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29 Oct 2019
9 mins read

Malaysia’s newest university: University of Cyberjaya

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Director-General of the Department of Higher Education hands over the university registration certificate to Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences after delivering a Distinguished Lecture on the future of higher education in Malaysia

Cyberjaya, 29th October – Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences or better known as CUCMS, has been accorded university status by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, making it the nation’s newest university. The Certificate of Registration was formally handed over by YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir, the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education to the new university’s Pro-Chancellor YBhg Tan Sri Dr R Palan, Chairman of the Board of Governors  YBhg. Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ridzwan Bakar and Vice-Chancellor YBhg Prof. Dato’ Dr Mohamad Abd Razak.

(from left to right) Director-General of the Department of Higher Education YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir, the University’s Pro-Chancellor YBhg Tan Sri Dr R Palan, Chairman of the Board of Governors Tan Sri Datuk Dr Ridzwan Bakar and Vice-Chancellor YBhg Prof. Dato’ Dr Mohamad Abd Razak.

The institution will now be known as the University of Cyberjaya. The Pro-Chancellor of the University of Cyberjaya, Tan Sri Dr R. Palan said the elevation to full university status marks a significant milestone for the establishment’s growing stature as a leading institute of higher learning in the region. “In many ways, university status is a much more accurate reflection of how we have functioned for the past 15 years now. With our comprehensive offering of undergraduate, graduate including our expansion to doctoral programmes — University of Cyberjaya’s educational profile is already well-positioned with the academic distinction of a nationally and internationally recognized private university”

The University of Cyberjaya holds a SETARA 5-Star rating by the Ministry of Education awarded in 2017 and was just recently awarded a 5-Star rating for the categories of Teaching, Facilities, Employability and Inclusiveness under the QS Stars programme produced by the publishers of the QS World University Rankings.

First established over 14 years ago, the institution initially offered medical and pharmaceutical programmes only. It has since grown to offer over 30 different programmes in the areas of medical, pharmaceutical, applied sciences, engineering and business. With its recent change in status, the University of Cyberjaya intends to increase its focus more on developing programmes that will incorporate critical elements in support of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) in more traditional disciplines such as healthcare. This is in support of the Global Technology Hub Blueprint for Cyberjaya launched by the Ministry of Finance.

“Healthcare is changing fast with new IR4.0 technologies being constantly adopted, and we need to be at the forefront of new practices and discoveries in healthcare”, said Prof Dato’ Dr Mohamad Abd Razak, President of University of Cyberjaya. “With our historic background in healthcare, I believe biomedical engineering, wearable technologies and innovation in drug technology are potential fields of expertise for us”, he further added.

Prof Dato’ Dr Mohamad Abd Razak, attributes this achievement to the university leadership team, academicians and all the staff that has shown tremendous hard work, sacrifices and commitment for the past 14 years. “We have come a long way and have brought together a strong faculty team led by experienced education professionals and academics with both local and international experiences, providing the perfect combination to take the university to greater heights” he added.

The proclamation of the university status was held today at the University’s Grand Hall in conjunction with a Distinguished Lecture delivered by YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir, the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education Malaysia.

YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir spoke at the campus to an audience of 600 people about the challenges and evolution of higher education in Malaysia following the recent presentation of Budget 2020 by the government.

YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr. Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir, the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education delivered an impactful lecture to the audience on the future of Higher Education in Malaysia

She stressed that our world is growing increasingly complex at a rapid pace. The software revolution is reshaping the economy, with 50% of existing jobs expected to be replaced by software and automation. “We have to move away from traditional conference-based lessons and create authentic learning experiences that connect students with real-world problems and work environments,” she said.

Moving forward, YBhg. Datuk Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah Binti Tapsir also spoke on the Higher Education’s initiative to reduce the graduate unemployment rate in Malaysia. There are currently 144,000 unemployed graduates in the country. Though an improvement of 7.1% from 2012, she wants the Ministry of Higher Education to adopt a culture of innovation and promote greater collaboration and interaction with technological devices so more of our graduates can be employed.

She concluded the distinguished lecture by stating that Higher Education providers need to transform how they deliver learning and respond more to the needs of real-world work.

The audiences consisted of Vice-Chancellors, Presidents and CEO’s of several prominent Malaysian institutions of higher education as well as leading academicians and researchers. Over 200 students from the University of Cyberjaya were also present.

 

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