her high determination, commitment and discipline in her studies, she added that “I consistently maintain a checklist of topics and a study schedule to ensure I have a structured revision plan”.

Hannah also highlighted the essential roles played by her lecturers on the technical knowledge and exam techniques using the computer-based examination (CBE) platform. She would refer instantly to her lecturers or friends on topics that she does not understand and will always analyse her weak points after obtaining her tests and trial exams’ results to help her plan areas of improvement before the final examination.

This outstanding success has made Hannah more determined to pass all her ACCA papers in a straight sitting and graduate on time. Being the eldest of two siblings and a proud daughter of Ahmad Murshidi bin Ab Hamid and Hasfariza Binti Abu Hassan, Hannah attributes her success to her family and lecturers and friends.

In her statement, the Dean of the faculty, Professor Dr Haslinda Yusoff, said that Hannah’s achievement marked the faculty’s commitment to ensuring their professional programme’s quality of teaching and learning.

Haslinda also mentioned that Hannah was the result of the faculty’s strategic initiatives through smart collaborations with the JPPro, a special matriculation professional program offered by the Ministry of Education Malaysia and the ACCA. JPPro offers three (3) fundamental level ACCA papers, and students will continue with the remaining papers while in UiTM.

“Being the first and the only public university with the ACCA Platinum status of the Approved Learning Partner, we will continue to play our significant role in producing the country’s Bumiputera future global accountants”, she affirmed.

UiTM’s Event Management students organize the Global Event Industry Symposium 2021

A group of students from Bachelor of Event Management, Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (FBM-UiTM) organized the Event Industry Symposium 2021 as their final year project.

This symposium brought together those who are in the event management industry namely industry experts, graduates, students and educators to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the event management industry, particularly in Malaysia.   This event not only involved local industry experts, panels from abroad were also invited to share their thoughts on this issue and provide possible solutions in reviving the event industry from the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. T

This event also exposed the students and graduates to the “ins and outs” of the industry as well as established networks among the experts in the industry and government bodies.

This Event Industry Symposium 2021 was virtually held on 12th-13th June 2021 and it was aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG9) which focuses on industrial development, innovation and infrastructure. It received overwhelmed responses from the public and industry players, reached over 8,000 views on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube.

The besieged entries were received from diverse institutions including Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), Panta Rei Indonesia, Evenesis, MD Events Asia Sdn.Bhd, Malaysia, Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB), Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organiser and Suppliers (MACEOS), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Asia Pacific, Time Out Solutions, Asia Pacific Federation of Association Organizations (APFAO) and The Pacific Asia Travel Associations (PATA) from New Zealand. The event was also well received by the international students with entries from Taylor’s University Malaysia, The Pacific Asia Travel Associations (PATA) from the Philippines and Indonesia.

The success of this Event Industry Symposium 2021 was based on collaborative efforts from various parties. It was led by those 19 students from the Convention and Exposition Management class (HTT704), assisted by the Association of Event Management Students (AEMS) and guided by their advisors and senior lecturers; Nurakmal Ramli and Azzura Nordin.

While, companies such as Jakel, Heavenly Escape Holiday, Quinara Kenyir Houseboat, Raia Hotel, Hadramawt, Mafioso Shellout and Coway Legacy sponsored this event. Due recognition for the success of the event should also be given to UiTM executive management, in particular the Dean Faculty of Business and Management, Professor Dr Noryati Ahmad and the Dean Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, Professor Dr Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari for officiated the opening and closing ceremony for this Event Industry Symposium 2021.

UiTM organizes the 2nd International Virtual Undergraduate Symposium

The School of Biology, UiTM Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, has successfully organized the 2nd International Virtual Undergraduate Symposium (IVUS 2.0), with a larger number of international participants. The success of IVUS 1.0 in January 2021 has attracted 29 international presenters not only from our neighbouring country, Indonesia but also Thailand and Yemen.

The IVUS 2.0 focuses on the “Power of Scientific Research” theme in the hope to inject (impart?) interest and attract young undergraduates to continue pursuing their studies in the science field despite the unstable education system impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IVUS 2.0 was not only a platform for 66 young undergraduate students from the School of Biology, UiTM Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kampus Kuala Pilah (UiTMCNS), and international participants to gain experience presenting their research in front of viewers, but they were also fortunate to learn from the plenary session given by the Rector of UiTMCNS, Prof Dr Yamin Yasin, and the Director of The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, on the impact of Covid-19 faced by institutional operations.

The panel speakers shared their views and strategies in handling their research work despite the gruesome pandemic as they believed conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

The School of Biology UiTMCNS Kampus Kuala Pilah was honored to receive participation form from Indonesian academic institutions namely Universitas Andalas Padang, University of Bengkulu, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Universitas Maritim Haji Ali and Polytechnic of ATI Padang.

The participation from the University of Maejo, Thailand and Hadramout University, Yemen exceeded our expectations, as we had not anticipated such recognition for this event.

