PENANG, 14 December 2015 – Leadership academic persona of academicians in institutions of higher learning need to be nurtured to produce academicians who are capable of initiating changes in higher education and to realise their changing role of transferring knowledge they have acquired in the universities to the society.

Those academic or professorial persona need to be inclusive beyond mere academic publications; they need to be role models of high integrity and intellectual culture, with good manners, being highly-cultured and portraying elegance.

Speaking at the opening of the auditing exercise at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) here yesterday, well-renowned national academician Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, who is also the Chairperson of the Panel of Auditors for the Reaffirmation of Self-Accreditation Status Audit of USM by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), said queries are bound to arise from among the many stakeholders, more so when looking at the public universities which are run by utilising public funds that demand a strong sense of accountability and high integrity.

“USM for example has developed the knowledge transfer programme which focuses not only on the transferral of knowledge from the past to the current generation, but also with the need to focus on other aspects such as developing the persona among the academicians to gain global acceptance.

“At the same time, we also need to ensure that ongoing efforts are being made to uphold knowledge via the language that portrays the sense of self-appreciation and pride of the nation’s society, while striving to go beyond national boundaries and reinforcing social understanding on the various disciplines of knowledge.

He explained, for that reason, more questions need to be asked within the context of the wider impact on society, as well as on how the higher education leadership is able to play its role, for instance in the affirmation of the recent agreement on climate change which would involve many world countries.

“While several countries that have signed the agreement have already taken the necessary measures, what is to become of our country, who would initiate such actions and how will a university such as USM, with its availability of expertise and experiences, be able to play its role in unison,” said Ibrahim.

He emphasised that the university should be a place for the preservation of high culture and should be made to withstand those from the lower sub-cultures from transforming or overruling the present cultural standards.

At the ceremony, the USM Vice-Chancellor Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman presented the past achievements and future plans for USM. Others who attended were the USM Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Deans and Heads of Departments.

The Reaffirmation of Self-Accreditation Status Audit would continue at USM until Thursday, where a seven-member panel will conduct interviews with the various stakeholder groups comprising the Board of Governors, the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Industry representatives, Alumni representatives, Heads of Departments, as well as the administration and support groups, and later conducting visits to selected departments.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Text: Mohamad Abdullah

Photos: Mohd Fairus Md. Isa