Alumni support to improve industry relations
UNIVERSITI Teknologi MARA (UiTM) aims to intensify engagement efforts with its alumni to establish stronger and closer ties with the industry. Vice-chancellor Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Hassan Said commented that the alumni is a powerful resource in the industry, community and the entrepreneurial world which the university has yet to fully explore.
He added the alumni of any university is a reflection of the institution’s ability to educate, train and groom its graduates. By the same token, the alumni’s commitment to giving back is part of this reflection.
“While we continue to adapt, improve and sustain our capacity to produce the best, we need the alumni, the industry and the government alongside us. As such, UiTM is refining its ecosystem by updating and synergising its alumni data to stay connected through meaningful engagement,” he told reporters at the sidelines of UiTM’s University-Industry, Community and Entrepreneurship Engagement Session (UIES) 2018 in Shah Alam last week.
Although the University-Industry, Community, Alumi and Entrepreneurship Network (ICAEN) has confirmed data of 320,000 UiTM alumni spanning from 2006 till today in its database, the tertiary institution will be working to bring the rest of its 700,000-strong alumni on board.
“UiTM believes that all our alumni matter to us. We hope to update and be updated on alumni developments, achievements, status as well as reputation. We plan to intensify our engagement with our alumni to encourage them to give back
We are part of an ecosystem moving in tandem with one common goal — building and sustaining a great nation.
because we belong to a great big family of potentially multi-dimensional relationships,” he said.
Athough themed UiTM-alumni Moving as ONE this year, the University-ICAEN session did not exclude members of the industry and community who are non-alumni.
“We are part of an ecosystem moving in tandem with one common goal — building and sustaining a great nation.”
Asked about the status of the the UiTM RM1billion Education Fund launched in 2015 aimed at raising RM1billion in endowment from the university’s alumni members, Hassan said the figure has exceeded RM10 million.
The fund is fashioned after those implemented by respected institutions such as Harvard University and Stanford University, which raise billions of dollars in endowment funds annually.
“We must strengthen the fund structure to ease the process of contributions,” said Hassan, adding that the fund will help enhance the quality of teaching and research, and develop the infrastructure that will give UiTM students the best learning experience.
UIES 2018 featured a forum comprising alumni icons as well as industry personalities to encourage UiTM alumni who make up the industry, community and entrepreneurial fraternity to commit to the university in any possible way that is mutually beneficial and advantageous.
Moderated by ICAEN deputy vice-chancellor Professor Dr Zaini Abdullah, the panel comprised founder and UiTM pro-chansellor Tan Sri Arshad Ayub; AirAsia co-founder, AirAsia Group Bhd executive chairman and AirAsia X group chief executive officer Datuk Kamarudin Meranun; and NADICORP Holdings Sdn Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.
HASSAN SAID