THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
Catapulting into the future
THE message from the World
Economic Forum earlier this year
was loud and clear: The fourth
industrial revolution is upon us
and it is about to unleash
wholesale changes as we have
never experienced before.
Driverless cars and the increased
role of robots in society are just
some of the changes that we would
be ushering in.
However, the dawn of the fourth
industrial revolution must strictly
comply with other initiatives that
are being pursued now, such as
sustainability, in line with climate
change agreements.
The challenge of balancing the
onslaught of these advancements
in technology has to be juggled
with proper management of
energy that ensures sustainable
growth while ensuring
profitability.
With these, the roles of
engineers are also expected to
evolve at an exponential rate. It
was with all these in mind that
Monash University Malaysia’s
Master of Advanced Engineering
(MAE) was crafted.
MAE programme coordinator
Assoc Prof Dr Hung Yew Mun
accentuates the benefits of
enrolling in this course.
“Sustainability in Malaysia is
still in its infancy. The Government
encourages the adoption of the
ISO 50001 framework to
improve organisations’ energy
management,” he says.
“The target is to have at least 100
ISO 50001-certified companies in
Malaysia by the end of this year.
The requirement is for businesses
Building capacity and talent pool
EDUCATION is widely seen as the
key to increasing the wealth of
individuals and the economic well-
being of society.
Malaysia realises that to become
a high-income nation, it needs to
focus on building the capacity of its
citizens by broadening access to
tertiary education and ensuring
institutional quality.
While Malaysian higher
education has grown from strength
to strength over the last decade –
judging by the significant increase
in university enrolment – it needs
to keep evolving to stay abreast of
global trends.
In this context, the Malaysia
Education Blueprint 2015-2025
(Higher Education) (MEB) was
developed as a roadmap to prepare
today’s youth for future challenges
in view of the rapidly changing
socioeconomic landscape.
As disruptive technologies such
as advanced robotics, the Internet
of things and work automation are
expected to reshape business and
social landscapes, it is crucial for
today’s youth to be equipped with
the skills and knowledge that will
help them thrive in an ever-
changing world.
One of the aspirations of MEB
is to increase tertiary access and
enrolment in higher education.
It hopes that by 2025, tertiary
enrolment rate will rise from
the current 36% to 53% while
higher education enrolment from
48% to 70%.
Assoc Prof Hung believes the Master of Advanced Engineering programme will help students be better prepared for
the changes of the fourth industrial revolution.
to establish and implement a
sustainable energy management
system.”
As is the case with any new
initiative, the lack of qualified
manpower in the field to execute
these goals is a problem.
“We lack expertise in areas
related to sustainability in
Malaysia. This is a genuine
opportunity for graduates as there
This will require additional 1.1
million places, which can be
achieved mainly through growth in
technical and vocational education
and training, private higher
learning institutions and online
learning.
Widening access to higher
education
Open University Malaysia (OUM)
plays a significant role in the
equation as it is one of the pioneers
is a bright future in this field,” says
Assoc Prof Hung.
The MAE programme consists of
two core units, four specialisation
units and two elective units to
develop energy and sustainability
experts with the ability to develop
solutions to complex engineering
problems.
Students are given guidance on
engineering entrepreneurship
in the field of open and distance
learning. With its philosophy of
liberalising education, OUM
believes that everyone has a
unique potential to succeed
academically if given the chance.
According to president and vice-
chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mansor
Fadzil, academic criteria are not
the only consideration for students
to enrol in OUM’s programmes.
Unlike conventional universities,
OUM accepts students with prior
learning or relevant work
experience, thus giving those who
where they learn how to construct
a business plan that balances
technicality with soft skills.
“The goal of this unit is to impart
an evidence-based methodology
for those who wish to build start-
ups or start their own businesses.
However, the knowledge is also
applicable for working in an
organisation,” adds Assoc Prof
Hung.
OUM
president
and vice-
chancellor
Prof Datuk
Dr Mansor
Fadzil.
did not have a chance to study the
opportunity to do so.
