USM to Have Special Entrance Exam

Received this blog post from one of my loyal blog readers.

USM, after being selected as APEX University, has now been given the freedom to select the 3,500 undergraduates for next year through a special entrance exam.

They would not be relying on STPM or matriculation, but would be basing on their own entry exam. As of now, I haven't heard of how they are going to conduct the test yet. So, there is that part to look into. Hopefully, it would be a step forward, for USM to be doing things much more meritocratically.

For full quotations, go here

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（檳城）獲得頂尖大學地位的理科大學，將在今年5月公開直接招生，而不需通過大學中心單位（Unit Pusat Universiti）分配。

馬來西亞理科大學校長丹斯里祖基菲里宣佈，這項措施在今年及明年新學年實施，學生可通過理大的網站http://www.usm.my提出申請，至今已獲得1萬3000名學生申請，而大學只錄取約3500名學生。

他指出，理大將會遴選符合資格的學生，其中一項措施是採用“入學測試”，以確定學生符合資格及真正有興趣就讀申請的學系。

祖基菲里是於今日（週二，1月6日）在理大主持國際諮詢及社會工作營開幕禮後，作出上述宣佈，並公佈理大最新教學政策，確保理大學術多元化，提昇學術水平及加強國際競爭性。

理大採取直接錄取學生的措施，突破傳統由大學中心單位分配的方式，將對國內高等教育帶來深遠影響。

祖基菲里說，以往就讀理大的學生是由大學中心單位分配，而今理大得到頂尖大學地位後，也獲得直接錄取學生的待權。

他指出，於去年12月17日，理大網站公開招收大學預科班的學生。第2階段是供擁有文憑、同等學術地位、國際學科、甚至A水平等學生申請，以使就讀理大的學生多元化。

“因此，理大學生來源不再集中在大學預科班及大馬高級學校文憑畢業生。有意就讀理大的大馬高級學校文憑畢業生可於今年2月初，在理大網上申請。”

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Online Resources to Learn English

The importance of English is not to be undermined. This is an initiative by UTM to share the resources with Malaysian students of other universities. I couldn't find the URL of this initiative. If any of the blog reader found it, please do share it.

This is quoted from NST

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The Online Resources for Learning in English (MyLinE), initiated by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) two years ago, will be open for use to all students in public institutions of higher learning (IPTAs), beginning today.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the programme highlighted the benefits of collaboration among universities, besides representing the right response to the use of technology for teaching and learning.

“We would like to see the best practices in IPTAs. We will expand programmes or technologies from any university to be shared by other universities to prevent them from developing a new programme which has been initiated by others,” he said after launching the MyLinE portal at UTM city campus here today.

MyLinE, which was first introduced to semester 1 UTM students in 2006/2007, is a self-access learning resource to enhance English language communication skills among students at tertiary level.

The current main learning resources of this portal are grouped under topics such as English for Academic Purposes, English for General Communication and Rest and Relax with English.

Mohamed Khaled said the portal generated further interest among the students and the hits soared to 30,950, as of 8am today.

“We will monitor the usage of MyLinE by other IPTA’s and hope they will also share ideas to develop and update the portal contents,” he said, adding that about RM4.5 million was allocated to develop the programme.

Meanwhile, UTM Vice-Chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dr Mohd Zulkifli Mohd Ghazali said the programme would benefit all students as the resources were designed with the academic needs of tertiary-level students.

“It is hoped that such resources will add variety, choices and opportunities for learners to improve and enrich their English language competency,” he said


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USM chosen as Apex University

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been granted the Apex University status by Ministry of Higher Education.

Hopefully that this initiative can really help Malaysia to have 1 world-class university!

2 articles from The Star on this. It's here and here . Both articles are fully quoted below.

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PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been granted apex status. With it, USM can expect hundreds of millions of ringgit in additional funding to transform it into Malaysia's first world-class university.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that quantitative and qualitative criteria were used to select USM under the accelerated programme for excellence (apex).

“The selection committee evaluated each university's state of readiness, transformation plan and preparedness for change.

“After a thorough evaluation, the committee decided that only one university truly met all the criteria, namely USM,'' he told a press conference yesterday.

