Ministry of Education has released the result for Semakan Tawaran Kursus Perguruan Lepas SPM (KPLSPM) Ambilan Julai 2008 Anjuran Bahagian Pendidikan Guru. All aplicants can now check your application status at MOE website.

What you need to do is to fill up your IC no click “semakan”, so far the system pretty good and fast.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I don’t believe this ! Finally we have our own ranking system for our local universities called Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions 2007. But only 17 public universities were rated and placed in three categories – research, broad-based and specialised. What happen to the rest of institution, are they good enough to be rated ?

Anyway, read the press statement for details.

Press Statment

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 <I>Times Higher Education Supplement</I> (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.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The government has recently announced on the establishment of new University in Perak. Eventhough the news look promising however since this release is only made during the election , we hope that this is not part of the Barisan Nasional campaign.

Anyway, read the news here.

Full Press Statement (Friday March 7, 2008)

IPOH: Perak will get its first foreign university when construction of the RM450mil Premier International University of Perak in Gua Tempurung is completed in 2010.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said that the university would be set up by India’s Blair Education Services consortium, which has five universities in the subcontinent.

“Our children will not have to travel all the way to India to take up courses – the ones offered here would be cheaper and just as credible.

“The university can accommodate as many as 8,000 students,” he said after handing over land offer letters to Blair Education Services Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Dr R. Subramaniam here on Wednesday.

Tajol Rosli said the university would be built on a 101ha site in Gua Tempurung, some 20km from here.

Dr Subramaniam assured the state government that the construction of the campus would not affect the environment in the surrounding areas and Gua Tempurung.

The university will have five faculties – medical, dentistry, pharmaceuticals and allied health sciences, business and management, and integrative sciences and technology.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Yayasan Khazanah today announced three higher education scholarship programmes to develop human capital in Malaysia, offering full scholarships for deserving students.

The scholarship programmes are open to outstanding scholars who are planning to pursue their undergraduate or postgraduate studies in premier universities in Malaysia or abroad, in various disciplines.

Launched by YB Dato’ Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia, the three scholarship programmes are the Khazanah Merdeka Scholarship Programme, the Yayasan Khazanah Watan Scholarship Programme and the Yayasan Khazanah Asia Scholarship Programme.

The three new scholarship programmes are in addition to the Khazanah-100 Scholarship Programme announced by the YAB Prime Minister in the Budget speech of 2005.

The event held here today also saw the signing of a collaborative agreement for the Khazanah Merdeka Scholarship Programme between Yayasan Khazanah and the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies (OCIS). It was signed by Dato’ Azman Mokhtar, Member of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan Khazanah and Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional; and Dr. Farhan Ahmad Nizami, the Director of OCIS. The signing was witnessed by YB Dato’ Mustapa.

According to YB Dato’ Mustapa, who is also Chairman of Yayasan Khazanah, “Yayasan Khazanah’s scholarship initiatives are in line with the objectives of the National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010 to transform the national higher education system and produce a new generation of Malaysians who are able to lead, innovate and compete in the global economy.”
Dato’ Azman said, the three scholarship programmes are the latest initiatives from Yayasan Khazanah to offer equal opportunities for world-class higher education to deserving Malaysians and international students as well as to promote Malaysian universities. “We believe that through these scholarships, we will be able to nurture further a professional and ethical group of leaders to drive the nation’s strategic industries that will carry us well into the 21st century and beyond,” said Dato’ Azman.

Dr Farhan Ahmad Nizami said, OCIS is delighted to collaborate with Yayasan Khazanah to offer their expertise, skill and academic knowledge to help pave the way for deserving Malaysian scholars to continue their postgraduate education at two of the world’s most prestigious universities, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. “We will provide academic support and pastoral assistance to the scholars and will administer this Scholarship Programme to the best of our abilities,” he concluded.

For enquiries please contact Azman Hussein at +603-2034 0000 or via e-mail address azman.hussein@khazanah.com.my.

About Khazanah Merdeka Scholarship Programme
The Khazanah Merdeka Scholarship Programme is a collaboration between Yayasan Khazanah and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), United Kingdom. It offers five scholarships annually to high achieving Malaysians to pursue their postgraduate studies in either the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge, two of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

The long-term objective of the Programme is to develop a talent pool of Malaysians with outstanding academic achievement and the requisite leadership skills that are vital in moulding business and industry leaders of the future.

About Yayasan Khazanah Watan Scholarship Programme
The Yayasan Khazanah Watan Scholarship Programme offers 25 scholarships to deserving Malaysians to further their undergraduate or postgraduate studies at leading local universities. This Programme, funded by Khazanah Nasional, is open to all Malaysians and will provide the students with full scholarships as well as valuable industry exposure through the Government-Linked Companies (GLC) Mentoring programme.

The Programme will also support the national objective of creating elite scholars in local universities, and serve as a talent supply chain to develop world-class leaders who are capable of undertaking strategic positions in the GLCs.

About Yayasan Khazanah Asia Scholarship Programme
The Yayasan Khazanah Asia Scholarship Programme provides opportunities to foreign students to pursue their higher education in Malaysia. A total of 25 scholarships will be awarded to deserving candidates for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Scholars selected will have displayed their firm commitment to the development of their own countries in relation to good governance practices and leadership development.

This Programme supports Yayasan Khazanah’s objective to develop future business and industry leaders, and provides the means for Khazanah to contribute to social development in countries where it operates. Yayasan Khazanah will work in partnership with representatives in selected countries to help identify suitable candidates for the programme.

About Yayasan Khazanah
Yayasan Khazanah, a foundation established under the auspices of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, seeks to identify, select and fund individuals with excellent academic achievements and leadership potential to pursue studies at renowned universities in Malaysia or overseas. Yayasan Khazanah also establishes and implements scholarship programs, providing aid, incentives, sponsorship and assistance to outstanding individuals.

Our long-term objective is to develop and nurture a talent pool of individuals with outstanding academic qualifications and leadership skills, who will become business and industry leaders in Malaysia.

About the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS)
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognised Independent Centre of the University of Oxford. It was established in 1985 to encourage the scholarly study of Islam and the Islamic world. HRH The Prince of Wales is the Patron of the Centre, which is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of scholars and statesmen from different parts of the world, alongside representatives of the University of Oxford.

The Centre provides a meeting point for the Western and Islamic worlds of learning. At Oxford it contributes to the multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary study of the Islamic world. Beyond Oxford, its role is strengthened by a developing international network of academic contacts.
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Popularity: 10% [?]

Another foreign university will set up campus in Malaysia. What a great news, this means we don’t have pay so much to get a qualification from reputable university like UOL.

Royal Holloway, University of London, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KLEC Ventures Sdn Bhd to set up its first offshore campus in Asia at Bandar Enstek, Negeri Sembilan under the KL Education City project (KLEC).

KLEC is planned as an integrated and self-contained education city that will feature a mix of international, local and regional education institutions. Royal Holloway is one of the constituent colleges of the University of London and is a leading research-based university.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed. He said the collaborations will help Malaysian institutions move up the value chain and improve the quality of our higher education.

Popularity: 5% [?]