“What it means is that
individuals with lesser
qualifications but with years of
work experience may now have
the opportunity to pursue higher
education. OUM allows them to do
so provided they fulfil the entry
criteria outlined by the Higher
Education Ministry.
“Once they fulfil the criteria,
they can proceed to take the
Accreditation of Prior Experiential
Learning (APEL) assessment to
As a programme that involves
the participation of teaching staff
from different disciplines of
engineering, MAE students have
the opportunity to receive
personal guidance from lecturers
in an intellectually stimulating
environment, pushing them out
of their comfort zones to come up
with original ideas.
Students will also have a taste
of real-life work through industrial
engagement with one of the
many organisations that Monash
collaborates with.
Among the collaborators are
Intel, Gamuda, Petronas, Maxis,
Western Digital, Shell, Cargill,
Sunway Construction, Favelle
Favco, ABB, CCM Pharmaceuticals
and Bacfree.
The MAE programme is targeted
at graduates with a Bachelor of
Engineering degree from a
recognised tertiary institution, with
a minimum average grade of 70%
or the equivalent of a second-class
(upper) grade.
The one-year programme
consists of two semesters, with
four subjects in each semester.
For part-time students, the
duration of the programme is
two years with two subjects each
semester.
n For more information, visit
www.monash.edu.my
determine their level of
competency and readiness for
enrolment,” says Prof Mansor.
He says that by giving due
recognition to prior learning, the
university attracts people from
diverse socioeconomic
backgrounds and communities to
pursue higher learning. In fact,
OUM is one of several national
centres for APEL recognised by the
Higher Education Ministry.
“This will indirectly encourage
people to take up higher education,
either for economic reasons or self-
satisfaction. It also helps
Malaysians to embrace lifelong
learning as a way of life and to
support professional or personal
development,” he adds.
Lifelong learning enables
Malaysians to meet the changing
skill needs of a high-income
economy and maximises the
potential of individuals who are
currently outside the workforce
through the process of reskilling
and upskilling.
It also enables the development
of personal interests and talents for
a more fulfilled life.
The challenges of 21st century
living will require Malaysians of all
ages to constantly seek learning
opportunities to enrich themselves.
With higher education becoming
more accessible and affordable,
this is the reality now.
n For more information, visit
www.oum.edu.my
2 Postgraduate
Will machines really take over?
ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is
founded on the claim that human
intelligence can be so precisely
described that a machine can be
made to simulate it.
We are only at the dawn of the
AI innovation, even though Alan
Turing postulated the thinking
machines more than 60 years ago.
Turing is widely considered the
father of theoretical computer
science, who in 1950 developed the
Turing test of a machine’s ability to
exhibit intelligent behaviour
equivalent to or indistinguishable
from that of a human.
Still, there are no machines
today that can match human
flexibility over wide domains or in
daily tasks requiring human
adaptability.
Currently, scientists are
scrambling to develop systems that
can reason, discover meaning,
generalise or learn from
experience.
From natural-language
processing and chatbots to
machine learning and automation,
innovations are rolling out at
accelerating speed.
Artificial intelligence is found in
applications as diverse as medical
diagnosis, search engines, voice
recognition, advertising,
e-commerce, finance, logistics,
the media and more.
Based on the basic computing
model of input-process-output,
machines can learn to process
specific human tasks and figure
out the input-output relationship.
Examples of machine learning
are verifying if an input picture
Inspiring innovative individuals
MANAGEMENT & Science
University (MSU) is a premier
university in Malaysia and among
the top institutions in South-East
Asia.
It offers specialised programmes
at postgraduate and undergraduate
levels in business, management,
medicine, health sciences,
information sciences, engineering,
education and hospitality.
MSU prioritises quality
education, incorporating 21st
century learning in its teaching
delivery to produce holistic
graduates.
The incorporation of global
mobility programmes and
extensive industrial training
components into students’ learning
experiences ensures the highest
standards of impactful innovation,
employability and industrial
relevancy of MSU graduates.
MSU integrates the global best in
educational innovations. Real-
world scenarios are incorporated
into the classroom learning
experience.
