PENANG, 31 May 2016 – The Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) academic programme offered at the 28 higher educational institutions around the world is of great significance and contributes to sustainable development globally.

A postgraduate student currently enrolled in MDP from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Inderjeet Singh a/l Sohan Singh said that, the unique programme which promotes cross-disciplinary studies corresponds to current situations in businesses and industries.

He said that, looking at the current situation in Malaysia for example, the natural resources have been depleting due to development activities and insights from MDP would result in certain initiatives that could lead to more efficient strategies in resource management.

“Sustainability is the fundamental aspect of MDP; it provides the focus that would shape the strategies in resource management and coupled with the strength of cross-disciplinary studies, it would offer more inputs in implementing development measures,” he said.

Inderjeet who is also a Senior Consultant, Group Planning and Business Development Division for  SIRIM Berhad regarded the knowledge acquired through MDP could be applied in deciding on best development strategies for his organisation.

He was interviewed in conjunction with the organisation of the8th Annual Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) Programs Summit, held for the first time in Malaysia (USM) from 31 May until 2 June 2016.

Two other participants who are also alumni members of MDP from the University of James Cook, Australia, James Langston and Rebecca Riggs both considered the programme as being able to bring together global individuals of various backgrounds on to a platform of knowledge.

James said that, MDP has provided opportunities for stronger partnerships through the strength of each branch of knowledge, which could be combined to formulate ideas on best development practices that would be beneficial to the participants.

“The world of the future foresees rapid development rates and the ability to interact with one another at the global level is truly significant and essential towards having better development practices,” he said.

Rebecca meanwhile stressed that, the MDP programme takes a more holistic approach where it not only allows students to undergo conventional lecture-room lessons, but also provide the opportunities for them to participate in collective assignments and learning experiences so that they could learn from one another.

“I’ve had the opportunity to interact with communities from the world over including from Indonesia, Cameroon, Bangladesh and Equador among others, hence allowing me to also understand the issues present in other countries besides my own, Australia.”

“Although development levels may differ, but they can be used as guidelines for the best practices in everyone’s country of origin,” she further said.

In the meantime, the summit which has attracted prominent leaders as well as MDP students and alumni from all over the world, would serve as a platform for the participants to reassess/review past accomplishments, to share best practices and discuss ideas towards the implementation of long-term strategic plans.

It also provides the platform for participating universities to network and partner each other.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin

Text: Marziana Mohamed Alias