The Cabinet had agreed to USM being given the apex status on Aug 27.

The university that is given apex status is one that has the greatest potential among Malaysian universities to be world-class, and as such, would be given additional assistance to compete with top-ranked global institutions, added Khaled.

He said with apex status, USM will be expected to move up the World University Rankings with a target of top 200 in five years' and top 100, if not top 50, by 2020.

In last year’s Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, Universiti Malaya (UM) was the highest ranked Malaysian university at 246, followed by USM (307), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (309) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (364).

A selection committee headed by former Universiti Malaysia Sarawak vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Mohamad Zawawi Ismail short-listed USM, UM, UKM and UPM.

USM's transformation plan, entitled “Transforming Higher Education for a Sustainable Tomorrow” focussed, among other things, on diagnostics, medical biotechnology, waste management, pharmaceuticals, nano-technology, membrane technology and vaccines.

Asked why UM was not selected, Khaled said: “I hope the apex status will spur other universities to strive for excellence, too. It's not about selecting the oldest university but choosing one with a doable plan that can help us transform our higher education.”

The other universities that applied for apex status were International Islamic University Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Tenaga Nasional.

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PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is grateful for any additional help towards becoming the first Malaysian university to attain world-class status.

“It is a good birthday present as USM is turning 40 next year,” said its vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak of the government's decision to grant USM apex status.

He added that the university’s transformation plan was put in place six years ago.

Prof Dzulkifli added that the university planned to use its autonomy to improve three critical areas – talent, resources and governance.

“We would like to have our own charter like other autonomous universities,” he said.

In terms of funding, Prof Dzulkifli said USM has asked for an additional RM830mil for 2009–2013.

UM vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim congratulated USM on its achievement.

“Of course, we are disappointed not to be chosen based on our track record of transforming UM to become the top-ranked local university within two years.”

However, she said, UM will continue with its transformation plan, “with or without apex status”.





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Overseas Graduate earns more compared to local graduates

Thanks to my blog reader for submitting this.

This is actually from my company, JobStreet.com .

Full article below is quoted from BlogStreet

For fresh graduates who are looking for full time job or internship in Malaysia, do post your resume and apply for jobs via JobStreet CAMPUS

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Graduates of overseas universities fair better than local grads in salary scale
A study that we conducted recently revealed that of the 100,000-plus JobStreet.com members in Malaysia who hold a Bachelor degree and are currently working in the country, graduates from overseas universities on average earn about 12 percent more than local graduates.

The salary gap is most apparent among those with up to five years of work experience where overseas graduates are earning a significant 20 percent more than their local counterparts. Even after 10 years or more of work experience, the gap is still more than 10 percent.

In terms of job specialization, the biggest salary gap between overseas and local graduates is in business-related fields such as management, economics, finance and marketing where overseas graduates earn about 15 percent more than local graduates.

In the engineering and IT/Computer fields, salaries are about 11 percent higher for overseas graduates.

We also did a similar study among 20,000 JobStreet.com members in Singapore and we observed that there is no significant difference between the salaries of graduates from local Singaporean universities and overseas universities even after five or 10 years of work experience.

In conclusion, a Malaysian who graduates from a local Malaysian university earns on average a lower salary than those who graduate from an overseas university. There were no significant difference in salaries that exists among graduates in Singapore.

Note: For this research, the term "overseas" refers to the top three most popular overseas destinations for tertiary studies - Australia, Great Britain and United States - and includes twinning programmes.


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The Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions 2007 (Setara)

The Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions 2007 (Setara) has been unleashed. Universities are graded according to 5-star system, based on six domains – academic staff (25%), students' selectivity (10%), research (15%), academic programmes (25%), resources (15%), and management (10%).

The outcome is:-

Excellent - Universiti Malaya

Very Good - UPM, UKM, UiTM, UIA

Good - UTM, USM, UNIMAS, UMS

Satisfactory - UTTHM, UPSI, KUKUM, UMT, UUM, USIM, UMP, UTeM.


While I am not sure what is being reported in the detailed reports, I hope that all the universities would study it in details and make full use of it to improve themselves.


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PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Malaya (UM) is the only public higher education institution to obtain a five-star rating in the Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions 2007 (Setara).

