Khairuddin (third right) and vice chancellor, University of Essex, Professor Anthony Forster (second left) with the MoA documents after the signing ceremony.
UNIVERSITY College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid sees the conferment of an honorary doctorate on him by University of Essex, United Kingdom (UK) as a way to promote UCTS and Sarawak.
Khairuddin believes the prestigious award will help uplift UCTS’ name and attract more foreign students to the state-owned university.
He received the honorary doctorate from University of Essex chancellor John Bercow, who is also Speaker for the House of Commons, UK, on July 20 this year in Colchester, England.
Khairuddin said he was pleasantly surprised when notified he was one of the recipients.
As the first to be conferred the honoris causa in Malaysia and South East Asia, he described the recognition as not just “another personal milestone” but also an achievement for UCTS, state and country.
“As I carry the name of UCTS, Sarawak and Malaysia, this achievement is not only for me but also the university, the state and the nation.”
Khairuddin, an alumni of the university, did his PhD in 1992. He is recognised for his work in information and communication technology (ICT) for rural development, especially the e-Bario project.
“In my work on ICT for rural development, I have seen the importance of community engagement and social inclusion to bring real benefits to the rural and remote communities through creative technologies and research innovation,” he noted.
Khairuddin (third left) receiving the Gold Award for e-Bario which won the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management Award (CAPAM) in 2006.
e-Bario project
He recalled the e-Bario project started in 1998 when he and a research team from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) sought to develop remote rural areas and tackle the issues related to their isolation.
He said a community telecentre and computer laboratories were subsequently set up in Bario and ICT training was provided to the rural community.
“The project has improved the overall quality of life, stimulated the local economy and empowered the rural community,” he added.
Khairuddin noted the recognition (doctorate) was usually accorded to those who contributed to a more “glamourous field” like medicine.
“I think it’s very rare for IT. So, I’m very touched they recognise my contribution – my project. It’s not easy to be given this kind of recognition and because the University of Essex is so prestigious, you feel really proud.”
The state-of-art UCTS campus.
Cooperation – MoA
According to Khairuddin, before the University of Essex convocation, the University and UCTS signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for better academic cooperation.
He said the University of Essex is ranked 22 in UK and among the top 200 in the world besides being a top British university for research and teaching.
This university has a multi-national campus with students from 145 countries.
Khairuddin added that the MoA would enable UCTS students to do their final year at Essex and obtain their degrees from the university.
“That’s another milestone – not only was I conferred the doctorate degree, we also signed an MoA. So students who cannot afford the entire programme in UK can study two years in UCTS before doing their final year in UK.
“This is in the agreement for degree programmes in business, marketing and accountancy, effective next year. That means if there are eligible students from our side who wish to study in UK, we can submit their names. The criterion is Cumulative Grade Points Average (CGPA) 3.0 and above.
“At the moment, we don’t have an exchange students programme with universities in UK but we have done student programmes in Taiwan, China, Brunei and Indonesia.”
Khairuddin (left) receiving the doctorate from University of Essex chancellor John Bercow, who is also Speaker of the House of Commons.
Attracting international students
He said the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees by the University of Essex could help draw more students from other parts of the world to UCTS.
“To me, this will promote Sarawak and uplift UCTS’ name. This year, we are aggressively trying to enrol foreign students, targeting those from China and Indonesia.”
In fact, UCTS has fewer than 20 students from the peninsula, mainly from Johor, Kedah and Penang.
“We want to get more (students) so that people can understand Sarawak better,” he said.
He pointed out that at UCTS, the focus is more on technical education.
“In our programmes now, students must have certification from industries. So, when they seek employment in future, they will have a degree plus the relevant certification, making them more marketable.”
He said UCTS presently has about 1,800 students and would strive to reach 2,500 by next year, adding that the campus could easily accommodate up to 3,000 students.
Five years after its establishment, UCTS will focus on research and encourage its staff to do in-depth work.
Khairuddin said the university was working with Sarawak Multi Media Authority and had also initiated some programmes (short courses and a few projects) with Sibu Shipbuilding Association.
Apart from shipbuilding, other courses included IT for community, clean and renewable energy and food technology.
Khairuddin (seated second left) teaching a Penan to use the Internet during the e-Bario project in 2000.
Education policy
On the best way to elevate the education system, especially at UCTS, Khairuddin said the policy must be clear, consistent and not be subjected major changes whenever there is a change of minister or government.
He stressed education is for nation building and the focus group is the younger generation.
Khairuddin also said university leadership must be based on merit.
“For example, to be appointed as vice-chancellor, a person must be a known professor in a certain field. That person must be known by the peers in the field at the national and international levels to ensure strong academic leadership. In this way, followers will look up to their leaders.”
Khairuddin showing the award received from University of Essex.
More uni autonomy
He said the role of central agencies like the Ministry of Education and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) was just to provide policy guidelines and hence they should not be involved in the operational matters of a university.
“The policies should encourage innovation and creativity rather than micro-managing the operations of universities. Enforcement of rules and regulations should be consistent and fair to all universities, both public and private.
“Once good policies, academic leadership and autonomy are in place, our universities can develop rapidly like those in developed countries.”
The way forward
He said the government should look into synergising public and private universities to ensure fair competition in terms of students selection, teaching permits (only enforced in private universities) and categorising institutions of higher learning such as colleges, university colleges and universities.
This is strictly enforced on private learning institutions.
Towards this end, he opined a value should be placed on graduates with regard to holistic understanding of current technological development, strong academic knowledge with specialised skills, ability to work in teams of multi-disciplinary backgrounds, professional integrity, understanding of moral and ethical issues as well as awareness of and sensitivity to global and local environment and social issues.
The state-of-art UCTS campus.