Strategic thinking and thought-
provoking case studies equip
students with a higher level of
practical problem-solving abilities.
All modules are rigorously
designed with industrial and
corporate input as well as an
opening vignette to major events
and real-world issues around the
globe.
MSU professors hail from
diverse cultural backgrounds,
engage in cutting-edge research,
and relentlessly pursue academic
excellence and scientific
innovation.
They have conducted high-
impact research and published
is a human face or a species of
animal or plant (photo tagging) and
recognising an audio clip to
provide a transcript (speech
recognition).
According to Andrew Ng, former
director of the Stanford AI Lab and
former overall lead of Baidu
Research, tasks that require less-
than-one-second cognitive power
are suitable for automation, such
as deciding a transport mode for a
courier parcel, examining security
videos to detect persons of interest
and removing offensive online
posts.
To further illustrate this,
Singapore-based Trax offers a
computer vision and deep learning
solution that can contextually
thought-provoking academic
papers across a broad range of
business, industry and professional
areas. They have also worked in
and taught at all levels of
professional and industrial
platforms.
Their contributions have made
meaningful and concrete impact in
the global community at home and
abroad.
Professors at MSU are rigorously
selected worldwide from among
the best consultants and
professionals in their respective
fields and disciplines.
The postgraduate programmes
at MSU are carefully crafted to
cultivate leadership and
meaningful research contributions
that address industrial challenges
at the highest management level.
analyse the shelves in a retail store
at the most granular level,
including brand, stock-keeping
unit, product location and pricing
labels.
As more images are analysed,
the platform becomes more
knowledgeable about the retail
landscape.
The potential business value is
obtaining real-time insights that
enable decision making regarding
product availability and
replenishment, merchandising,
operational efficiencies and
automated audits.
With voluminous data, it seems
plausible to create sentient robots
using deep learning or deep neural
networks. For instance,
Due to the tremendous state of
flux within business and
management communities, top
management must adapt rapidly to
stay competitive, relevant and
strategically positioned to tackle
global trends by possessing the
relevant postgraduate
qualifications.
MSU offers Doctor of Philosophy
(PhD), Master in Business
Administration (MBA) and other
master’s programmes that
emphasise and recognise
innovative research, scientific
knowledge and industrial
application on both domestic and
international platforms.
A PhD is the highest degree
awarded by MSU. It signifies the
pinnacle of academic and
professional standing. Doctoral
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology is building socially
aware robots that can navigate
through an erratic human throng.
This human awareness will
make not just an efficient robot but
one that is not overly aggressive.
Such robots will do well as
restaurant servers, hospital
assistants and similar human roles.
For business uses, the challenge
is to turn AI into a strategic
resource that is valuable, rare,
difficult to imitate and non-
substitutable.
At present, the scarcities of
necessary data and human talent
are the main obstacles to AI
development.
Therefore, data and human
MSU provides
undergraduate
and
postgraduate
programmes in
a wide range of
specialties,
including
health
sciences.
training involves close working
relationships with leading faculty
members on projects of key
interest, with an industrial and
scientific focus.
With advanced facilities and
technical support, MSU provides an
excellent academic climate for
postgraduate engagement with
faculty members.
MSU faculty members are highly
active in top-level research in a
wide range of areas and interests,
requiring innovative approaches
that push the boundaries of
interdisciplinary research.
MSU’s advanced degrees at MBA,
MSc and PhD levels cover wide
areas, including management,
business, accounting, finance,
educational management and
leadership, education (Teaching
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
talent with AI competencies are the
defensible entry barriers of new
AI-enabled businesses.
It is debatable whether AI will
cause serious job displacement of
individuals, but we can expect a
closer collaboration between men
and machines. Rather than a
wholesale automation of existing
roles, a synergy of human skills
and technology will be the new
normal.
Depending on situations, the
interaction may be processed or
automated, semi-automated or
entirely human. Some existing
roles will be redefined – for
instance, customer relationship
managers become chatbots
manager.
Other new roles related to AI
and data include AI developer,
data scientist, data analyst, data
artist and data visualiser.
