PENANG, 18 January 2016 – The University Knowledge-Based Nexus (UkBN) would be one of the bases for Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to generate significant impacts in the socio-economic development of the country and the world, through various knowledge-based activities.

The USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman said, the term ‘Nexus’ which came from Latin circa 1655, means ‘'binding, joining, fastening’ and in the context of USM, it can be construed as the convergence of various disciplines, individuals and activities or functions, to serve an overarching purpose.

He said, UkBN is the initiative of the university’s top management in forwarding the university’s development agenda, especially with the initiative introduced to restructure the cross-disciplinary efforts, being the strength of USM.

“UkBN would group individuals into clusters (academics, support groups and students) from various disciplines to implement knowledge-based activities including those in research, training, capacity development, knowledge transfer and outreach programmes among others, in order to address and provide solutions to issues faced by society at the present time or potentially in the future.”

Such clusters through their activities are hoped to make significant contributions/impacts to their various stakeholders such as the academic community, government, society and the industry,” he said.

He stated this during the Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Address 2016 titled ‘APEX 2020: Realising A Global University’ here recently.

The event was also attended by a Member of the Board of Governors (LGU), Professor Datuk Dr. Omar Shawkataly, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, key officials of the university and the USM community.

When commenting on the potential of the nexus, Omar said, UkBN would mainly focus on the needs of society which is closely-related to issues of relevance and require future solutions as the starting point to form the nexus.

“For example, issues relating to water security, environmental sustainability, ageing population, urban population, and healthcare and wellness, which could lead to changes and would result in various impacts to society,” he said.

He also sees the potential for income generation with the establishment of the USM Media Centre which could accommodate various expertise under one cluster.

The expertise available at the different Centres of Responsibility (PTJ) such as those at the Media and Public Relations Centre (MPRC), Creative Design House (CDH), Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia (PTPM) and School of Communication need to be mobilised into a niche group which could generate income for the university.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias / Photos: Mohd Fairus Md Isa