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said UM came out tops in the research university category in the first-ever local rating system.

A total of 17 public universities were rated and placed in three categories – research, broad-based and specialised.

International Islamic University Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Mara both scored four stars each in the broad-based category, while Universiti Teknologi Malaysia was the only one to receive a three-star rating for specialised universities. No university earned the highest rating – six stars.

“The purpose of Setara is to enable universities to measure their quality and see where they stand in relation to one another,” Mohamed Khaled told a press conference yesterday.

Commenting on the universities' performance, Mohamed Khaled said there was still a lot of room for improvement. However, he added that by knowing their strengths and weaknesses, universities could strive to continuously improve in quality and ultimately, their position in the world rankings.

“We wanted to come up with our own system. Setara is more comprehensive compared to others, which are based more on perception and include things like peer review and employers' perception,'' said Mohamed Khaled referring to the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Rankings.

Setara involves a quantitative survey where data collected is analysed according to six domains – academic staff (25%), students' selectivity (10%), research (15%), academic programmes (25%), resources (15%), and management (10%).

The survey will be carried out once every two years and private higher education institutions may also be included in future.

Last year, the ministry released the results of an academic reputation survey where Universiti Sains Malaysia was named the best overall university.

At the event, Mohamed Khaled also announced that five public and two private higher education institutions had submitted proposals under the accelerated programme for excellence or apex university.

The ministry plans to identify one or two Malaysian institutions as apex universities, which have the greatest potential of being recognised as world class by 2010.

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Datin Miriam Mohd Yusoff Sustainable Governance Endowment Chair

In US Universities, there have been a lot of gift to Universities to endow a chair or donation towards the endowment.

This rarely happens in Malaysia, but when I read the newspaper this morning, it brighthened my day, to know that a fellow Malaysian has donated RM1 Million to UKM to endow a chair called Datin Miriam Mohd Yusoff Sustainable Governance Endowment Chair at the university’s Institute for Environment and Development (Lestari).

Full quotation from The Star is below.


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SEREMBAN: In keeping his promise to his father, businessman Datuk Ghazali Mohd Yusoff has donated RM1mil to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in her honour.

The Nusantara Technologies Sdn Bhd executive chairman said yesterday he was fulfilling a pledge to his father Datuk Mohamed Yusoff Ahmad, to take good care of his mother, Datin Miriam Mohd Yusoff.

“Before my father died in 1985, he told me to look after my mother. He also said I must share what Allah has given us with others,” he said in his speech during a ceremony to hand over the cheque to UKM Chancellor Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Ja’afar at Istana Hinggap here.

Miriam presented the cheque to Tuanku Ja'afar.

The donation was also done in conjunction with her 88th birthday, which fell on May 15.

The money will go towards the setting up of the Datin Miriam Mohd Yusoff Sustainable Governance Endowment Chair at the university’s Institute for Environment and Development (Lestari).

Lestari was set up in 1994 as a multidisciplinary institute to serve as a reference centre dealing with environmental and development issues.




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Forum by Universiti Malaya Alumni Association

Found this event also on The Star City Watch on 17th May 2008

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Universiti Malaya Alumni Association is holding a forum titled "New politics in Malaysia: Problems, Issues and Challenges" on 24th May, Saturday from 10am till 12:30pm at UM campus.

The speakers are:-
Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam
Prof Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar
Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi
YB Wee Choo Keong
YB Tony Pua

All UM Alumni members are invited to the forum.

Registration to be done with Mr. Liew at 03-79551061 or 03-79556264, weekdays 2pm to 10pm or Saturday 9:30am to 1pm.

You can visit the website of Universiti Malaya Alumni Association .



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Seminar on Local Government in Malaysia

Found this event on today - 17th May 2008 The Star Metro City Watch.

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The Center for Malaysian Chinese Studies and Institute of China Studies of University Malaya will hold a seminar titled "Local Government in Malaysia: The Serach for New Directions" at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, KL on Thursday, 22nd May.

You can contact 03-22734035 or 03-79565663. The cost is RM30, including materials and refreshment.


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JPA or PSD Scholarships for SPM 2007 Candidates

Public Service Department has announced new initiatives for SPM 2007 candidates.