Technology-induced jobs will
generate far more excitement than
concern. The onus is on us to
remain employable and future-
proof ourselves by upskilling
through formal courses or on-the-
job learning.
At Sunway College KL, the
master’s programmes of Victoria
University (VU) are designed to
create technology-driven business
graduates. – By Dr Hendry Ng,
director of VU postgraduate
programmes – Master of
Business Administration and
Master of Business (Enterprise
Resource Planning Systems)
n For more information, e-mail
hendryng@sunway.edu.my
English as Second Language),
computer science, information and
communication technology, food
service technology, biomedicine,
engineering, applied science,
biomedical sciences, information
technology, pharmacy and clinical
pharmacy.
These programmes are offered
under the School of Graduate
Studies and Graduate School of
Management.
The award-winning home-grown
study programmes of the
university meet stringent
standards set by both local and
international bodies.
Accreditors include the
Malaysian Qualifications Agency,
the United Kingdom’s Accreditation
Services for International Schools,
Colleges & Universities and Japan’s
Alliance on Business Education &
Scholarship for Tomorrow
(ABEST21).
In 2016, MSU fulfilled the highest
global standards in the QS Stars
rating system – excellence for
teaching, employability, facilities,
social responsibility and
inclusiveness.
It was recognised as The Most
Entrepreneurial Private University
in 2016 by the Higher Education
Ministry and is the first non-
Japanese university to be
accredited by ABEST21.
MSU was also awarded the
BrandLaureate Best Brand in
Education for Leadership and
Human Capital Development
2017.
n For more information,
call 03-5521 6868, e-mail
enquiry@msu.edu.my or visit
www.msu.edu.my
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018 3
4 Postgraduate
Lecturer does Malaysia proud
DR SHAMSUL Kamariah Abdullah,
senior lecturer from the Faculty of
Business’ Department of Marketing
at Curtin University Malaysia, is a
proud recipient of the Curtin Award
for Programs that Enhance Learning
from Curtin University along with
unit controller Dr Aneeshta Gunness
based at Curtin’s main campus in
Perth.
They were jointly conferred the
award for excellence and innovation
in the delivery of their Retail
Marketing & Distribution unit using
Distributed Learning (DL) pedagogy
recently. Dr Shamsul received her
award from Curtin Malaysia’s
deputy pro-vice-chancellor Prof
Beena Giridharan at a ceremony in
Miri, witnessed by the Faculty of
Business’ acting dean Assoc Prof
Pauline Ho Poh Ling.
Last year, Dr Shamsul and Dr
Aneeshta were awarded the Curtin
Business School’s Programs That
Enhance Learning Award for the
same DL pedagogy.
According to Dr Shamsul, teaching
is not just about delivering lectures
but also being committed to
continually improving the student
learning experience.
More and more Curtin business
units are being delivered using DL,
enabling students and staff at both
campuses to interact in real time.
In the Retail Marketing &
Distribution unit, DL allows students
from both campuses to study the
unit simultaneously through live
web conferencing and team up to
complete a retail plan as part of the
Dr Shamsul
Kamariah
(right)
receiving
her award
from Prof
Giridharan
while Assoc
Prof Ho
looks on.
assessment for the unit.
The unit is a core unit of the
Bachelor of Commerce (marketing
double majors) offered at the Perth
and Malaysia campuses.
The use of DL at Curtin
University’s campuses is aligned
with its belief that the capacity to
build bi-directional links in teaching
and research is the hallmark of a
genuine global university.
n For more information, visit
www.curtin.edu.my
Well-rounded
financial
professionals
AS the financial environment of
the modern world has changed
considerably in the last few
decades, the current crop of
finance professionals must stay
abreast of new technology,
trends, strategies and
regulations to ensure they are
able to not only provide
informed financial advice to the
companies they serve but
become potential leaders.
The emergence of small-to-
medium enterprises (SMEs) and
start-ups has added another
dimension to the business
ecosystem and it is not unheard
of for finance professionals to
make a career switch from a
corporate setting to a start-up or
vice versa.
