Shell, UMS to develop academic exchange
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd (Shell) on Thursday strengthened its partnership with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the state’s premier public university, through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaboratively establish and develop academic exchange and co-operation in teaching and training.
As part of the agreement, both parties will work together on participation in selected students’ training and awareness programmes, introducing programmes that enhance the marketability and employability of students and also other forms of collaboration that will mutually benefit Shell and UMS.
The MoU between Shell and UMS comprises two sections. The first part of the MoU is an agreement for Shell to conduct an Immersion Module project over the course of 10 weeks.
“The objective of this 10week programme is to enhance students’ critical thinking, and problem-solving skills through team work. We believe that these are the essential skills that employers will look for in today’s working environment,” explains Prithipal Singh, General Manager of Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd.
“This programme consists of simulations of real working environments with challenges that will enable students to understand the critical success factors when delivering a major project for a multinational company. With this partnership with UMS, we aim to enhance the employability of undergraduates by supporting them towards developing the needed skills and capabilities,” he said.
The second part of the MoU consists of the appointment of Prithipal as the CEO@Faculty of UMS under the initiative of the Ministry of Higher Education. Prithipal will spend time engaging with UMS students through various speaking engagements and career talks as part of Shell’s commitment towards developing local talent.
“The employability of our youths is an important economic indicator for our nation. As an institution of higher learning, UMS is responsible for producing a highly-knowledgeable and highly-skilled workforce for the labour market,” said Professor Datuk Dr. D Kamarudin D Mudin, Vice Chancellor of UMS.
Signing of behalf of UMS was Dr Kamarudin, witnessed by the university registrar, No’man Haji Ahmad.
Nur-Azlina Mohd Yazid, General Manager of Human Resources Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd, signed on behalf of Shell, witnessed by Jonathan Jolly, Senior Manager of Government Relations for East Malaysia, Shell Malaysia.