Universiti Utara Malaysia launches 30th anniversary logo

• New logo heralds the 30th anniversary celebration of UUM in 2014

The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, launched UUM’s logo for its 30-year milestone celebrations in 2014, on 15 June 2013 at Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur.

He said that the logo would be used in all celebratory programmes scheduled for 16 February 2014. He added that the celebrations on that day would acquire greater lustre and meaning with the attendance of 50 UUM alumni.

“Their attendance would be meaningful in that it would afford them a pleasant revisit to the campus while enabling us to get a measure of their achievements since graduating from this University,” he said.

Dr. Mohamed Mustafa added that, to date, the number of UUM alumni had reached 100,000, including the 15,000 graduates who were spread over 42 nations around the world.

In another development, he said that university-industry relations would be given emphasis, including the methods and learning styles imparted to students at UUM.

“The students at this campus will be given exposure to thinking out of the box. They will be encouraged to incorporate this in forging relations with industry, as well as the methodology they devise to conduct their case studies,” he said in his speech at the launching ceremony.

He said that the celebrations to mark a generation in existence was important because an assessment in terms of UUM’s achievements since its establishment had to be showcased in order to prove that the government’s initiative in setting up a management university had indeed given a palpable impact to the nation.

With regard to the attendance of UUM’s alumni at the celebrations, the Vice- Chancellor said that a programme involving a small group of attendees would be more manageable, as compared with a larger gathering of alumni, in terms of facilitating discussions and the sharing of ideas.

Dr. Mohamed Mustafa, who was recently conferred the Asia Human Resource Development Award in Jakarta, Indonesia, said that the gathering of the UUM alumni at the event would also facilitate the gleaning of important data in terms of their employment, position, performance, and success.

This programme involving the alumni will be carried out over several sessions. It will also serve as a platform where the alumni can gain up-to-date information on developments at UUM.

To date, UUM has produced not only successful managers, but also leaders in management.

The Vice-Chancellor said that, to give the best impact to students at UUM, the University had to not only have a closer and stronger link with industry, but also invite more corporate figures to share their experience and expertise with them.

“I see this type of sharing as a more effective approach because, via this method, the students will not only receive invaluable guidance in the theoretical and practical aspects of the target subject, but also master their communication skills,” he said at the press conference held after the launching.

In answer to questions at the press conference concerning the possibility of setting up UUM branch campuses overseas, Professor Mohamed Mustafa said that, apart from the currently operating two UUM offshore offices, in China and Yemen, there were no plans in the near future to expand overseas.

He added that, in view of the fact UUM continued to be an attractive proposition to foreign students because of its programmes, facilities, and reasonable tuition fees, the time had not really come yet to think of setting up branch campuses abroad.

With regard to the 30-year milestone celebrations, the Vice-Chancellor said that since UUM had set its sights on being ranked among the top 100 institutions of higher learning in Asia, several conferences, gatherings and publications had been scheduled to be launched during the celebrations in February 2014.