However, along with change
in nature and size of a business,
the variety and scale of tasks of
each job differ.
Dr Zahir Osman, senior
lecturer and Master of Business
Administration programme
director at Open University
Malaysia (OUM), believes
pursuing further study will
prepare finance professionals
for the possible challenges they
will encounter in their career as
well as those who intend to
make a career transition.
He says, “Big or small, all
companies have a set of
financial needs to fulfil and the
end objectives will still be the
same. However, big companies
have an advantage over SMEs
as they are likely to have more
financing options.
“For example, larger firms
deal with a higher volume of
assets, enabling them to secure
business loans from a bank
more easily. It is easier to secure
such financial solutions as they
are generally viewed to be less
risky compared to smaller
companies.”
He adds that start-ups and
SMEs, on the other hand, would
often rely on the proprietors to
take personal loans, mortgages
or debt financing instead of
equity financing to help carry
out their activities.
Due to these differences,
finance-focused postgraduate
programmes are useful for all.
Financial processes become
more complex when one enters
a corporate setting, where one
needs to be accustomed to the
diverse scope of responsibilities.
Conversely, people making
the opposite move will have an
eye-opening experience as they
learn to pay greater attention to
challenges that occur at the
micro-level.
Despite the perception that
entrepreneurs and SMEs are
more open to risks, adventurous
or ready to grow through trial
and error, Dr Zahir believes the
knowledge imparted through
finance-focused postgraduate
programmes complements, if
not surpasses, of that learnt
through personal experience.
“Formal financial education
will help you develop and grow
to be more well-rounded and
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
Dr Zahir Osman.
Through its
MBA programmes,
OUM strives to
provide students
with quality
education that
meets the demands
and requirements
of the industry.
increase your chances of success
in business.
“Individuals may be good in
certain aspects of finance, but
postgraduate programmes such
as an MBA, or even those that
major in finance, cover topics
such as management and
economics that will better
prepare students.”
Through its MBA programmes,
OUM strives to provide students
with quality education that
meets the demands and
requirements of the industry.
Programmes are developed
after thorough industry analysis
and with continuous feedback
from industry experts.
Dr Zahir is quick to point out
that though industry expectation
is always changing, the
university often reviews its
programmes to narrow the
knowledge gap that may exist
between academic studies and
industry demands.
Students who enrol in OUM
postgraduate programmes will
gain theoretical and practical
knowledge under the guidance
of tutors who have vast industry
experience.
Real-life case studies for group
analysis is also a norm in each
course, encouraging students to
apply their knowledge to better
understand how the world
works and come up with
suitable solutions.
MBA candidates at OUM have
the option of majoring in
marketing, human resource
management, entrepreneurship,
project management, project
management, conventional
finance or Islamic finance.
n For more information, visit
www.oum.edu.my
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
Expanding
research
knowledge and
opportunities
DR VIVEK Thuppil of the University of
Nottingham Malaysia studies animal
behaviour and its impact on human-wildlife
conflicts.
During his lectures, he shares his research
knowledge with students, particularly in his
third-year elective modules. However, the
exposure to research experience does not
end here for his students.
Undergraduate students can take
advantage of research internships during the
term breaks, where they can get involved in
designing experiments and collecting data to
get a feel of being a researcher.
“If there’s a publication resulting from the
research, the students involved are usually
named as authors, so they have
opportunities to be published before they
even finish their undergraduate degree. I
think that’s something that really sets our
opportunities apart,” says Dr Vivek.
“I usually write letters of recommendation
for my students on why they’re appropriate
candidates based on the coursework and
research they’ve done. If they’re applying for
postgraduate opportunities abroad, having
this experience under their belt makes them
very competitive.”
According to Dr Vivek, psychology is a
broad-based field that incorporates both the
arts and sciences.
“There is a very strong scientific basis in
the psychology programmes offered at
Nottingham, so you’ll learn critical thinking,
data analysis skills and the scientific method.
It allows you to do a wide variety of things.”
The University of Nottingham Malaysia
offers a range of programmes at foundation,
undergraduate and postgraduate levels and
has won many local and international
accolades.