As long as they get above 9As in their SPM, they would be guaranteed JPA or PSD scholarships to study in Form 6 in Fully Aided Schools .

Those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.

If these students decide to do their degree in local university, they would be offered scholarships as well. These local universities include Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity.

If these students get admission into Ivy League or equivalent university, they would be offered scholarships as well.

My personal thought on this is that it is quite a good move, as it would help to retain the top students within our country, but I think such scholarship, their details would need to be clearer. On studying at fully aided schools, these might need to be highlighted, as all those SMJK, which are traditionally top STPM schools are partially aided. So, they would not be part of this deal.

This is the details of the scholarship, as highlighted by The Star

Full quotation of it is as follow:-
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PSD scholarships for SPM students with 9As


PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) will offer scholarships to all students who scored 9As in their SPM examinations last year, regardless of background, to study Form Six in fully-aided schools.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said students who do matriculation, including those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.

These students will also be sponsored for their first degree if they do it in a local university, he said in a statement yesterday.

Sidek said the PSD would also sponsor such students if they obtained places in an Ivy League or equivalent university.

Top-scoring students who get a place in a Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity will also be offered scholarships.

On top of this, Sidek said the PSD would offer scholarships to 2,000 students for overseas studies and a further 10,000 for studies in local universities.

He said the scholarships were being offered in line with the Government’s efforts to develop human capital.

He said the Government was aware that the number of high achievers is growing every year. Yet, not every student would have a chance to get Government sponsorship.

“The Government realises that high achievers are assets.

“As such, it has introduced the initiative to increase the number of scholarships where students of any background will be offered as long as they satisfy the SPM 9A score condition,” he said.

The move, Sidek added, would indirectly encourage these high achievers to further their education in local universities.

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Merck Young Scientist Award 2008

Thanks to the link from one of my loyal blog readers.

Quoted fully from The Star . Hope to see more fellow young scientist of Malaysia participate in this.
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Search for young scientist

MERCK Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with US-based HMD Chemicals Inc, has launched its inaugural nationwide Merck Young Scientist Award (MYSA) 2008.

The objectives for the award are to encourage and honour home-grown research and development excellence in the biosciences.

Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Prof Dr Hassan Said has expressed his support for the initiative.

"The involvement of the private sector is most welcome and such a programme is certainly aligned with and supports the government's objective to develop the biotechnology field.

"This award will further add impetus to the commitment from local institutions of higher learning in their research efforts for the advancement of biosciences in Malaysia," Prof Hassan said.

The competition will accept only published research papers or researches that are due for publication in selected speciality areas of bioscience study.

Another key condition for entry acceptance is that the research must be conducted at local institutions of higher learning. All entries must reach Merck by April to qualify.

Originality, quality and impact of the research on the future development of the biosciences in Malaysia are expected to be among the key elements driving the judging.

The top five finalists are required to present their research papers to the panel of judges for the final winner to be decided.

MYSA 2008 posters and entry form leaflets will be made available at selected universities and university colleges. You can also visit the websites Merck , MOHC and Biotek to view details and to download the entry form.

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USM

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been trying its best to surge ahead.

Somehow, this afternoon, when I was chatting with a friend, she is doing research in USM, before embarking on her PhD at Monash University, Australia. And what she described to me on USM is definitely very positive. She spoke on the high-tech equipments that she had on her lab, and the quality is definitely top notch. She used to study undergraduate in one of the top universities in U.S.

She also commented on USM has been sending a number of its top students for PhD programs in top universities in US and UK. Among those that she knew went to universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College. That's definitely a good start. Hope that USM can continue on its momentum.

Just as I was looking through The Star. Saw that USM took a great step ahead in being environmental friendly. USM banned styrofoam from its campus. Food operators would use biodegradable containers, which would cost 20 cents each, rather than 3-4 cents each for styrofoam box.

Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that this is part of its "The White Coffin" signature campaign to get USM staff and students to pledge their commitment to support sustainable initiatives to reduce adverse impact on environment.

Prof Datuk Dzulkifli, who is a columnist in New Straits Times also commented on a recent visit by 25 students from Taiwan. Those students brought their own foldable container, as well as reusable chopsticks. That's definitely a catalyst of change.