Tan Sri Idris sharing his insights and experiences during the ‘Redesigning Higher Education’ talk.
The morning of 5 September 2023 turned out to be an insightful and thought-provoking day for TAR UMT after it hosted the ‘Redesigning Higher Education’ talk in its Kuala Lumpur Campus.
Delivered by Tan Sri Idris Jusoh, former Minister of Higher Education, the topic of discussion drew in a huge crowd of students, lecturers and staff who took the opportunity to gain some insight from Tan Sri Idris’ vision and experiences about the current and future state of tertiary education in Malaysia, its potentials, challenges, and how to nurture future-proof and highly skilled talents in an effort to position Malaysia as an attractive and competitive regional hub.
Also in attendance were Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, President of TAR UMT.
Well-versed and eloquent in his delivery, Tan Sri Idris held the Higher Education portfolio from 2015 – 2018, during which he introduced several revolutionary initiatives to boost higher education in Malaysia like the two-university-two-industry (2u2i) academic programme, CEO @ Faculty programme and accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) programme.
Tan Sri Idris also played a pivotal role in drawing up the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015 – 2025 (Higher Education) during his tenure that proposes major reforms to Malaysia’s higher education system and empower both public and private tertiary institutions to push the boundaries and achieve academic excellence in all forms. He is also the man behind the strategic tagline ‘Soaring Upwards’, as a reminder of how the nation’s education system progressed and the need to continue soaring ahead to the next level.
Speaking on TAR UMT’s evolution into a full-fledged university, Tan Sri Idris said: “I am both proud to see this institution finally becoming a university, and I love the ‘TAR UMT’ name. With this change, TAR UMT has all the right ingredients and mindset to shape its students into holistic and balanced graduates with an entrepreneurship mindset that are capable of bringing us into the new technological era.”
Echoing Tan Sri Idris’ point, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Liow reiterated TAR UMT’s shared vision in redesigning higher education in Malaysia: “Tan Sri Idris’ efforts in promoting lifelong learning and industry-academia collaborations are all values similar to TAR UMT’s ‘Beyond Education’ philosophy. Inspired by Tan Sri Idris’ vision, our upcoming Student and SME Centre will become the central hub where students and industries can actively learn from each other and promote industry-academia collaborations, resulting in future graduates who are agile and adaptive to the fast-changing global landscape.”
Attendees at the talk together with Tan Sri Idris (front row fifth from right), Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Liow (fifth from left) and Prof Ir Dr Lee (fourth from right) showing the ‘Soaring Upwards’ sign.
