Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) recently awarded Bitara Scholar Awards (BSA) (a.k.a. Anugerah Cendikia Bitara in Malay) to its faculty members during an award-giving ceremony at the Zenith Hotel in Kuantan, Malaysia. This ceremony, which was held on April 12, 2019, marks the increasingly more robust think tank in research and development, alongside innovation and advancement at UMP.
“Our research achievements have values in terms of not only return on investment, but also benefits to the community over long-term periods,” said Dato’ Sri Ibrahim Bin Ahmad, UMP Board of Members’ Chairman, who shared high pride in the UMP academics’ outstanding achievements. “The next focus should be on ‘market to lab’ that might enable UMP to gain more commercial benefits and expand its potentials to and together with its industrial partners, especially the small- and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, a re-orientation of UMP innovative capability towards applied research projects as compared to fundamental research will be essential.”
Dato’ Sri Ibrahim Ahmad also prompted academics at UMP to be always prepared to face dynamic challenges as the university continues to move forward in research and innovation, while maintaining a sustainable eco-system even though its world-class scholars have been continuously performing well at various international platforms.
The UMP BSA awards and prizes were given away to 160 academics who have (a) published academic papers in top journals, (b) commercialised products, (c) registered patents and copyrights, (d) obtained international grants, (e) published books, and/or (f) displayed credibility and distinction in the field of teaching and learning last year. 49 out of the award and prize recipients were those from the Faculty of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering of UMP.
Meanwhile, the speech by Professor Dato’ Sri Ts. Dr. Daing Mohd Nasir Bin Ibrahim, UMP Vice-Chancellor, at the event concluded that UMP, which ranks at 188 among Asian universities, has emerged as a five-star (including QS ratings) university and a greenly-committed university (as evidenced by its 97th ranking in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings). He said, “the expression ‘S.T.A.R.S – Glimpses of Glory’ reflects the success of UMP, like a star shining brightly with glory, with each alphabet of S.T.A.R.S. representing the essence of the university’s five core values:
- strong relationship with the Creator,
- firm in defending principles that have been collectively agreed upon,
- creative in making wise decisions,
- perseverance in facing challenges, and
- proactive in taking actions.”
Note: The BSA ceremony is an annual ceremony that has been held by UMP since 2009 to recognise academic excellence at the university. The word “Bitara” means remarkable, extraordinary or exceptional in Malay.