Building a strong base
WHEN Mansour Ayman Alawi enrolled in the UTAR Foundation in Science, he was glad to learn that it is an extension of the education he received in his homeland, Syria.
“The UTAR Foundation engages students from a broad spectrum of academic backgrounds and integrates them into its constructive syllabi. Despite coming from an education system that uses a non-English medium, I am able to cope thanks to the English enrichment classes,” he said.
Mansour, who hopes to pursue the UTAR Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Biomedical Engineering, cited quality and affordability as the primary factors he chose UTAR.
Yusra Nasser Al Hamed from Kenya, who is currently based at UTAR campus in Kampar, Perak, heaped praises on the picturesque lake-town campus, which was conferred the acclaimed Gold Award (Education Category) at the prestigious annual Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia Awards 2013.
UTAR’s goal to deliver transformative education is steered by its erudite, conscientious, adaptable and dedicated lecturers.
Yusra commended her mentors for their cordiality and exemplary working ethics.
She, who intends to pursue an Arts degree, said, “The Foundation in Science aims at equipping students with theoretical know-how, technical prowess and soft skills fundamental to both Science and Arts continuums.”
The UTAR one-year Foundation programme is offered dually at its Petaling Jaya and Kampar campuses.
“The Foundation programme incorporates an integrated curriculum that promotes and prioritises the holistic development of students,” said UTAR Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) Petaling Jaya Campus director Yap Lay Min, adding that the programme, which is benchmarked against STPM and A-Levels, is geared towards equipping students to meet competitive global industry demands.
Yap’s sentiments were shared by her counterpart, UTAR CFS Perak Campus director Pek Hoo Chun.
“The qualified and committed teaching staff, the availability and continuous incorporation of online learning environment and wellequipped facilities as a whole have provided students with a more effective and conducive learning environment,” said Pek.
UTAR Foundation programme emphasises hands-on practices, presentation skills and English language proficiency.
In line with its objective to become a premier research university, UTAR has invested adequately in state-ofthe-art labs.
A wide range of extra-curricular activities is available to develop student’s leadership and soft skills and other relevant competencies.
Students’ well-being is top priority. Apart from counselling services, every Foundation Studies student will be assigned an academic adviser.
The Foundation programme, which has been approved by the Education Ministry and accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, is the shortest path for qualified students to progress to undergraduate studies within a year.
However, with the flexible course structure, students may complete it at their own pace up to a maximum of two years.
UTAR CFS serves as a one-stop centre for academic pursuance where students can progress to over 60 undergraduate programmes and subsequently to over 30 postgraduate programmes within UTAR itself. Various loans and scholarships are available for eligible students.
The employability of UTAR’s 32,000 over graduates exceeds 97% within six months of graduation. UTAR is ranked as one of the top 300 universities in Asia in 2012 and 2013, and the 64th Asian university in employer reputation in 2012 by QS World University Rankings: Asia.
In conjunction with the May intake, UTAR is holding the UTAR Open Day:
> March 22-23 (Saturday-Sunday), 9.30am-5.30pm at UTAR Petaling Jaya in Selangor
> March 29-30 (Saturday-Sunday), 9.30am-5.30pm at UTAR Sungai Long Campus in Sungai Long
> April 5-6 (Saturday-Sunday), 9.30am-5.30pm at UTAR Perak Campus in Kampar
> April 12-13 (Saturday-Sunday), 9.30am-5.30pm at UTAR Kuala Lumpur in Setapak
UTAR is also having its extended counselling hours from March till June at the Petaling Jaya and Perak campuses, Monday to Sunday (excluding public holidays) from 9am to 5pm.
For details, call 03-7958 2628 (Petaling Jaya campus), 05-468 8888 (Perak campus) or 016-223 3559, e-mail enquiry@utar.edu.my or log on to