Engaging university administrators for effective university management

Prof Ewe (front row, third from left), Brian Trenaman (front row, centre) and Prof Cheng (third from right) with participants

The closing ceremony of DIES National Multiplication Training (NMT) for University Administrators 2021/2022 was held on 27 May 2022 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. The aim of the programme was to engage university administrators for effective university management in the changing environment. It was organised by UTAR, in collaboration with Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), with the support of the Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies (DIES) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Prof Ewe delivering his speech

In his remarks at the closing ceremony, UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat said, “Since the onset of the recent pandemic, higher education institutions have been operating within a changing and complex environment. Institutions both public and private had been adapting and evolving. The administrative personnel had been playing an indispensable role in ensuring the efficient and smooth operation of the institution. Indeed, all the support has enhanced the development of higher education institutions. Applause to everyone who has equally made important contributions toward the success of the university through much critical support and operational services. My deepest gratitude goes to all who had been engaging and putting the efforts in implementing their PAP projects.”

He continued, “I believe this programme has been an avenue for everyone to explore and share ideas and experiences. A wide range of topics was discussed during forums, sharing, and discussion sessions pertaining to university management, personal growth and development, innovative problem solving, effective communication, crisis management and coping with change, success factors in project management, conflict management, strategic partnership management, digital skills for information management as well as peer consulting. I am confident that many of you have gained much through the valuable knowledge sharing and participative learning of the workshops.”

Prof Cheng delivering her speech

UTAR Institute of Management and Leadership Development Director-cum-Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre Chairperson Prof Dr Cheng Ming Yu delivered a speech on behalf of the organising committee. Congratulating all the participants for completing the programme successfully, she said, “Through inspiring talks, insightful sharing, intense discussions, and your active participation, we have explored various issues related to university management in Workshop 1, the Project Action Plan and Workshop 2. Indeed, the role of university administrators is not just to support your superior, you play a much more important and strategic role in university management. As an administrator, you are someone who can make changes and create an impact and value for your organisation. I hope you will make use of the knowledge and experience learned, and the networks formed in this programme fully and share them with others in your institution to keep on the spirit of the DIES NMT programme, which is to multiply the impact of the programme to a broader group of university management professionals to promote quality higher education development.”

She continued, “The 2021/2022 NMT programme has come to an end today, but it is not the end of our friendship and definitely not the end of our learning journey. In fact, a new journey has only begun. This is the beginning of our partnership to work together and support each other to develop better university management practices. I look forward to continuing working closely with you and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.”

Brian Trenaman delivering his speech

On the other hand, Director DAAD Information Centre Kuala Lumpur Brian Trenaman said, “In the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives, economy, social and communication behaviour. In the last two months in Europe, we experienced unjustified aggression towards the sovereign nation and the last two decades with a slow but steadily and increasingly dramatic climate change. These changes are like waves continuously coming toward us. And sometimes it seems their amplitude and frequency is growing.”

He added, “Facing these waves, we all have three options. Remaining still, doing nothing; diving below the waves or surfing the waves. If we just remain still doing nothing, the inevitable will happen. We are thrown around by the evidence and we will get crushed over and over again. If we try to dive below the waves, we have to hope that the waves would not last too long and that we will have enough time to catch our breath again. So it’s clear that the third option is the only way to go forward, surfing the waves. This is a proactive response to a massive momentum coming towards us, and basically, we just have two options—either you move or are moved.”

He also said that academics can build bridges over national borders and over petty prejudice beyond race and religion, and mentioned that this programme offered a bundle of measures, training courses, projects and partnerships that foster professionalisation of institutional management processes, alignment of education to international quality standards, and strengthening of research communities. 

Ahmad Faris sharing his remarks

Moreover, Ahmad Faris bin Mohd Jamal from Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) delivered a speech on behalf of all the participants. In his speech, he cited a quote from Sydney J. Harris, an American Journalist, saying, “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows”. “I believe that education is key in showcasing our significance, importance and our value as university administrators. Only by constantly reskilling and up-skilling, will we be able to fulfil our duty and responsibility in a more productive, efficient, and most importantly meaningful manner,” he said.

He added, “My dear colleagues and I, as well as all of the participants here believe that this programme has achieved its objective. We learned a lot, and now it’s up to us, how we are going to utilise and capitalise our newly learned knowledge and skills, and put it to good use for the benefit of our professional development and our institution.”

Prior to the closing ceremony, the DIES NMT for University Administrators 2021/2022 was conducted in the form of two workshops, namely Workshop 1 and Workshop 2, and the implementation of an individual Project Action Plan (PAP) in between the workshops. 

Workshop 1 was conducted from 7 December 2021 to 10 December 2021 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. The workshop provided a platform for participants to explore and debate critical issues related to university management, in addition to developing networks and sharing ideas and experiences. Topics discussed during the workshop included Personal Growth and Development, Innovative Problem Solving, Project Management, Effective Communication, Crisis Management and Coping with Change, and Success Factors in Project Management. The four-day workshop was filled with interactive discussions, activities and presentations led by the Training Committee and the invited speakers. 

Workshop 2 was held from 24 May 2022 to 27 May 2022 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. The topics of the workshop included Conflict Management, Strategic Partnership Management, Digital Skills for Information Management, Effective Planning and Executive, and Peer Consulting. The participants benefited from the networking and sharing of ideas, experiences and best practices among participants from different institutions. 

The programme was designed and organised by the Training Committee consisting of Prof Cheng, Prof Dr Ong Duu Sheng from Multimedia University (MMU), Prof Dr Andanastuti Muchtar from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Dr Jutta Fedrowitz, the expert from the Centre for Higher Education, Germany. A total of 20 university administrators from seven public and four private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia were selected to attend the programme. 

DIES of DAAD and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) was initiated in 2001 to promote the development of higher education management in developing countries. Since its establishment, numerous higher education managers from the target regions have attended various DIES training and dialogue activities. Currently, there are about 8,000 DIES alumni around the world. In order to strengthen these DIES alumni in their roles as multipliers in higher education management and to promote the sustainability of the DIES training courses, DIES has been implementing the National Multiplication Trainings (NMT) Programme since 2013.