THE
ROLE OF UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK (UNIMAS)
IN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
IN THE EAST ASEAN GROWTH AREA (EAGA)
Dr. Yusuf
Hadi,
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Student Development),
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
Sarawak, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the role of Universiti Malaysia
Sarawak (UNIMAS) in the human resource development of the East ASEAN
Growth Area (EAGA) through the offering of socially-relevant, market-driven
programmes of study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well
as short-term training courses. UNIMAS was established in 1992 and
took in its first batch of students in 1993. The current temporary
campus, situated in Kota Samarahan, 30 kilometers and a 30-minute
ride by car from Kuching, is equipped with the latest information
technology (IT) in addition to its classrooms, academic blocks, student
colleges, public amenities, and sports facilities. The 32 undergraduate
programmes of study currently being offered and supported by its eight
faculties and six centers are socially relevant, market-driven, and
interdisciplinary in nature. Postgraduate and matriculation programmes
are also offered. The approaches to teaching-learning --- including
total development of the individual and education for capability ---
aims to develop students into graduates who are autonomous and cooperative
members of society, and who possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
not only to function effectively in the familiar work place of today
but also in the emerging job situations in the future. Short courses
are offered as and when the need arises. UNIMAS, having established
international collaborative links, is in a good position to participate
in an EAGA network of institutions of higher education and research.
INTRODUCTION
This paper discusses the role of Universiti Malaysia
Sarawak (UNIMAS) in the human resource development of the East ASEAN
Growth Area (EAGA) through the offering of socially-relevant, market-driven
programmes of study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well
as short-term training courses. I hope this information would be useful
for discussion in this seminar which aims to provide a forum for government
policy makers, university administrators, academics and private sector
personnel to share ideas and information on the development of EAGA
and to formulate guidelines for cooperation among the various institutions
toward effective human resource development for both public and private
sectors.
THE UNIVERSITY
UNIMAS was established on 24 December 1992, the
eighth public university in Malaysia and the first to be established
after the launching of the National 2020 Vision. The university’s
mission is to establish itself as an exemplary university of internationally
acknowledged stature, and as a scholarly institution of preference
and choice for both students and academic staff, through the pursuit
of excellence in teaching-learning, research, and scholarship. To
achieve this mission, the UNIMAS offers a range of opportunities in
education, training and scholarly services, and through strategic
and innovative application of knowledge to enhance the quality of
the nation’s culture and the prosperity of its people.
The first batch of 119 students registered in
August 1993 for the 1993/96 academic session, for programmes under
the Faculty of Resource Science and Technology and the Faculty of
Social Sciences. In the current 1996/97 academic session, UNIMAS has
1,330 undergraduate and Science Matriculation students, and 70 graduate
students.
The university started operations in a rented
premise at the Telecom Training School in Kuching and moved to its
current temporary campus on its permanent site in Kota Samarahan in
October 1993. Kota Samarahan is 30 kilometers away from Kuching in
Sarawak, the state capital, and could be reached in 30 minutes by
car. By the end of 1997, when the new highway linking Kota Samarahan
and Kuching is completed, travel time will be reduced by half.
The current campus, although temporary, is fully
networked. The academic blocks, the information centre, and the student
colleges are linked with fiber optics so that campus citizens have
access to the Internet. The lecture and seminar rooms are linked to
enable several groups of students to participate simultaneously in
a lecture. Laboratories are being equipped to cater to practical aspects
of the programmes. Public amenities and sports facilities are available
and others are being planned and established.
A development plan for the permanent campus has
been put together. Construction of the first phase of the campus is
expected to start next year.
THE UNIVERSITY STRUCTURE
The university currently has eight faculties,
six centers and five research institutes, as follows:
Faculty of Resource Science and Technology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development
Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts
Faculty of Information Technology
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Faculty of Economics and Business
Center for Student Development (CSD)
Center for Applied Learning and Multimedia (CALM)
Center for Consultancy and Technology Transfer (CTTC)
Center for Language and Communication Studies (CLCS)
Center for Academic Information Services (CAIS)
Center for Matriculation Programme
Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental
Conservation (IBEC)
Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM)
Institute of Software Development (ISD)
Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS)
Institute of Design and Ergonomics Applications (IDEA)
The faculties offer programmes of study. The centers
generally have service functions, but also offer programmes of study.
The institutes coordinate and conduct research, in addition to the
research conducted by academicians in the faculties and centers.
ROLE OF UNIMAS IN HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT
UNIMAS role in human resource development is through
its offering of programmes of study and short-term courses. Since
its establishment, the university has embarked on offering both undergraduate
and postgraduate programmes. A science matriculation programme has
been started, and short-term courses are conducted from time to time.
The undergraduate programmes offered at UNIMAS
are listed in Appendix 1. A total of 31 programmes are being offered
by eight faculties and two centers, and supported by the other centers.
