PENANG, 9 September 2014 - In line with the culture of life-long learning, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has introduced several new courses at the postgraduate level to provide opportunities for more people to further their studies.

USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman, said that for this year’s intake, USM introduced the Master of Sustainable Development Practice (MDP) that is specifically offered at Wisma Sejarah, Kuala Lumpur.

Besides MDP, other programmes that are also offered at the academic centre in the federal capital are Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Master of Communication (Integrated Marketing Communications) and Master of Arts (Translation studies).

“We always ensure that the quality of the programmes offered are relevant to the current situation. For example, courses for the MDP programme are offered globally through a network of overseas universities.

“This programme was developed in collaboration with the Earth Institute, Colombia University, New York, which also comprises a network consortium of 20 universities around the world that carry out programmes in the field of sustainability and the environment,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference shortly after attending a special ceremony for welcoming USM Postgraduate Students and witnessing the reading of the pledge by about 2000 new students here.

Also present were Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International Affairs), Professor Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Shukri Mustapa Kamal; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Dato’ Dr. Muhamad Jantan; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry and Community Network), Professor Dato’ Dr. See Ching Mey; and principal officers of the university.

Omar also said the courses offered also enable a global classroom learning that can be done with the involvement of leading academics in the field of environmental, economic and matters related to sustainability.

“This method is the first of its kind to be conducted by USM. The students have the opportunity to follow lectures by experts in their respective fields and interact with other participants in the global classroom,” he said.

He added that USM also look after the welfare needs of students during the course of their studies, as the students see this as a great opportunity for them to improve knowledge or even to progress in their career field.

“Those who are interested to study in the university but at the same time have a difficulty or hindrance in any way, they can contact the Institute of Postgraduate Studies (IPS) for help or advice.

“Some courses offered at the academic centre in the federal capital are also USM initiatives to enable people from Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding area to continue their studies without having to go to Penang,” he said.

In the meantime, Omar also revealed statistics for the academic year 2014/2015 for postgraduate students, showing a total of 1,534 students being offered course work and a mixed-mode programmes for both master’s and doctorate degrees.

There were another 972 candidates who were offered to study in research mode programme, thereby making a total of 2,506 places available. - Translation: Yong Check Yoon/Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias​​/Photo: Mohd. Fairus Md. Isa