Unimas staff to go on international trips

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK: Khairuddin hands over the book ‘A Plethora of Success’ to ICT Unimas group leader Laila Abang as part of the soft launch of the Global Outreach Programme.

KUCHING: A total of 20 non-academic Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) staff will go on two separate international trips under the Unimas-Global Outreach Programme.

One group is heading to South Korea while the other will go to Japan.

The programme aims to expose them to international work culture in a systematic manner via attachment programmes and working visits to selected organisations to give exposure, gain skills and necessary networking.

Vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Khairuddin Ab Hamid said Unimas is among the earliest tertiary institutions in Malaysia to run such a programme.

“We have allocated a total fund of RM115,000 annually to this programme,” he said at the soft launch recently.

With Unimas hosting more international students, he said there is a need for the administration to reflect an international standard.

It is hoped that the programme will help the university improve work culture with quality, higher performance, integrity and accountability, he said.

Participants are free to form groups with a maximum of 10 members and put together a proposal.

It is open to all grades of confirmed non-academic staff who have been with Unimas for at least three years and have exemplary annual assessments.

The groups are free to choose which organisation they want to visit and coordinate with the organisation to host them while they are in the country.

As Unimas is about to mark its 20th anniversary, Khairuddin said such exposure would allow staff to start the new year with a new outlook.

“This exercise will allow Unimas staff to see the work culture and lifestyle of another country, and bring back their best practices.”

A series of events are lined up to mark the 20th anniversary.

A highlight is Titian Gemilang Orchestra RTM-Unimas on Dec 12, which will feature a collaboration between the RTM and Unimas orchestras, and will be the first time a full orchestra performs at Unimas. This will be broadcast live on RTM.

Some 3,000 are expected to attend including guests of honour Head of State Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Barieng and his wife Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Norkiah, as well as Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his wife Puan Sri Ragad Kurdi Taib.

Another event will be Showcase Gemilang Unimas at DeTar Putra on Sunday (Dec 9), which will feature the work of Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts students through a fashion show, musical performance and artwork for sale.