USM, PENANG, 16 December 2016 - In the 21st century, challenges facing the future of higher education would be in the offering of flexible education, and in collegiality and commonality in order to move from the local to the global context.

This was mentioned by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor during her Townhall session yesterday, where she presented her talk, using the Malaysian Education Development Plan 2015-2025 (Higher Education) [PPPM-PT] as the blueprint.

According to Asma, academicians should focus and aligned themselves with more student-centered teaching methods that will result in the students becoming more holistic, entrepreneurial and balanced graduates; advancing a nation of lifelong learning practices; and producing quality TVET graduates through enablers such as empowered governance, financial sustainability, innovation ecosystem, global prominence, globalised online learning and transforming the delivery of Higher Education.

"In the 4th industrial revolution, there will be an interface between man and machine. Machines will be taking over many jobs, so we need to overcome the automation in order to remain relevant.

"Academicians are to provide lessons through experiential learning, by having collaboration and working together in problem-solving exercises for students, because employers today no longer require degrees to hire new workers, as skills are becoming increasingly important," she said in front of more than 600 in the audience that packed USM Dewan Budaya to the brim.

Moreover Asma said, change is inevitable, and there is the need to think innovatively, creatively, independently, critically to connect and to move to the innovation economy, and to shape the landscape by-design, not by-chance in order to create a balance between knowledge and character.

"Learned, value-based talents (entrepreneurial, knowledgeable and balance character) are essential in humanising the students and to change them from being human capital into human being (talent)," she said.

Asma also reiterated on the 3Rs (Respected, Referred and Relevant), the Quadruple Helix formula (government, academician, industry and community) and also to continue to learn, un-learn, re-learn and co-learn during her talk.

Furthermore, Asma wants academicians to turn the graduates to become job-creators, and not job-seekers.

“In short, in order to keep up with the ever demanding changes of higher education and to be relevant in the 21^st century, we too need to change; we need to be bold/brave enough to change,” she said.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah / Photo: Mohd Fairus Md Isa