New breed of graduates
“The fact of the matter is that employment is just one form of opportunity,” Prof Rafi said.
“If the market exists, it exists, with or without employers.
Should a graduate switch from being a job seeker to being a business owner, his employment problem would be solved and he could churn out profits.
But setting up a proper business enterprise is no walk in the park, especially for the inexperienced.
MMU established its Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) with that in mind, through
A key feature of the EDC is its Spin-Off Scheme, which was introduced to provide financial support for enterprises at the pre-seed and seed stages.
This micro-funding initiative intends to commercialise research projects at MMU, “spinning off” commercially viable projects into profit-making ventures.
While the original beneficiaries were the university’s researchers, the programme has been made available to staff and students.
Under the scheme, participants may apply for up to RM35,000 in funding per project over 12 months.
Eventually it will lead to the Startup Scheme. Every MMU’s EDC participant can expect a thorough training of how an enterprise works, to develop business ideas and plans and the management and marketing processes should be handled.
Qualified participants will also be invited to present pitches to investors whose funding would enable successful enterprises to operate and function as intended.
While it has been only slightly a year since the EDC was introduced, MMU has made strides in championing entrepreneurship.
The most recent success story is of MMU’s Faculty of Computing and Informatics student Nur Zahirah Zahrah who ventured into niche marketing, by creating portraiture using Rubik cube components.
Zahirah markets her service exclusively online, and recently, she made a mosaic portrait of minister of Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh using 800 pieces of the popular puzzle.
Prof Rafi is confident that MMU is championing the trend that all universities will soon embrace.
“I sincerely believe that there is no escaping from the fact that, in time, there will be too many students for the job market to absorb,” he said.
“When the time comes, MMU graduates will be ready as usual, because in training them to be entrepreneurs, we have trained them to be job creators, and not just job seekers.
“We believe they will enjoy great success.”
For more information on MMU’s programmes and other details, visit www.mmu.edu.my or call 1300 800 668 (MMU).