Gaining That Extra Polish

by Graduan

Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Kasim, the Rector of Universiti Teknologi Petronas, speaks frankly to Grace Chen about moving the Malaysian student population and education system forward.

Lack of self-confidence, business know-how, professionalism and limited knowledge of current issues. These are the ailments plaguing today’s graduates, laments Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Kasim, the Rector of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP). In addition, he lists indiscipline, poor time management and lack of initiative.

“Young graduates today are very much living in their own cocoon and are naive about their surroundings. They do not capitalise on and optimise the opportunities given during their university days.”

He is brutally frank, but there is no doubt Zainal means well for the young graduate. A former general manager of Petronas’ Technology Resource Management Division, he has worked with young people since he joined the national oil company in the 70s. This man speaks from experience.

A different generation
Zainal is quick to point out that weaknesses can be easily be turned into strengths if young graduates are willing to change. In the course of his dealings with them, it has not escaped his notice that they have some positive attributes.

“Young graduates today are very versatile, IT savvy and mobile. They are willing to take on new challenges and to perform duties which require multi-disciplinary skills. Most young graduates can adapt to the work environment quickly and work very well individually or in teams.”

One thing that never fails to make him smile is seeing young graduates wow a room with their presentation skills, and impress employers with their organisational and project management strategies. While such outstanding performances can be attributed to structured hands-on experience during their project management internships, he does not discount the fact that it is a reflection of good mentoring by lecturers and the graduates’ own willingness to improve.

However, Zainal stresses that graduates must still learn to overcome their lack of mental stamina and inability to work under pressure, which are ever-present conditions in the working world.

Speaking about UTP’s engineering graduates, the affable Zainal, who is known to take part in campus activities like the making of dodol and bubur lambuk (a spicy rice congee), stresses that character strengths cannot be developed if a student maintains a ‘bookworm’ mindset.

“Be an active participant in sports and co-curricular activities as they provide the best grounding for character development and inculcation of positive values. ‘Guided play’ and social interaction are a great help in promoting communication, leadership and management skills. It is in such real-life settings that a young person will learn the art of problem solving, leadership and decision making.”

Holding their own
Asked how UTP graduates measure up against their international counterparts, Zainal, who is still reveling in UTP’s recent emergence as champion in the inter-university silat tournament in July, is confident they are on par, if not better.

“UTP graduates are sought after by international companies throughout the world. Based on feedback from many employers, our graduates are seen to be professional and competent.

This is because UTP stresses quality, not quantity. Our number of under-graduate students has been capped at about only 5,400.” Zainal does concede that Malaysians studying overseas are much more receptive and sensitive towards their surroundings. They also show greater independence and courage, and he surmises that this could be due to being exposed to a foreign environment which they had to quickly adapt to. In the same breath, however, Zainal insists that local graduates can also attain such qualities.

“Although this group (local graduates) only has a fair command of English, this deficiency is compensated by a positive mindset and behaviour. The language gap has been addressed by UTP, where the medium of instruction is English. In addition, there is the option of studying a foreign language such as French, Arabic or Mandarin.”

Playing a part
Talent creation is the new buzzword in institutions of higher learning (IHL), says Zainal, adding that the government must promote fluency in science,
technology and innovation (STI).

“This is crucial to Malaysia’s future because it is the fundamental platform for creating sustainable socio-economic wealth. In today’s increasingly knowledge-intensive economy, success will be achieved by countries with clear and committed policies and programmes that focus on developing skills, partnerships, selectivity and societal engagement.”

Stressing that such programmes must be resolutely implemented and regularly monitored to ensure timely results, he adds that more assistance is needed in sponsoring students, especially at the Master’s and Doctoral levels, to produce more highly-qualified scientists and engineers.

“At the moment, most sponsorship allocations, especially in science and technology, are distributed to public IHLs. Maybe it is time they are extended to selected government-linked companies’ universities like UTP, UNITEN and MMU.”

While the Ministry of Higher Education also provides sponsorships to those pursuing post-graduate studies at local universities, Zainal points out that it is open only to Malaysians.

“It is about time that sponsorships are extended to foreign students studying at our institutions. Statistically, foreign students out-number local students at the post-graduate level, especially in science and technology. Enticing good foreign students with sponsorship opportunities and employing them on a contract basis upon graduation is one way we can attract the best
talent from all over the world to work in Malaysia.”

Zainal noted that Malaysia emphasises education as the key to the future of the nation and provides it one of the biggest allocations in the annual budget.
“Most of this spending goes into the building of physical infrastructures and purchasing of equipment.

The money is to ensure that IHLs operate at full capacity and to make university education accessible to all citizens. There has been a steady increase in the enrolment for first degree courses in both public and private educational institutions over the last 10 years, and the percentage of enrolment in the sciences has increased relative to the arts.”

Refining touches
Touching on areas that IHLs can improve on to ensure better quality graduates, Zainal says there is an urgent need to improve communication skills, especially in English. One way of doing this is through more interactive activities for students.

“At UTP, every student is required to make an individual or group presentation to build confidence. We also have Expert Panels, made up of industry captains, to provide regular input on our curriculum development. In addressing the question of insufficient exposure to the various working trades within a company, UTP also has the longest industrial training period among IHLs compared with the usual 3-6 months offered by other institutions.”

Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Kasim, the Rector of Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

“THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS, ESPECIALLY IN ENGLISH. ONE WAY OF DOING THIS IS THROUGH MORE INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS. "

In preparing students for the workforce, Zainal says it is the role of IHLs to ensure that the curriculum is industry-relevant, hence there must be regular and continuous engagement with companies to review progress and to engage their top people as adjunct lecturers.

“There must also be a conscientious effort to ensure active student participation in co-curricular and other activities so that their soft skills can be measured. In this regard, academic staff must have the passion and willingness to go the extra mile in mentoring their students.”

UTP’s Academic Advisory Council provides strategic direction for academic programmes and R&D, while an Industrial Advisory Panel reviews the academic curriculum to ensure it meets industry requirements. To ensure compliance with international academic standards and quality assurance, an International External Examiners is tasked to review the academic curriculum.

UTP students are required to undergo eight months of industrial internship at local or international companies. There are also opportunities to experience studying overseas for one semester under a student exchange programme. In addition, there is the chance to strengthen English communication skills through compulsory courses like Professional Communication Skills and Academic Writing. Engineering students are also given the option to take extra management courses to widen their knowledge.

In all areas, the focus of UTP is team-based learning and field trips are a regular feature of projects. Specialisation courses are also provided to meet students’ particular areas of interest, as well as lectures by industry experts.