Through IVUS2.0, not only the students were able to disseminate their research findings, but they also learn about current issues of faunal conservation and Covid-19 testing in Malaysia through a sharing session led by representatives from the Forest Research Institution Malaysia (FRIM) Kepong and the National Public Health Laboratory.

To add to the excitement, students were also given the opportunity to showcase their talents.

The UiTMCNS Deputy Rector of Academic Affairs, Dr Noorlis Ahmad has perceived that the IVUS 2.0 was a successful and comprehensive learning platform for students and the rest of the participants in general.

UiTM holds the Innovative Escape International Virtual Exhibition 2021

Faculty of Business and Management (FBM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) held the Innovative Escape International Virtual Exhibition 2021.

The exhibition was aimed at providing participating education institutions with an alternative to traditional learning models and promote international academic exchanges in higher education by allowing students to participate in a virtual exhibition.

The program was led by Dr Nor Lelawati Binti Jamaludin from the International Business and Management Studies Department, FBM and jointly organized by the Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Art and Design, UiTM under the supervisions of Puan Siti Salwa Isa and Encik Abu bin Ali. The program is under the patronage of Professor Dr Noryati Ahmad, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management, UiTM.

Apart from the two faculties from UiTM, the exhibition also involved collaborators from the Student Development Center, UPM; Universitas Islam Riau, Indonesia; Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Hitra Leirskole, Norway; and Uzbekistan Youth Associations, Uzbekistan.

Students from the participating institutions were given a chance to showcase their project in the exhibition and this exchange is governed by the principle of collaboration and reciprocity that does not involve any cost to the participating students.

The current semester’s collaboration project seeks to further explore the concepts and factors towards improving accessibility, economic opportunities and viability of isolated places in rural Areas aligned with the relevant Global Goals for Sustainable Development; “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” agenda.

The project compels students to explore current issues on how to improve accessibility, economic opportunities and viability of isolated places in rural areas in their respective countries. They are required to study significant problems arising in the related areas by exploring key features of sustainable development that successively follows through the selected process model to improve efficiency and solutions delivery.

For this project, students are expected to consider how their creative and innovative ideas integrate the fundamental principles of sustainable design goals and anticipate the needs of tomorrow’s society by involving existing/related international organizations. The students will need to develop innovative designs and ideas with the organization and bring fresh imaginative solutions for society.

To broaden access and visibility, the project utilises social media platforms to engage with the society and target audiences. An Instagram page known as @innovativeescape was used as the main platform for the virtual exhibition. Students work and solutions are posted and all collaborators and the public can view the innovative solutions provided by the students.

This virtual exhibition is aligned with UiTM’s aim, which is to achieve globally renowned university status. The exhibition contributes to the current need for creating an academic ecosystem that responds to the changing higher education scenario.

This collaboration model nurtures closer ties between participating faculties and universities and deepens the understanding and collaboration of parties involved towards achieving the same goals. Under this strategic partnership and the advent of this program, the exchange of ideas and the development of quality and practical solutions applicable to societies are made possible.

It contributes to the creation of a truly effective and quality partnership that will thrive within an ecosystem of mutual understanding and respect. Thus, the spotlighted program is a good measure to move the FBM and Faculty of Art and Design, as well as UiTM forward and make it more visible.

International students deliberate on surviving the new norm

Three students’ associations from University Teknologi MARA Malaysia took the initiative to deliberate on them openly in a webinar titled Surviving the New Norm: International Student Edition.

The students’ associations were from the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Study (BacAS & BASc) and the Students College Representatives of Negeri Sembilan from the Seremban campus. The panellists and audience were from Malaysia, Bosnia, Albania, Indonesia and the United States of America.

The “Surviving the New Norm: International Student Edition” webinar was held on 18 June 2021 via the YouTube Live platform. The program started at 8.30 pm with the Dean of the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Study, UiTM, Prof Madya Dr Abdul Jalil bin Mohamed Ali’s welcoming speech. It was followed by a panel sharing session on the challenges and responses to changes in their lives as students affected by Covid-19.

The panel members consisted of nine (9) students from diverse backgrounds and countries. From Malaysia were UiTM students Amirul Syafiq Bin Aizzuddean and Afdlin Mikhail Bin Mohd Sofian, and Ramadhan Alfaini from the Management and Science University, Malaysia.

Emina Lagumdzija represented the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia; meanwhile, Ana Limani, Alert Lulo and Edona Zeneli were from the Metropolitan University of Tirana, Albania. Two more students, Mahesa Saravanan from Western Michigan University and Zul Amin bin Zulkipli from the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University, are currently studying in the United States of America.

The webinar highlighted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students in different countries. Both panellists and the audience benefitted from the participants’ input, experience, and advice during the webinar. Surprisingly, many of us took similar means to deal with the tribulations in life brought by Covid-19.