TAR UC TURNS 50
IT HAS been five decades of continuous excellence for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) in providing quality and affordable education.
Set up in 1969, it was originally named TAR College before it was upgraded to TAR UC in 2013.
Throughout the years, the institution has carved its name as a highly-acclaimed institution by the industry and academia for its strong academic strength.
TAR UC president Prof Dr Lee Sze Wei attributed the developments and achievements to the visionary leadership of the founding leaders who had set a firm foundation for the institution to grow from strength to strength.
“For the past 50 years, TAR UC has been very effective in providing manpower for the country. The pioneers have set the right direction for continuous growth from the start by providing students with programmes and skills that are skewed towards the demands of the industry. Our graduates are always in high demand across industries, with over 90% employability rate.
“Also, TAR UC will not be where it is today without the professional management team and dedicated staff ensuring the institution strives to success,” he said.
TAR UC has about 200,000 alumni who have gone on to become professionals, national leaders and successful entrepreneurs nationally and globally.
“As we look back at the achievements over the years, it is also important for us to look at what we should do for the next 50 years to ensure the institution continues to thrive.
“Celebrating the 50th milestone is just the beginning for us to charter the path for the next 50 years to come,” he added.
Moving forward
Prof Lee anticipates that TAR UC will be upgraded to university status by next year.
“Moving towards that, we need to widen the coverage and responsibility of TAR UC for the nation and society. We continue to improve our existing programmes and introduce new ones according to the demands of the industry to develop quality manpower for the country,” he said.
On the institution’s role in helping graduates to stay relevant in the industry, he pointed out that institutions of higher learning should play their part in providing life-long learning skills.
“For the coming decades, the rate of changes will be greater than what we had in the past 50 years. The nature of jobs changes so fast that when you enter a particular job function, the skill set that you learned may be irrelevant in five or 10 years down the road.
“It is not about preparing youngsters for their first jobs anymore. We want our graduates to stay relevant throughout their career life span with effective learning skills.
“We support Tarcians – students and alumni – by working towards training for the industries, companies and individuals who need to acquire new skills to thrive in the industry,” he explained, adding that those who graduated are always welcomed to come back and learn new skills.
Apart from that, Prof Lee emphasised that the campus environment is equally important for students.
“Campus life sets the stage for the students’ character-building. It is not just about classroom studies and examination results but also the space and opportunities for students
to grow and develop their personality before they step out into the society as a well-rounded graduate.
“We provide the needful such as facility support and financial aid and at the same time, we don’t want to interfere too much so that they can learn to be independent,” he added.
Participating in clubs and societies activities is part of character building so students are encouraged to run activities involving the community, which is also TAR UC’s corporate social responsibility.
On the other hand, TAR UC is actively supporting the industry and society by moving to R&D focusing on industry needs and applied research.
Prof Lee further explained that the institution is stepping up its technical role to prepare for the Industrial Revolution 4.0 in fields such as artificial intelligence, big data and ecommerce.
“Small and medium enterprises would not be able to invest so much in their initial stage so we are reaching out to support them with our expertise and computing infrastructure.
“We have at least 10 companies working with us now and are expecting more to come in the future,” he said.
Student’s perspective
Student Representative Council (SRC) president Ong Yee Hong couldn’t agree more on the significance of campus life contributing to creating a well-rounded graduate.
“It was the bustling activities within the campus that got me attracted during its open day. It was ‘happening’ and I walked around
with excitement, telling myself this is the campus life for me,” said the final year broadcasting student of the Communication and Creative Industries Faculty.
After a year of familiarisation in the campus and what it offers, Ong went on to participate in various activities such as event management, videography, sponsorship management and the SRC before clinching the SRC president position.
“These programmes have provided me a lot of opportunities in my personal development in terms of skills and character. For instance, being part of the SRC allows me to sharpen both my internal and external communication skills by liaising with students and the TAR UC management to fight for students’ welfare.
“It also allows me to understand how the institution operates not only from a student’s perspective but from the management’s point of view.
“I also got to visit partnering institutions in Malaysia and overseas to learn about their culture.
“The campus is like a training ground for us before stepping into society and these experiences are
far more than just CGPA,” he shared.
Future development
Construction works for a student and community centre will commence once TAR UC receives sufficient funding.
It will be a well-equipped centre where students can gather and run their activities while the community can utilise the place for public activities.
Current public activities taking place within the campus grounds include yoga, Chinese calligraphy, tai chi as well as basic IT skills.
The institution is also planning a one-stop-centre for SMEs and SMIs which will have training facilities and relevant departments to assist their needs and requirements in their business.
“Our role is not limited to preparing graduates for work but also having our expertise support the industry. Vice versa, our staff would not just be teaching in the campus but also be exposed to other relevant fields,” said Prof Lee.
Grand celebration
TAR UC is marking its 50-year milestone with a grand celebration on March 16 and 17.
Themed HomeComing, the nostalgic event is a golden opportunity for Tarcian alumni to reconnect over an exciting line-up of programmes and activities.
One of the highlights is the time capsule-sealing ceremony, which will see Prof Lee and Ong sealing messages and aspirations from the TAR UC community of 2019 for the TAR UC community of 2069.
“The container will be revealed again by us during TAR UC’s 100th anniversary celebration. This will be the motivation for me to live longer,” Prof Lee quipped.
Among other highlights is the HomeComing concert on the evening of March 16 where alumni and existing students will be performing songs from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s –by the Red Bricks Society, a song-composing society in TARUC.
“The Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business, the largest faculty so far, has been very successful in training accountants, of which it has produced over 90 ACCA award winners. We are inviting all the winners to come back to celebrate with us on March 16,” he shared.
He added that there will be a dialogue session with TAR UC alumni for present students on March 17.
“It will be interesting to see different generations of Tarcians gathering and exchanging views and experiences,” he said.
Prof Lee called on all TAR UC alumni to join the grand celebration next weekend. He is hoping that at least 10% of the 200,000 alumni would “come home” to be part of the nostalgic event.
He pointed out that Tarcians could book their favourite spots within the campus for their reunions during the anniversary celebration weekend.
“Every corner of the campus is open for booking free of charge. We can assist in arranging food catering if they need but the cost is on them of course,” said Prof Lee with a laugh.
He added that some had already booked specific classrooms and lecture halls for their gatherings.
“There will be guided tours around the campus by our student ambassadors to bring our alumni around to see the improvements and changes of their alma mater,” he said.