MONDAY, 18 APRIL 2011 00:00
By Abdul Ghani Nasir
BANGI, 18 April, 2011 – Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) hopes to produce at least 5,000 PhD holders by 2015 as part of its contribution towards fulfilling the government’s MyBrain15 programme which aimed at producing 60,000 PhDs by 2020.
In line with this, UKM has mapped out various strategies including offering five fellowship programmes, reforming some of its faculties and setting up off-shore centres for postgraduate studies.
Director of the Centre for Graduate Management, Prof Dr Aini Hussain said the MyBrain15 programme is one of the critical agenda of the government to achieve Vision 2020.
As part of that agenda the government had drawn up its various transformation plans including the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP). Through ETP a new economic model with emphasis on innovation is targetted.
Under the MyBrain15 project the Ministry of Higher Education is offerring the MyPhd, MyMaster, PhD Industry and Academic Training Scheme IPTA (SLAI) programme.
It is part of part of the nation’s critical agenda which aims at producing a group of high knowledge work force who will act as catalysts to spur research and innovation.
“In line with this, UKM has targeted to have 15,000 registered post graduates by 2015,” she said.
Prof Aini said as part of its plan to contribute to the government’s effort, UKM is offering five fellowship programmes made up of the UKM Fellowship, UKM Premier Fellowship, Research University Fellowship, Research Grant Fellowship and the OUP (Research University Operations) Fellowship. A total of RM5 million has been allotted for the fellowships this year.
“The UKM Premier Fellowship was accepted by the University’s Senate recently and will be advertised very soon for the 2011/2012 intake, she said.
For the fellowship schemes, all full-time students can apply and it covers all fields of study with emphasis given to the eight research niche of UKM.
Prof Aini said UKM will be also be transforming a few faculties which will focus on post graduates programmes.
“The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs) and the Centre for Graduate Management have identified three faculties that will be transformed. They are the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment.
“The faculties needed to have a registration target of 70% post graduates against 30% first degree students. The undergraduates will become feeders for their post graduate programmes.
“The other faculties must set a target ratio of 50%:50% graduate and undergraduate students by 2015. To date UKM have 14 institutes and the Graduate School of Business (GSB) that only cater for post graduate studies.
On the formation of the off-shore studies centres, she said the programme comes as part of the university’s Education Co-operation Agreement (ECA).
UKM has thus far succeeded in forging a few education co-operation with universities in Indonesia involving the Faculty of Education, Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Economics and Management.
The Faculty of Law has recently signed a co-operation agreement with Hunan University of China.
UKM currently have 3,160 PhD students and she believes that the plans were realistic and achievable.
For the MyPhD and MyMaster programme the terms and condition set by the Ministry of Higher Eduction applies. Candidates targeted are unemployed graduates without permanent incomes, staff from the private sector as well as lecturers from the Private Institutions of Higher Learning.
http://www.ukm.my/news/index.php/en/typography/679-contribution-by-ukm-to-governments-mybrain15-programme.html
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