Datuk Dr Mary Yap (fifth from right) officially launching the collaboration between TAR UC and CIM in the presence of Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok (fourth from right), Tan Sri Dato’ Prof Dr James Alfred (fourth from left), Mr Ian Marshall (second from left) and other senior officials from TAR UC and CIM.
Datuk Dr Mary Yap addressing the audience.
Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok presenting his welcoming speech.
Tan Sri Dato’ Prof Dr James Alfred delivering his speech.
Mr Ian Marshall saying a few words at the event.
The high achievers from TAR UC for the Mastering Metrics module with their certificates in the presence of Datuk Dr Mary Yap (standing third from left), Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok (standing second from left), Tan Sri Dato’ Prof Dr James Alfred (standing, centre), Mr Ian Marshall (leftmost), Ms Wong Hwa Kiong (standing third from right), Dean of the Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business (‘FAFB’), Dr Khor Siak Kim (standing second from right), Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, FAFB and Dr Lim Chow Yeng (standing, rightmost), Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, FAFB.
In line with TAR UC’s commitment to providing professionally driven education, TAR UC collaborates with Chartered Institute of Marketing (‘CIM’) which culminated in the launching ceremony of TAR UC - CIM collaboration on 25 October 2017 in Kuala Lumpur Main Campus. The collaboration between TAR UC and CIM has also led to the recognition for TAR UC’s Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Marketing by CIM that will provide TAR UC students of the said programme an accelerated route towards attaining a professional marketing qualification from CIM. Datuk Dr Mary Yap Kain Ching, Deputy Minister of Higher Education graced the launching ceremony and other distinguished guests who attended the ceremony were Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, President of TAR UC, Tan Sri Dato’ Prof Dr James Alfred, President of CIM Malaysia and Mr Ian Marshall, Head of International Relations, CIM UK.
In her official speech, Datuk Dr Mary Yap said she was confident that the collaboration would certainly add value to Malaysia’s efforts in becoming an international education hub. “With TAR UC, one of Malaysia’s premier institutions of higher learning, and CIM, the largest professional marketing body in the world, collaborating in the furtherance of top-notch business education, I believe it will bring great impact to the education sector in Malaysia in its quest to become the destination of choice for high quality tertiary education in the region. Our aim is to elevate Malaysia to be an international education hub that will attract students from all over the world to come and pursue their studies here. Nevertheless, to achieve our aim, we need to have a compelling competitive advantage that will enhance Malaysia’s appeal as the education hub. What will tilt the scales in our favour will be top quality affordable education offered in Malaysia and I am pleased to see that the collaboration between TAR UC and CIM certainly strikes a perfect combination of affordability and quality that will lend support to our efforts,” she said.
Datuk Dr Tan Chik Heok, in his welcome address, highlighted how the professional qualification from CIM would provide a competitive advantage to TAR UC students. “The collaboration between TAR UC and CIM come naturally since both take seriously the shared responsibility of producing such much needed professional marketers for the country and for this region. The collaboration with CIM, a leading international professional marketing body recognised by industry leaders all over the world will provide a pathway for our students to obtain additional professional qualification that will provide them with a competitive edge over others. This professional qualification will value-add the academic degree qualification offered by TAR UC and will be a testimony that TAR UC students have industry-relevant knowledge and skills set required by the industry,” he clarified.
Tan Sri Dato’ Prof Dr James Alfred on the other hand explained the benefits of gaining a professional qualification from CIM. He said: “Students studying for this qualification can seek employment opportunities in any part of the world. Students can register as Affiliate Member, pass the exam and progress to become Associate Member, Member and thereafter Fellow of the Institute with Continuous Professional Development (‘CPD’) to obtain Chartered Marketer status.”
Mr Ian Marshall added on the learning and professional development support that CIM would offer to all TAR UC students following from this collaboration. He elaborated: “Marketing students in TAR UC can register online with CIM as a CIM Affiliate Member and get access to a wide range of online resources which will assist them in developing their practical and professional skills now and during their career.”
With the collaboration in place, TAR UC’s Bachelor of Business (Hons) in Marketing students will be granted advanced standing into Level 6 of CIM’s Diploma in Professional Marketing. This essentially enables TAR UC students to be exempted from 1 out of 3 modules of the Diploma in Professional Marketing. This is by far the highest level offered by CIM to any tertiary institution in Malaysia. On top of this, TAR UC is also recognised as the first and only institution of higher learning in Malaysia to be granted the Graduate Gateway status under the new CIM programme structure. Apart from this, TAR UC will also be conducting classes for the Foundation Certificate in Marketing and Certificate in Professional Marketing programmes next year as TAR UC is also an Accredited Study Centre of CIM.
The ceremony also witnessed the presentation of awards to TAR UC students who excelled in the Mastering Metrics module of CIM where TAR UC students scored encouraging results with an outstanding 89.9% pass rate which has exceeded the CIM’s world average pass rate of 75.85%.