Last November, the university was
awarded Tier 5: Excellent status in the Rating
for Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia
(Setara) by the Malaysian Qualifications
Agency (MQA) under the Higher Education
Ministry.
The University of Nottingham Malaysia
has also garnered a five-star rating in the
Malaysian Research Assessment (MyRA)
exercise, making it the highest-rated
international university in Malaysia
Postgraduate 5
in terms of the quality of its research and
innovation.
The objective of Setara is to enhance the
quality of higher education in Malaysia and
its rating exercise involves a rigorous
assessment conducted by MQA.
Public and private universities are
assessed under four criteria – institutional
profiles, teaching and learning, research
capacity, and services and income
generation.
“We are proud that we are continually
rated highly in exercises such as MyRA and
Setara, in addition to achieving in many
other areas of student and staff activity,” says
University of Nottingham Malaysia’s chief
executive officer and provost Prof Graham
Kendall.
“As a UK university that has been in
Malaysia for almost 20 years, we feel that we
are now an established part of the country’s
higher education landscape and make
recognisable contributions to the sector.
“Ratings such as Setara and MyRA validate
what we are doing, but we are conscious
that this is just a snapshot of our
performance at a given point in time and
that we have to continually develop and
improve.”
University awards
Since 2010, the University of Nottingham
Malaysia has held the Excellent status from
Setara and self-accreditation status from
Higher Education Ministry.
The university’s research excellence has
also been recognised with a five-star rating
in MyRA since 2014.
Globally, the University of Nottingham is
ranked among the top 100 in the QS World
University Rankings 2017/18 and 8th in the
UK for research power, according to the
Research Excellence Framework 2014.
According to the The Times and The
Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017,
the University of Nottingham is the best
university in the UK for graduate
employment.
n For more information, e-mail
study@nottingham.edu.my
6 Postgraduate
Not mere number crunching
By IAN JEROME LEONG
WHEN it comes to managing a successful
company, the primary concern for top
executives is the health of their company’s
bottom line and profit margins.
The task of business owners and chief
financial officers (CFOs) is thus to ensure
the company is never running in the red
and the best business strategies are always
applied.
To do so, finance professionals must be
alert to new business trends and changes to
the business environment such as
consumers’ research behaviour and their
purchase decisions, economic uncertainty,
the price of commodities, supply costs and
competitors’ strategies.
While finance professionals may not be
able to change these external factors, smart
allocation of company funds and
investments can greatly mitigate the effects
of these factors on the company, ultimately
determining the continuous success of the
organisation as well as its relevance in the
business ecosystem.
In light of the many pros and cons as
well as potential profits and risks of each
investment opportunity, finance
professionals need to be armed with the
right skills and knowledge to ensure they
do not orchestrate huge financial blunders,
or worse, lead their companies to
bankruptcy.
Expensive lesson
For more than 50 years, the Eastman
Kodak Company was constantly in the
Fortune 500 list and was well regarded for
its imaging and photography products.
Despite being the first company to
develop a digital camera in 1975, Kodak
decided not to invest too heavily in the
technology as the company was afraid it
would cannibalise on its bread and butter
film business.
By the time Kodak had pushed harder
in digital technology in the mid-1990s,
film sales had started dwindling and
competitors such as Fuji, Canon and Sony
had gained significant market share in
digital photography.
Company shares that once peaked at
US$94 (RM370.22) in 1997 had dropped to a
meagre US$0.65 (RM2.56) in 2011 and the
company filed for bankruptcy protection by
January 2012.
The Kodak case has gone down as one of
the biggest business and marketing fails in
history, augmented by some poor financial
decisions. These included choosing to invest
in technology to improve film quality and
creating products that supported its dated
film business such as the Advantix Preview
cameras, which used film but were
essentially digital cameras that allowed users
to view their pictures on a screen.
The company also bought pharmaceutical
company Sterling Drug for US$5.1bil
(RM19.87bil) in 1988 thinking that it would
support the chemical process needed to
develop film and prints, but it soon realised
that the similarities between the two
companies ended there. Kodak eventually
sold Sterling Drug for less than half of what
it originally paid.
