COVER FEATURE
INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
INGENIEUR
REDESIGNING HIGHER EDUCATION
Representatives of the Board of Engineers Malaysia met Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir, Director- General of Higher Education, Malaysia to discuss the present and future trends in engineering education in the country. Many developments are in progress and more changes are expected as future graduates gear up for the fourth industrial revolution.
As a Professional Engineer and former University lecturer, Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah binti Tapsir, Director-General of Higher Education, Department of Higher Education, holds engineering and education close to her heart. Her professional training and teaching experience enable her to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the country’ s higher education system. In an interview for The Ingenieur magazine with Dato’ Ir. Fong Tian Yong( Editor) and Prof. Ir. Dr KS Kannan( Publication Committee Member), Ir. Dr Siti Hamisah is pleased that Malaysia has progressed as a higher education provider in many ways. She also stated that in order to stay relevant in the era of technology convergence, the Ministry of Higher Education( MOHE) has aligned its priorities through the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025( Higher Education) and the Redesigning Initiatives.
Over the years, Malaysia has moved up the ladder in the higher education sector in terms of student population, recognition and ranking. Increased local and foreign students intake and offerings of a wide range of courses have made the country an attractive education hub in the region. There are 1.25 million students in institutions of higher learning and about a third or 350,000 are in technical studies( from certificate to postgraduate level).
Technical and Vocational Education Training( TVET) have been given added emphasis. TVET courses are both modular and stackable so that students can choose the skills sets they desire based on their level of readiness, experience and need. TVET related courses have become more accessible when four university colleges in various parts of the country emerged as full universities in February 2007. These are Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Technical University of Malaysia Malacca, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Pahang. They now form a consortium rebranded as Malaysian Technical University( MTU) since 2015.
In the engineering field, the Board of Engineers Malaysia’ s( BEM) signatory to the Washington Accord in 2009, contributed to the wider recognition of degrees from Malaysia. This is a multi-lateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary-level engineering qualifications. Accredited engineering degrees are recognised in 19 countries( based on the number of full Washington Accord signatories). This international recognition for engineering programmes has helped to attract more students to local universities.
Currently, there are 10 foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia, five from UK, three
8 VOL 72 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2017