Giving back to the alma
UNIVERSITIES today are no longer just regarded as a place to seek and gain higher knowledge post-secondary school but they are also an avenue to prepare graduates to be job-ready and skilled for roles in the industry.
Tertiary institutions also take on the role of thought leaders in various fields and producers of cutting-edge research that benefit governments, businesses and society.
As competition escalates, faced with financial challenges that curtail spending and changes brought about by technology and the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, universities need to be quick, agile and adaptive to stay relevant.
Global top universities such as Oxford in the United Kingdom and Harvard in the United States have long been assisted by their alumni. In Malaysia, public universities are also recognising the value of their alumni in supporting and providing contributions voluntarily to expand a university’s development.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) deputy vice-chancellor (Industry, Community, Alumni and Entrepreneurship Network) Professor Dr Zaini Abdullah said the alumni have an important role in university development.
“Their input, in whatever form, will have a phenomenal impact on the university. For instance, the alumni can contribute to enhance academia, research and infrastructural system of UiTM.
“The members can also have direct impact on the university when they are constantly engaged in its activities such as prominent alumni talks, sharing sessions with field experts and alumni homecoming that will bring reciprocal benefits to both UiTM as well as the alumni,” he added.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Alumni Centre director Professor Dr Hazandy Abdul Hamid said the role of the alumni has broadened to cover involvement in the university council representation, network-building, recruitment of prospective students and mentoring of undergraduates as well as a source of fundraising.
“Alumni members are our brand ambassadors. Many universities including UPM highlight their notable alumni as a way of connecting their successes to the tertiary institution.
“A strong and a positive relationship with our alumni offers social, academic and professional benefit. Likewise, the alumni have realised that the association with the alma mater is not just mere nostalgia but it’s much more,” he said.
University of Malaya (UM) Institutional Advancement Centre director John Robertson shares the sentiment that the university alumni in Malaysia will undoubtedly play a more significant role in the development of a tertiary institution and perhaps, in the future, some alumni may make monetary contributions.
“The UM database records more than 190,000 alumni but sadly, at present, it is only in contact with 30 per cent. Just like many universities in the country, historical student records have been largely neglected but we are employing many strategies to address this. Without a programme of data updates and relationship-building, significant donations and endowments such as those in the US or UK, for example, will not be easily achieved,” he said.
He added that contributing to one’s alma mater takes many forms; it is not just fundraising as it can include mentoring, internships and inspirational talks.
“US and UK universities enjoy beneficial leg-
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islation, incentive schemes and their donors reap more favourable tax benefits. Both countries also have a long tradition of alumni contribution, a relationship that has been built up over many years. Alumni relations in Malaysia is in its infancy and making comparisons with endowments to older, more engaged universities such as Harvard is misleading.”
UiTM has 768,097 alumni members while UPM has more than 200,000, dating back to its School of Agriculture days in 1931. workforce, company performance can be enhanced.
Elaborating on monetary contributions, Zaini added that alumni can offer scholarships to brilliant students who cannot afford stipend and tuition particularly in critical and professional fields such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, law and accountancy.
Sponsorships can include student mobility programmes so that UiTM undergraduates can gain international exposure and recognition. Sponsoring students’ projects in international and local competitions, be it innovation or other forms of contests, can yield impressive results.
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