PENANG, 8 April 2014 - Five outstanding Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) students were awarded scholarships from Agilent Technologies Microwave Products (M) Sdn. Bhd totalling RM50,000 in a special ceremony held here today.

The selected students are Nuramni Bakar, Ong Boon Keong dan Chong Xin Rou from the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Mabel de Cunha and Goh Theng Tyng from the School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering. They were selected based on their academic merit and overall performance.

Each student will receive a scholarship worth RM10,000 for two years to cover their educational expenses. In addition, they will also be given the opportunity to join Agilent’s Apprenticeship Programme, which provides them the opportunity to be trained and mentored by technical experts from Agilent.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato' Dr. Omar Osman said that USM is always committed to collaborate with industry partners, particularly in producing the best human capital to expand the country’s talent pool.

He said that USM always strive for excellence through the development of future talents and to become a university that is relevant to the industry and community.

“USM hoped that the selected students will start to cooperate with Agilent and use the opportunity given as a platform to acquire the current industry knowledge and to excel in their careers.

“They (students) should demonstrate higher level of skills than others in this leading-edge field, and able to drive technology innovations and advancement in the future,'' he added.

Omar said this at a press conference after witnessing the signing of agreement between USM (students) and Agilent Technologies which was represented by its Vice-President & General Manager, Shidah Ahmad.

Also present were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Affairs and Development), Professor Dr. Adnan Hussein and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry and Community Network), Professor Dato' Dr. See Ching Mey.

When asked about the collaboration between Agilent and USM, Shidah said that is a very meaningful collaboration for Agilent as Agilent is also committed to train up future talents to lead the world in technology.

She said that Agilent has been in operations for 42 years in Penang and will continue to grow in tandem with the development of the current technology.

“Therefore, we are in need of local young talents with high academic qualifications to continue to push the frontiers of innovation and keep us at the forefront of the technology industry.

“All the five selected students will be the pioneer in Agilent’s efforts to cultivate future talents and hoped that they will continue to strive for excellence in their careers,'' she said.

This was the second time such agreement was signed and it indicated the long-standing commitment between the two parties in providing scholarship funding to outstanding engineering students through the Agilent Malaysia Scholarship Programme. - Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias/Photo: Mohd. Fairus Md. Isa