From left: Prof Ewe, Prof Chuah, Dr Ong, Fauziah, Alissa and Prof Choong with the Confucius-Einstein Bronze Sculptures
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Dr Ong Kian Ming and delegates from the Ministry called on UTAR Kampar Campus on 2 October 2018.
With the intention to discuss areas of collaboration between UTAR and MITI as well as to learn about UTAR’s Centre for Railway Infrastructure and Engineering (CRIE) and other collaborations with China, Dr Ong’s fact-finding visit was also joined by MITI Regional Office (Perak) Director Fauziah Ibrahim and Special Officer to the Deputy Minister’s Office Alissa Rode.
They were received by UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong, and Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abdul Rahman.
Also present at the meeting with Dr Ong were CRIE Chairperson Prof Dr Andy Chit Tan, Institute of Management and Leadership Development (IMLD) Director and Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre Chairperson Prof Dr Cheng Ming Yu, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Dean Assoc Prof Ts Dr Liew Soung Yue, Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research Director Assoc Prof Dr Yong Thian Khok, Faculty of Business and Finance Dean Dr Au Yong Hui Nee, Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Dr Tan Kok Tat, Division of Community and International Networking Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn and Deputy Director Dr Chen I-Chi.
Thanking UTAR for its cordial reception, Dr Ong also recorded his appreciation to UTAR for being an exemplary private institution of higher learning in offering quality yet affordable education. As someone who also enjoys visiting universities around the globe, Dr Ong said, “UTAR is also unique because of its contribution to the growth of Kampar, thus attracting the influx of the younger generation. As I will be speaking at the InvestPerak business network session tonight, I will be talking about the importance of UTAR in Kampar and how it created an ecosystem for better economy.”
Dr Ong expressing his hope to seeing the setting up of strategic industries in Kampar which would also leverage on the strengths of UTAR
Introducing UTAR as an institution of higher learning with a global outlook, Prof Chuah gave an overview of UTAR’s various international partnerships. “UTAR currently has around 320 partners from 25 economies which have brought about mutual initiatives such as staff and students exchange, joint research and supervision, study tours, internships, cyber classrooms, industry consultation and so on and so forth. With China alone, UTAR has 64 universities and corporations as collaborative partners,” presented Prof Chuah.
Prof Chuah extending his welcome to Dr Ong
Among the ongoing major collaborations between UTAR and China were the UTAR-Guangxi University-Qinzhou Industrial Park Collaboration Programme, the launch of the China-Malaysia Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CMCTCM), joint initiative with Alibaba.com to train global e-commerce talents, and the establishment of the UTAR-Huawei Networking Lab. The collaborative ties with Huawei also branched out to student recruitment which saw UTAR fresh graduates recruited by Huawei on regular basis and sent to the Huawei headquarters for professional training.
“As UTAR has also been appointed by China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs (SAFEA) as one of the recognised overseas training providers, the University through IMLD offers programmes in the areas of Islamic banking and finance, halal food management, study visits on Malaysian economy and others to officials as well as academics from China,” explained Prof Chuah. Other examples of recent IMLD trainings include the Islamic Finance training at Beifang University of Nationalities in Ningxia, China and 14-day SAFEA training programmes on Principles, Practice, Challenges and Human Capital of Islamic Financial Market, ASEAN Traditional Advantage Industries and International Industrial Capacity, and ASEAN Quality Standard System, Inspection and Testing Technology. Besides that, IMLD also hosted study visits by Guangxi University for Nationalities and also Guangxi Administration Institute .
Representing CRIE, Prof Andy Tan described that the centre envisions being a leader in innovative railway technology to support sustainable transportation with care for the community and the environment. “Our centre has the expertise in the research areas of power traction, reliability, maintainability and operation safety, infrastructure and transportation, as well as social, economic and environmental impact. We also have expertise in sustainable magnetic research which we hope can be applied in the railway system,” said the CRIE Chairperson. He added that currently CRIE also provides trainings with hope to enrich the human capital for the development of rail industry, power supply and distribution system. “Rail is becoming a major mode of transport in Malaysia and the government also has plans to expand rail transportation to other major cities in time to come. UTAR and CRIE would therefore like to help in developing skilled human capital in the areas of railway operations such as maintenance, infrastructure development and others,” Prof Andy Tan explained.
Prof Andy Tan explaining the purpose of CRIE and its ongoing as well as future projects
In its bid to increase visibility and meet its goal, CRIE had also spearheaded symposium such as the inaugural Symposium on Railway Infrastructure and Engineering and also signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd, Luhang Rail Transportation Technology Co. Ltd and China Railway Dongfang Group Sdn Bhd.
UTAR has had a long-standing relationship with MITI as witnessed in some past partnership which led to the offering of an online SME Business Stimulus Package to SMEs between 2009 and 2010 as well as several past activities which saw the presence of MITI representatives in some of the university’s academic events. MITI has also been one of the destinations for UTAR’s Inbound Study Tour and Industrial Exposure Programme where the participants would learn the Ministry’s role in international trade and industrial policies.
Prof Chuah (middle) explaining to Dr Ong (left) the kinds of birds available at the UTAR Bird Sanctuary
Prof Chuah (most right) describing the campus layout to Dr Ong (second from right) while Prof Ewe, Alissa, Prof Choong and Fauziah look on
From left: Prof Andy Tan, Alissa, Dr Yong, Dr Lai, Prof Cheng, Dr Au Yong, Prof Choong, Fauziah, Prof Chuah, Dr Ong, Prof Ewe, Prof Faidz, Dr Liew, Dr Chen and Dr Tan
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