Deeper understanding of the Kodak case
reveals that the company did in fact foresee
the rise of digital photography but failed to
realise that online photo sharing was the
new business and not just a way of
expanding the dated film printing business.
Some business analysts were harsher,
commenting that the company was just
obsessed with its past and refused
organisational change despite being given
more than adequate warning signals.
Calculating the differences
Cases such as Kodak’s serve as a reminder
for higher management and financial
experts to take a step back from time to time
and review market conditions and
organisational direction.
In a report titled DNA of a CFO produced
by Hays that included a survey of 145 CFOs
across Asia, 58% of respondents believe
strategic planning is the most important
attribute of a CFO and the majority of
finance leaders had an appetite for
continuous professional development, with
73% having an MBA qualification and 33%
having a relevant master’s degree.
The reason for this pursuit is simple.
Postgraduate finance programmes and
professional courses allow individuals to be
more attuned to organisation-wide concerns
and have a better understanding of the
importance of aligning finance with business
strategy and overall leadership.
It is the aim of many finance programmes
to expose students to the required
techniques and methodologies in finance,
provide in-depth understanding of current
financing trends, encourage students to
develop long-term vision and strategy
frameworks, assess and enhance personal
leadership styles as well as drive innovation
and lead cultural change.
According to Dr Zahir Osman, senior
lecturer and programme director for the
Master of Business Administration at Open
University Malaysia, “Successful business is
all about applying the right strategies.
“Today’s business environment is very
dynamic and finance individuals have to
make sure their skills and knowledge are up
to date as making the wrong decisions can
cause a lot of problems.”
Finance professionals may be talented in a
number of skills, but they are also likely to
lack the best foundations in other areas of a
business. Dr Zahir likens this predicament to
going to war without the right weapons.
The curriculum of a postgraduate or
master’s degree will open their eyes to the
broader picture of economics and
management.
New wave of concern
Last year, the popularity of cryptocurrency
rose significantly at a global level, pushing its
value per coin to roughly US$20,000
(RM77,760). The amount of trade between
users were staggering, encouraging
businesses to accept cryptocurrency as a
form of payment.
While it may be obvious for companies
with online presence such as Microsoft, Dell,
Bloomberg.com and Expedia.com to get in
on the act, traditional brick-and-mortar
stores in Northern America such as KFC
Canada and Subway in the United States also
started accepting cryptocurrency.
The trend has even reached Malaysian
shores. As recently as December last year,
The Star reported a curry mee and fish head
noodle stall in Bandar Puchong Utama
accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two
most popular cryptocurrencies.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
Amidst the global fanfare, financial
professionals will surely be asking
themselves if the trend will affect their
company.
If the company utilises electronic
payments through networks such as
Visa and Mastercard, should the company
start accepting cryptocurrency? What
are the technological and resource costs
in implementing such a move? Is this a
bubble that will eventually incur financial
losses?
Dr Zahir believes entrepreneurs and
anyone working in the profession of finance
will undoubtedly prefer proven strategies
when making day-to-day decisions and
acknowledges the risks and uncertainty
surrounding cryptocurrency.
However, he admits, “At the same time,
one must also be brave enough to do
something new. You would never know that
what you choose to do will be better than
what is currently being done until you try
it.”
Be it cryptocurrency or any financial
challenge, he maintains that, given the
information at hand and with thorough
evaluation of business factors, it is important
for all finance professionals to challenge
themselves from time to time and try
something new.
“If people rely only on proven strategies,
they will always be thinking inside the box,
would not be innovative enough and would
not be able to think creatively. It is all about
attitude.
“This does not mean taking high risks but
be prepared for change. The financial
environment has become very diverse due
to the advancements in technology, so I
encourage people to update their knowledge
and never stop learning.”
Staying focused
Finance professionals should never rely
on their past but base their decisions on
ever-changing external factors for future
success. This is the same ethos that enabled
business magnate and investor Warren
Buffett to become the world’s second richest
man.
