GEORGE TOWN, PENANG, 7 April 2016 – “There would be tremendous changes affecting various aspects of higher education institutions in the future; changes affecting the functions, structures and institutional foundations.”

This was stated by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman in delivering the closing speech for Global Higher Education Forum (GHEF) 2016, held from 5-7 April at the St Giles Wembley Premier Hotel Penang, with the theme “The Role of Higher Education in Developing Societal Resilience and Sustainability.”

In closing the event, Omar said that, he could foresee instances where higher educational institutions would need to justify their relevance or existence in society.

“The university needs to move ahead, beyond the confines of classroom teaching and learning,” Omar said.

At the same time, he also mentioned that there is the need for greater involvement in the planning of higher education frameworks in the future.

“Simultaneously, it can also be viewed as a ‘challenge’ from the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) to promote the involvement of the industry in shaping universities in the future. There is a need to create more flexible foundations or frameworks. Other facets of higher education which are being explored by MoHE would be the i-CGPA and TVET which would be integrated into the curriculum,” added Omar.

Omar reminded that, higher educational institutions need to be in constant readiness to face upcoming challenges, as there would be shifts in the demand and supply in the field of education. He also envisioned the possibility of utilising a relevancy index, in relation to how research outcomes are assessed.

The global forum was organised by MoHE and National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN) USM, in collaboration with UNESCO Bangkok; LH Martin Institute, University of Melbourne and the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Facility (CTEF).

Approximately 180 participants attended the three-day forum, coming from countries such as United States of America, England, Australia, Fiji, Nigeria, Cambodia, Jamaica, Thailand, Indonesia, Timor Leste, Japan and Malaysia.

Also present at the ceremony were the Chairperson of GHEF Secretariat who is also the Director of IPPTN, Professor Dr. Wan Mohd Fauzy Wan Ismail, Co-chairperson of GHEF 2016, Professor Dr. Ahmad Nurulazam Md Zain and IPPTN fellows and key officials.

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin / Photos: Mohd Fairus Md. Isa