University to partner with private sector to help students broaden knowledge

BATU PAHAT: Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) has opened its doors to a partnership with small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to enhance its academic development.

UTHM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Noh Dalimin said collaboration between the university and the private sector could help train students and provide opportunities for graduates to apply their newly acquired academic knowledge to the industry.

“When both work together, it gives students exposure to practical real world problems and employment opportunities for university graduates,” he said during his speech before opening the symposium of MTUN (Malaysia Technical Universities Network) - Industry collaboration 2011 last Sunday.

The one-day symposium was co-organised with the Chinese Chambers of Commerce Batu Pahat (CCCBP), in collaboration with MTUN.

The UTHM is a member of MTUN for technical learning.

MTUN’s other members - Univeristi Malaysia Perlis (UniMap), Universiti TeknicalMalaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) also participated in the symposium.

Dr Mohd Nod said the university-industry collaboration would be instrumental in strengthening the ability of universities to conduct high quality and relevant researches.

CCCBP president Chink Poh Cheng said universities played an important role as input sources for private sector innovation activities.

He said the SMEs needed skills and knowledge to enhance their competitiveness in the fast changing world.

“The University and SMEs can work together for technology transfer, business incubation, collaborative research, internship programmes, mentoring programmes and joint training,” he added.

Chink hoped the symposium would help develop more partnerships between the SMEs and UTHM to drive the Batu Pahat district to a higher economic and academicgrowth.

At the event, UTHM also signed letter of intent with CCCBP and several companies.