The programmes have been planned and offered after a thorough study
of the needs of society and the market. Several other programmes are
being considered and planned.
Starting from scratch, a new university like UNIMAS
has no existing strength to build upon. It therefore has to identify
and carve out a strategic position within the university system, at
national, regional, and international levels. UNIMAS decided that
its teaching-learning should be programme-based, and that its
curriculum should be based on the concepts of Total Development
of the Individual and Education for Capability.
The university’s desired graduate profile
is one that is based on the total development of the individual as
an autonomous but cooperative member of society. UNIMAS graduates
should have the ability to think, reason out and work independently
without detailed direction from superiors; they should also possess
the capacity and commitment to work with others toward common and
jointly negotiated objectives. At the university level, this profile
is achieved through the offering of core, generic, and complementary
courses. These courses form a framework within which the balance of
knowledge, skills, and personal qualities can be achieved.
Core courses are designed for each programme.
As a group, they provide a coherent and broad-based coverage of the
programme. They provide the intellectual depth as the basis for maximum
continuing adaptability to future adaptations and changes.
Generic courses are designed to develop a positive
attitude in the students, and establish with them a high level of
balance between autonomy and cooperation. They include courses in
information technology, self-management, public speaking, study skills,
languages (Bahasa Melayu, English, third languages), cognitive and
affective development, values system/Islamic civilization, science
and society, nationhood and globalization, and leisure activities.
Complementary courses are courses which a student
takes from a programme of study other than his/her own. It may be
a field where the student has some basic knowledge or skills, which
he/she wants to develop further, or a subject which the student has
some interest in, or which the student thinks is useful to him/her.
A module of such courses forms a second track (a small minor) for
the student as the courses are expected to reach a significant level
of complexity and sophistication in the treatment of their subject.
At the faculty, programme and course levels, several
initiatives have been and are being taken to provide the structure
and methodology for the promotion of a new learning culture, one that
prepares students to be independently capable. The Education for
Capability approach equips students with the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, and confidence not only to function effectively in the
familiar work place of today but also in the emerging job situations
in the future.
All faculties and institutes, and the relevant
centers offer postgraduate programmes in niche areas identified as
relevant, in conjunction with their respective programmes of research.
Our first two batches of graduates consist of three masters in information
technology in 1995 and another three in 1996, well ahead of our first
convocation ceremony for the first batch of undergraduates on 9 August,
1997. The long-term target is to have postgraduate students forming
20 percent of the student population.
UNIMAS has cooperative arrangements with other
institutions in the offering of postgraduate programmes. The master
in human resource development is conducted in cooperation with Institut
Aminuddin Baki of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, to upgrade the
knowledge and skills of current teachers. The master in advance information
technology is a modular postgraduate course for practicing IT personnel
and is offered in cooperation with the ASEAN-Pacific Institute of
Information Technology.
- Short-term Courses and
Seminars
Short-term courses are offered as and when the
need arises. Examples are computer courses offered by the Faculty
of Information Technology, English and Communication seminar series
and Bahasa Melayu course organized by the Center for Language and
Communication Studies, as well as the seminar series conducted by
the various faculties, centers, and institutes.
SCOPE OF COOPERATION
UNIMAS is keen to participate in a network of
institutions of higher education and research in EAGA. We believe
that our quest for knowledge, skills, technology, and expertise must
transcend boundaries. International alliances offer access to expertise
needed to shape our programmes of study and research, and opportunities
for academicians to exchange ideas and work together. We have a lot
to gain by building international bridges to bring the world to the
university and to take the university to the world. Part of the strategy
for forging international linkages is to participate in synergistic
relationships and smart partnerships which will allow optimization
of resources for both UNIMAS and the participating institutions.
UNIMAS has, over the first three years, established
cooperative links through signing of memoranda of understanding (MOU)
with several institutions of higher learning and research around the
world. The general areas of cooperation include staff and student
exchanges, exchange of academic materials and other information, joint
research and consultancy activities, collaborative organization of
seminars and academic meetings, and special programme of studies.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
UNIMAS is only slightly more than three years
old, but we think that like other universities, we have a major role
in human resource development for Malaysia and the ASEAN. We have
developed innovative, socially-relevant, market-driven academic programmes,
both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We have set in
place programmes of research and consultancy right from the beginning,
and have been involved in several research and consultancy projects.
We have developed learning infrastructure, including the use of networked
computers and multimedia. We have established collaborative international
links in our quest for knowledge, skills, technology, and expertise.
Hence, we are well-poised to participate in an EAGA network of institutions
of higher education and research.
REFERENCES
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1993. The Tree Book. Kuala Lumpur. 74p.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1995. Annual Report 1994. Kota Samarahan.
72p.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1996. Annual Report 1995. Kota
Samarahan.
55p.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. 1996. Prospektus Prasiswazah 1996/97.
Kota Samarahan. 92p.
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