Unique engineering pathway
QUEST International University Perak’s (QIU) commitment to produce industry-relevant engineering graduates took a positive step towards fruition when the university sealed deals with several manufacturing giants such as Salutica Allied Solutions on the new curriculum.
The agreements will see QIU and the industry working together to develop and implement an academic-industrial hybrid programme that will produce competent, employable engineers.
The programme aims to create a pool of talent that will sustain industrial growth via industry-led programmes that focus on domain knowledge in the area of engineering.
Under this programme, the new breed of QIU undergraduates will enjoy 40 weeks of industrial attachment across their four-year programme. This will include 10 weeks in Year 1 and Year 2 respectively, as well as 20 weeks in Year 3.
Due to this early continuous exposure and engagement with the experts, the university’s budding engineers will get the chance to sharpen their hands-on skills while being moulded by the industry.
QIU’s Bachelor of Electronics Engineering (Communication) with Honours and Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering with Honours students will start this programme in April 2020.
This fluid curriculum model will see the university working with industries in all areas such as student selection, industrial attachment, defining elective courses, final year projects, and feedback on the curriculum.
“This programme is one of many industrial collaborations that the university has carried out. QIU believes in giving our students the industry-relevant skills and training that allows them to make an immediate impact in their companies,” said QIU chief operating officer Nicholas Goh.
“They should be moulded into impactful employees without retraining – a process which costs valuable time and money.”
Goh said the hybrid curriculum would also allow QIU’s students to keep pace with industry changes that evolved at breakneck speed.
He said rapid changes and innovations in the industry would be immediately communicated to the undergraduates, who would in turn greatly benefit from this exposure.
At the same time, Goh noted that QIU wanted to produce graduates who would be able to contribute to the local economy.
“This programme increases the chances of retaining talent in Perak. Students will be familiar with their respective companies and this will increase their changes of being hired by these companies, instead of looking for unfamiliar jobs elsewhere,” he added.
Salutica Allied Solutions deputy chief executive officer Joshua Lim is a staunch believer that an industry needs to work with academia to fulfil both partners’ needs while also grooming talents for Ipoh’s industries.
“By having technology manufacturing and facilities in Perak, we also provide employment for people here. Students don’t have to go all the way to Kuala Lumpur and Penang to find jobs in the hi-tech sector,” Lim explained.
From Salutica’s perspective, Lim said the new curriculum would help bridge the gap between the worlds of academia and industry.
“We have noticed a gap between what academic institutions produce and what the industry needs. A lot of time and effort is spent to train fresh graduates and bring them up to pace,” he said.
“It’s vital that we engage early with educational institutions like QIU to bridge this gap.
“From the beginning, undergraduates can be exposed to how things work in a factory and what they can expect.”
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