MOHE shares redesigning initiatives for Industry 4.0
In light of continuous global competition, it is imperative for Malaysia’s higher education system to be able to produce holistic, entrepreneurial, innovative and balanced graduates.
IDRIS JUSOH
Higher Education minister
THE Ministry of Higher Education recently organised the Malaysia Higher Education Forum (MyHEF) 2017 in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0).
The two-day forum, themed ‘Redesigning Education for Industry 4.0’, explored the impact of technological advancements, automation and innovative disruptions brought by the Industry 4.0 to local and global job markets.
Attended by more than 2,500 delegates from the industry, higher learning institutions, government agencies and non-government organisation, the forum also discussed the needs of the future graduate, community and industry as well.
At the forum, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh shared various ongoing efforts initiated by the ministry in redesigning Malaysia’s higher education.
These included the unveiling of progress reports on the accomplishment of Malaysia Education Blueprint 20152025 (Higher Education) together with initiatives such as Integrated Cumulative Grade Point Average (iCGPA), 2u2i workbased learning programme, Malaysia MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), CEO@Faculty programme, Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) and many more.
Idris said all the initiatives have begun to address the challenges and critical needs of Industry 4.0.
“In light of continuous global competition, it is imperative for Malaysia’s higher education system to be able to produce holistic, entrepreneurial, innovative and balanced graduates. Thus, harnessing the potential of Industry 4.0 and creating opportunities for Malaysians within the same direction will go a long way towards achieving this vision,” he said.
Idris said the ministry was bold enough to introduce new initiatives in its effort to groom the students to meet the demands of the Industry 4.0.
He said the ministry is never afraid to challenge the existing student assessment system as well as introducing new initiatives for the purpose.
“For example, the introduction of iCGPA, alongside the existing academic-driven CGPA system. We believe that students should not be evaluated solely on academic performance, but also participation in co-curricular, social and voluntary activities.
“This iCGPA is the first and only in the world,” he said.
Among the forum’s featured speakers were Tencent Holdings senior vice-president Lau Seng Yee, Alibaba Group vice-president Brian Wong, Tsinghua University tenured associate professor Dr Kehkooi Kee and The World Bank senior education economist Dilip Parajulis.