Among his most famous quotes are
“Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks
does” and “The investor of today does not
profit from yesterday’s growth.”
Buffett’s sentiments were mirrored in the
Hays survey among Asia’s CFOs, which
reported that more than half of those
surveyed believed the up-and-coming
generation of finance professionals need to
be commercially aware in addition to
developing people skills and getting involved
with operations rather than just numbers.
These skills, however, must be honed and
what better way to achieve this than to
receive exposure in the form of postgraduate
or professional finance programmes that
require students to examine case studies
from around the world.
The theoretical and practical knowledge
gained will prove beneficial in making better
informed decisions and formulating
strategies to navigate financial challenges.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018
A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the University of Nottingham Malaysia and
Panyathip International School last month, enabling the university to deliver its foundation
programme in Laos.
Transforming
the landscape
IN the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-
2025 (Higher Education), Shift #10 aims to
transform higher education delivery.
According to the blueprint, the Malaysian
higher education system needs to undergo
comprehensive transformation if it is to rise
to meet the nation’s ambitious vision and
aspirations.
There have already been some successes.
The blueprint mentions the establishment
of international branch campuses and
enhanced cross-border mobility of students.
Having the privilege of leading one of the
international branch campuses in the
country, I would certainly argue that our
presence enhances the higher education
landscape of Malaysia and we provide
opportunities for student mobility that were
not previously available.
One of the principles of being an
international branch campus is that the
degree is awarded by the home institution.
In the case of Nottingham, if you studied at
our Malaysia campus, you receive a degree
from the University of Nottingham.
There is nothing on the degree certificate
that says where you studied, as the degree
you pursued forms part of the global
offering of the university.
The fact that a degree is offered across the
University of Nottingham enables easy
student mobility as the degree is the same
whether you studied at the campus in
Malaysia, China or the United Kingdom.
The blueprint notes the importance of
international students to Malaysia’s higher
education sector.
International branch campuses, along
with all other higher education providers in
Malaysia, also recognise that international
students contribute to the institutions’
income stream and diversity, which leads to
a better student experience.
The University of Nottingham has recently
been fortunate enough to be working with
Laos. Panyathip International School (PIS),
supported by the UK ambassador to Laos,
recently asked us to establish an
international branch campus in Laos.
We were reluctant to do this because, with
Nottingham already having three
international campuses, the move would add
to the capital expenditure and require us to
navigate yet another quality assurance
framework.
However, PIS was keen to provide its
students with an option to continue their
studies in the country after completing
secondary school. It felt as if we had reached
Postgraduate 7
a dead end.
Eventually, it was suggested that the
University of Nottingham delivers its
foundation programme in Laos, with the
students then moving to Malaysia to pursue
their undergraduate degree.
This idea was the catalyst to a
Memorandum of Agreement that was signed
at the Education World Forum in London
last month.
University of Nottingham Malaysia and
PIS now have a formal agreement enabling
the university to deliver its foundation
programme in Laos.
This will not only enable the students to
study in Laos but also gain entry to the
University of Nottingham’s undergraduate
programmes in Malaysia, China or the UK.
Students will enjoy an international
experience after completing part of their
studies in Laos.
The duration of the foundation
programme is one year as opposed to two
years for many other entry routes to an
undergraduate programme. This speeds up
their educational experience so they can
enter the workforce a year earlier.
We will start delivering the foundation
programme in September this year and
hope to start welcoming Lao students from
that programme to Malaysia in September
2019.
We are very excited about this initiative. It
means that Nottingham is reaching out into
Asean, which is something we are keen to
repeat elsewhere as we see this as a win-win
development for both Nottingham and our
Asean partner.
It also captures the essence of Malaysia’s
higher education blueprint by helping to
transform the educational landscape and
cementing the Higher Education Ministry’s
“Soaring Upwards” tagline as it continues to
be the leading education hub in the region.
n Prof Graham Kendall is the chief executive
officer, provost and pro-vice-chancellor of
the University of Nottingham Malaysia.
Twitter: @Graham_Kendall
8 THE STAR, TUESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2018